I have so many ideas for things to share here that I’ve been
overwhelmed with where and how to start. Brain gridlock you could say. So I figured
I’d start with something simple that also has the potential to become as
complex and involved as you personally want to make it. But even this “simple”
idea has so many facets that I’ve decided to break it into a series of shorter,
more manageable posts.
When you look up the word ‘infuse’ in the good ‘ol Webster
there are, as always, several definitions. But my favorite one of the moment
is:
“fill, as with a certain quality…”
This wording, to me, embodies both the literal aspect of
infusing as well as the more poetic or metaphorical meanings. You can infuse
someone with a thought or an idea, you can infuse a room with scent, or a
liquid with a flavor or a medicine… how beautiful.
So let’s start with infusing some delicious oils – a lovely
skill to have that will yield something special to add to your culinary
repertoire. There are so many possibilities here that will give you a lovely
finished product for much cheaper than anything similar at the store. You
can add any number of things to olive oil: garlic, sun-dried tomatoes,
peppercorns, chilies, rosemary… get creative!
Step 1: Gather your ingredients.
You can use fresh or dried plant material, but unless you
plan to use the oil right away you should always use dried herbs and spices.
The reason for this is that fresh herbs still have water in them which is a
route for contamination and spoilage in your oil. The only exception I make to
this rule is garlic because it is so antimicrobial and antibacterial on it’s
own that, personally, I think it’s safe (you may find debate about this in
other writings, so ultimately you’ll have to decide for yourself. If you’re
worried about it you can just put the oil in the refrigerator. Yes, it will
solidify, but your risk for botulism will disappear, and you can use solid
olive oil like butter!)
Step 2: Infuse.
Place your herb or herbs of choice in a mason jar or nice
oil bottle and allow it to sit on the counter for 2-6 weeks (depending on how
strong you want the flavor to be and how patient you are!). Shake daily. I like
to leave my herbs whole or mostly whole with this method because it’s really
pretty.
OR
Grind your herb into a powder in a coffee grinder or with a
mortar and pestle (if you don’t have either of these you can simply break it up
with your hands a bit), put the powder in a mason jar, Pyrex measuring cup, or
double boiler and cover the herbs with oil. You can also use a crock pot by
placing your mason jar in water inside the crock pot. A good ratio for this is around one part herb
by weight to 5-10 parts oil by volume (e.g. 1 ounce dried rosemary per 10
ounces of olive oil). Heat until the water is almost to a boil but not quite
(this is to make sure that no water bubbles up into your oil), and then reduce
the heat to a low simmer. Infuse for around 4 hours, stirring frequently.
OR
Use the sun! Pour the oil over your herbs in a mason jar and
seal tightly. Place the jar somewhere it will get 3-4 hours of sun a day and
leave for 2-3 weeks, shaking daily. You can either leave your herbs whole or
grind them up for this method.
Step 3: Strain (or not).
If you’ve heated your oil on the stove, allow it to cool a
bit and the plant material to settle to the bottom. Then strain the herbs out through
cheese cloth. Or, if you’ve left your herbs whole, you can leave them in there
and just eat them at the end!
Happy experimenting!
No comments:
Post a Comment