[flowergirl]

can anyone recomend a recipe for chili oil and garlic oil?can i just buy some olive oil and add some chilis etc and leave to infuse or does it need a different bottle?also what type of oil and can i add any herbs or stuff to make it look nice for pressies?ive searched the forum but cant find anything.cheers

[WG.]

See http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?p=36497#36497

You need to be aware of danger of botulism when placing uncooked produce in olive oil.

[mushroom]

http://www.intercom.net/local/shore_journal/mp010716.html gives some help in avoiding botulism when preserving in olive oil

remember, google is your friend!

also

http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2006/10/tomato_confit_o.html
http://www.henriettesherbal.com/archives/best/1996/basil-pres.html
http://www.oliveoilsource.com/olive_recipes_.htm
http://www.oliveoilsource.com/flavoring_olive_oils.htm
http://vegkitchen.com/tips/preserving-garlic.htm
http://www.apinchof.com/preservebasil1106.htm

[Trillium]

flowergirl, don't know if you noticed that WG's garlic in oil is actually smoked (cooked) garlic in oil, and wouldn't be a problem with botulism. But raw garlic will become almost deadly in a few days at room temp. If you store it in the fridge for up to 3 months, it should be okay, but never ever leave it out of the fridge for any time. We don't kid on this.

[muntjac]

nuke the chilli's for 1 min on full power and then peel and drop em in deseed first  

[flowergirl]

cheers guys so the rule is cook stuff first i would have just chucked stuff in raw and killed all my friends and family :shock: not a good move!

[Biscombe]

A safe way is to cook the chopped chilis in vinager drain add oil then shake to release the bubbles, looks great too!

[Sadgit]

and don't use extra virgin oil.. just plain old olive oil.. no idea why but something I was told

I made chilli oil last year.. raw chilli, 2 weeks later mouldy chilli.. great

[Biscombe]

A safe way is to cook the chopped chilis in vinager drain add oil then shake to release the bubbles, looks great too!

no mould this way

[WG.]

and don't use extra virgin oil.. just plain old olive oil.. no idea why but something I was told

It is cheaper, quite simply.  I'd happily use pomace Olive Oil for something like smoked garlic since its flavour would dominate the oil anyhow.

[Contadino]

The difference between Extra Vergine Olive Oil and straight olive oil is the acidity.  Any olive oil greater than 0.8% acidity is not Extra Vergine.  I'm not sure what the maximum acidity for Vergine Oil is.

Even straight old Olive Oil can taste gre....er....not bad, but it won't be smooth like Extra Vergine.  This will obviously be reflected in any derived products.  I witnessed a pair of English numbskulls at the mill last year putting lemons in the press with their olives.  They were actually surprised when the acidity came out too high for it to be Extra Vergine.  :roll:

This classification applies to the whole of the civilised world (i.e. excluding 'Merca, where they have their own standards.)

[muntjac]

use to like drinking a drop oil when i was cooking .but i had some and it was like drinking acid ... burned the throat ..  :shock:

[WG.]

Ironically, the increased acidity might help ...

Foods with a pH below 4.6 do not in general support the growth of food poisoning bacteria including C. botulinum.