Flavoured oils

kiwichick

I saw a couple amking their own flavoured oils for sale on the "pay of your mortgage in 2 years" programme, just used chillis. I've never heard of it hurting anyone.

If you do go ahead with it, would thyme be nice???

melancholly

http://www.oliveoilsource.com/flavoring_olive_oils.htm

apparently the key is to avoid anything that contains water - or follow one of their 4 steps to avoid the problem....

Debt_Free_Chick

You can heat the oil and the flavourings as explained here. Otherwise, there is a risk of botulism.

Lillibet_2

I've made flavoured oils.

Lemon & peppercorn is just that. Use mixed peppercorns for nice colour. Use organic unwaxed lemons & leave the skin on. You can blanch them if you are really worried but I didn't the first 2 years I made it as I didn't know!

Rosemary is just that. Wash well & use whole spriggs.

Chili is just that. Use a mix of whole & halved ones for best effect. make sure they will fit through the top of the bottle whole (my first mistake!)

Garlic MUST be peeled & blanched in boiling water & allowed to cool (on kitchen towel to absob moisture) or it goes mouldy.

I've never heated the oil, or used dried herbs.

I've never poisoned anyone (that I know of) and have been making it for a good 5 years. With all of these flavourings, once the oil is getting low the bottle can be topped up with more oil & the flavourings continue to do their stuff.

HTH;)

getcarter

I know this has been mentioned in the index collection but not the details.

I want to make a collection of flavoured oils for christmas presents, eg chilli, garlic or herbs.

How much do I put in and how long does it have to be in there to flavour it? I'm thinking of small bottles so I can do a variety.

gatita

I had a lot of garlic bulbs so decided to peel them and put them in a jar and covered the cloves with olive oil, put a screw top on the jar. Last night I went to use some garlic and the whole lot was a disgusting mess!
WHAT did I do wrong?

eryn_kathleen

How old are they? I'm just wondering how long it took for them to get into this state...

Any water, even the smallest amount, can lead to spoilage. And if you used an old jar of sauce, I know the jar lid needs to be really, really clean or that can lead to unpleasant-ness.

Other than that, I don't know! I'm sure someone will come along with more useful tips.

Gingernutmeg

I've done this a lot and never had a problem ... there are a few things that could have gone wrong though. Like eryn_kathleen said, if the jar was dirty or wet then that could have lead to problems. It could also be that you used a screw-top jar. I've always done this in a bottle with quite a thin neck, so that the oil isn't coming into contact with too much air, or in a Kilner jar with a rubber seal. It could be that the oil has gone rancid through air contact - this could happen if the lid had a small puncture in it or was just a bit old and so wasn't sealing as well.

It could be that the garlic wasn't fresh enough ... if there were any spoiled bits then this could have contributed to the nastiness. Also, where did you keep it? It really needs to be kept in a cool, dark place - too much light and warmth can spoil the oil and make the garlic start doing odd things lol.

Lillibet_2

There is a natural bacteria in garlic which comes out when stored in oil. To do it successfully you have to blanch the garlic in boiling water for about 40 seconds, drain & dry really really thoroughly then bottle in oil. You shouldn't use garlic or oil where the garlic hasn't been blanched as even if it looks OK it can lead to botulsim (sp?).

HTH;)

eryn_kathleen

Wow, lillibet, I didn't know that.... I'll have to be more careful in future!