I keep seeing lovely vinegars and oils in supermarkets with rosemary, garlic, basil and some even with citrus - but htay are always so expensive.
Has anybody ever had a go at infusing oil or vinegar with herbs - if so which oil did you use, which vinegar is best and what herbs did you infuse with.
Our two stand-bys are tarragon vinegar and spiced oil.
For vinegars, use a decent white wine type. Just cram in the herbs (tip a bit of vinegar out first!). I think we've made rosemary vinegar as well, but I'll have to check with the staff on that one.
For oils we use a supermarket own brand extra-virgin (ie. a sort of compromise between a decent enough oil and an affordable price; use the chateau stuff if you can afford it, but don't stray to the cheap end, speaking from experience!). Pickling spice is the easiest, but we also make basil, garlic & mixed herb oils. Quantities don't seem to matter, although I expect someone has worked out exact recipes.
Leave them on a sunny window-ledge for a few days, shaking several times a day, then store in the dark for several weeks. With herb oils it is sensible to sieve out the herbs once the flavour has been absorbed, or there is a danger it might turn a bit rancid. But the spiced & garlic oils can be left with the bits in, as can the vinegars.
And, of course, oven-dried tomatoes in oil: cut tomatoes in half & scrape out the seeds (we use Roma, as they have a cavity in the middle) & dry out in an oven at meringue temperature for hours until slightly leathery. Tip into a jar (with garlic if you like) & cover with olive oil. Both the tomatoes & the oil are good.
Thanks for posting this Okra, I have been thinking of asking the same question for a while but not got round to it! One of my favourite oils is lemon. Anyone any ideas about how to do it?
I make quite a lot of herb/spice oil. I get it in cans from Elanthy...
http://www.elanthy.com/welcome.asp (http://www.elanthy.com/welcome.asp)
How do you make them, Barnowl?
As Trevor D. above.
Have read one method where the ol is heated , but haven't tried it yet. Very importatnt that jars are sterile and for sun dried tomatoes that there is at least 0.5" of oil above the tomatoes.
If using fresh chillies (I usually use dried) some people say you should blanch them first.
I make quite a bit of this as well, chilli oil, taragon vinegar, Rosemary oil and Chilli Vodka!!!
SImilar method to the others, just bottle oil/vinegar/vodka, add spices/herbs, leave for 6 to 8 weeks to infuse, then sieve the herbs out and re-bottle liquid, at this stage I sometimes add dried versions of the herbs etc. for looks rather than flavour
Hope this helps
Kathi
I'd like to make some of these for Christmas - any suggestions for sourcing bottles ?
I have to say I use any old bottles, save them throughout the year, you can buy various different sized corks on e-bay and kitchenware shops, and I use something called Parafilm to seal the corks into bottles
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PARAFILM-Stops-Evaporation-100-Seals-Bottle-Fast_W0QQitemZ250113930827QQihZ015QQcategoryZ3914QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
KAthi
chilli and garlic oil is scrummy and great for putting on bread and baking in oven or toasting for garlic, chilli bread, peel garlic cloves and put chillis in olive oil and wait how long you wait depends on how strong you like it can be used really quickly and is ideal for stir fries too, im gonna try some herb vinegars this year too