Learn How To Properly Infuse Olive Oil
Herb Infused Olive Oil is a light, tasty way to add flavor to a variety of tasty meals. It can be used in cooking or as a dressing on your food.
Both cold-infused and heat Infused Olive Oils are pretty simple to make at home, but the process often requires careful consideration of your ingredients to prevent the growth of bacteria in the bottle.
Choose A High-Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil
In the supermarket or a speciality grocery store, our Infused Olive Oil experts suggest that you seek out a darker green bottle of Olive Oil, which is colored to protect the flavor of the oil.In addition, our Infused Olive Oil experts recommend that you also read the label to make sure the Olive Oil is labeled as “Extra Virgin” Olive Oil, which is the highest quality of Olive Oil available.
If you find it difficult to get quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil, you can also purchase “virgin” olive oil, which is a bit lower in quality, but still has an incredible flavor and can be used for infusions as well.
Infuse A Single Ingredient Into The Olive Oil For A Strong, Bold Flavor
A majority of individuals prefer to add only 1 ingredient to their Olive Oil to give it a unique and savory taste. For a enjoyable and strong infusion, our Infused Olive Oil experts suggest that you try making Rosemary Infused Olive Oil, thyme olive oil, Garlic Olive Oil, Truffle Olive Oil, Lemon Olive Oil, or Basil Olive Oil.
- If you make Italian food often, you can create a Garlic Infused Olive Oil to use while cooking.
- If you like to use olive oil on salads, try infusing a lemon or ginger Infused Olive Oil.
Create Flavor Blends With 2 Ingredients
Our Infused Olive Oil experts suggest that you try flavors and herbs that you use together in recipes quite often, as those generally tend to work together well. More in demand multi-ingredient Infused Olive Oils include garlic-chili Olive Oil, Italian herbs olive oil, and rosemary-garlic olive oil.
- As a general rule of thumb, try to stick with creating infusions that have no more than 2 ingredients. Most of the time, more ingredients can sometimes result in muddled flavors and conflicting tastes.
Do A Cold-Infusion For Fresh Herbs and Organic Ingredients
If your ingredients are tender herbs such as basil, oregano, cilantro and parsley, or small ingredients like peppercorn, they’ll often times release their flavor effortlessly when cut or chopped and can be cold-infused.
This method is also the best for ingredients such as lemons, which should be kept cold to prevent stale and old.
Heat Infuse Hardy Herbs and Preserved Ingredients
If you’re using woody herbs, such as rosemary and sage, a heat-infusion is best for releasing all of the bold flavors. Furthermore, this method is also great for preserved ingredients like dried mushrooms and chilis.
For woody herbs, including rosemary, sage, and thyme, you’ll need only a few sprigs of the herb for your infusion, since they’ll typically tend to be stronger and the hot oil will draw out the flavor in.