flavoured oils

den_the_cat · Tue Aug 29, 2006 12:45 pm

has anyone made chilli oil and other flavoured oils? I've previously made rosemary (comes out lovely) and chlli oil, but my chillis went furry after a while, although shop ones stay fine for months (at least) so I was wondering if I missed a trick (like blanching them or heating the oil or something?) or was just unlucky.

Also can you make other herb etc flavoured dipping oils in the same way?

I've just found some good bottles and quite fancy basil-oil and lemon oil (with lemon rind) sounds good too, but I'm reluctant to make bottles of the stuff if I have something basically wrong and its all going to go off before I use it.

Chickpea · Post: # 31883Post **Chickpea** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 12:53 pm

I'm the same. I once made some rosemary and garlic oil for pasta which was fab at first but then went sort of nasty. I don't know why.

chadspad · Post: # 31885Post **chadspad** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:02 pm

Was just gonna ask how to make chilli oil, then saw this thread - maybe I wont bother now lol

Shirley · Post: # 31887Post **Shirley** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:06 pm

had heard that it wasn't recommended to do garlic oil like that... but not heard of chiles going mouldy in it...

This from http://www.eatwell.gov.uk/asksam/keepin ... preparing/

Is it safe to make my own flavoured oils at home using herbs?
Lots of different types of flavoured oil are available in the shops, containing garlic, peppercorns, chilli and various herbs including rosemary, oregano and bay leaves, and these often have a long shelf life. But itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s not a good idea to make flavoured oils at home unless you are going to use them immediately.

This is because plants, including herbs and spices, can carry spores produced by bacteria. Occasionally, they could carry spores of a type of bacteria called Clostridium botulinum, which can cause botulism. This is a very unpleasant disease, which is rare in the UK, but can be fatal.

Clostridium botulinum multiplies in places without any oxygen, so if there are spores on plants such as herbs and garlic, putting them in oil can create the right conditions for the bacteria to multiply, particularly if the herbs are fresh or wet.

Companies that produce flavoured oils and foods preserved in oil are expected to take Clostridium botulinum into account and formulate their products to make sure that this type of bacteria doesn't multiply.

Even though recipes for flavoured oils can be found in cookery books, magazines and websites, these might not have considered the risk of botulism. So if you would like to make your own flavoured oil, the safest option is to make a small quantity and use it on the day you have made it. If you have some oil left over, put it in the fridge straight away and use it within a week. Some oils can go cloudy or become solid in the fridge, but if this happens donÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t be tempted to leave it at room temperature, because this might not be safe

chadspad · Post: # 31890Post **chadspad** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 1:37 pm

Thanks for that Shirley.

I love your avatar!!! I used to be able to do that - ahhhh to be young again

Chickpea · Post: # 31893Post **Chickpea** » Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:13 pm

Wow, thanks Shirlz. Sounds like I had a narrow escape. I won't be trying to make flavoured oils again.

den_the_cat · Tue Aug 29, 2006 3:34 pm

that's a bit scary

although according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_botulinum chillis look like they wouldn't be effected, by botulinum at least.

hedgewitch · Tue Aug 29, 2006 4:22 pm

What about if you heat the oil first?
Doesn't this kill the bacteria?
I am an avid fan of making flavoured oils and with Garlic and Rosemary I always heat the oil first. Chilis I've never bothered and they come out really great - adds a fantastic kick to most dishes.

Millymollymandy · Wed Aug 30, 2006 6:21 am

I've made basil oil in the past but really it is just a waste of good olive oil! It doesn't smell or taste like basil. I must remember to use it up in cooking - it just gets forgotten at the back of the fridge!

funkypixie · Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:50 am

Chili oil is good! I usually dry the chili before I put it in the oil though, which probably gts around the botulinum problem. And I use sunflower oil for it too because it always seems to be a waste to use good olive oil.

chadspad · Post: # 31953Post **chadspad** » Wed Aug 30, 2006 7:56 am

Funkypixie, Do you chop them up after drying them or leave them whole? How do you dry them? I really fancy doing the chilli oil, I have over a hundred chillis at the moment

The Chili Monster · Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:01 pm

I've never tried to make flavoured oil before, but I recall a similar discussion elsewhere.

IIRC, heat the oil together with the chilli to 38 deg C. Add citric acid to the mix (I'm guessing the crystalline form) at the end.

Hope this helps!

Shirley · Post: # 32109Post **Shirley** » Thu Aug 31, 2006 3:30 pm

I've still got one solitary chilli on my plants.... hasn't grown... hasn't changed at all... for weeks.

funkypixie · Thu Aug 31, 2006 8:40 pm

Chadspad - I usually chop the chilli after it has dried. You can either dry them in a very, very low oven or leave them to dry in a warm dry place for several weeks. I've kept the oil in a dark cupboard for months and it's been fine.

Shirlz - Aaawwww! I'm hoping my chilli plants still have chillis on when I get back to work. We had a chilli growing competition in the hospital and mine were looking like champions, just have to hope no-one has sabotaged them in the last week! I've only got 3 plants but there must be 25-30 chiilis at least between them.