Preserves: Infused Oils

Creating Oil Preserves has always been something I love to do, but this can be a very sensitive area, as I've read that flavored Oils should only be kept for a certain amount of time, so normally I only create small amounts that I use within a few days. Having recently purchased the book 'Preserves: River Cottage Handbook No.2', by Pam Corbin, I found some great tips and ways to keep Oils for longer, so I thought I'd try some.

One of the best ways to keep Oils longer is to make sure the bottles are sterilised, for this I added the bottles to a pan with lukewarm water in and slowly brought this to boiling point, once the water is boiling I removed this from the hob and left the bottles in the water till needed. This does take sometime, but another way to achieve this is to simple put the bottles in a dishwasher and wash as normal, once done leave to dry on a drainer for when you're ready add the Oil and flavor.

The Chili Oil with Black Peppercorns was my boyfriend Zac's idea and for this he decided to use his Thai Dragon Chilies, which he has been growing over the summer, but any Chilies are fine. We heated Extra Virgin Olive Oil up (as this was all we had Oliver Oil should really be used) to a simmering boil, added the Thai Dragon Chilies, with a cut through each chili and the Black Peppercorns into a bottle and then carefully poured the Oil into the jar using a funnel, locked the lid and left to cool down and infuse.

The Basil and Garlic Oil didn't require the Oil to be heated, so we placed three peeled whole Garlic Cloves and a small sprig of Basil into a bottle before funneling the Extra Virgin Olive Oil into the bottle; again this was closed and left to infuse.

I also had a small bottle which I normally use for creating small batches of flavored Oil, for this I added the leftover heated Oil to dried Chilies I had in the cupboard from last years Chili plants.

                                                                                   Photo: Laura Lunt  Date: Sept 2011

Thai Dragon Chili Oil with Black Peppercorns
x1 500ml Swing-Top Preserving Bottle
x3 Thai Dragon Chilies (fresh)
x10-12 Black Peppercorns
Olive Oil

Basil & Garlic Oil
x1 500ml Swing-Top Preserving Bottle
x3 Cloves of Garlic
x1 Small Sprig of Basil
Olive Oil

Chili Oil
x1 Small Bottle
x6 Small Chilies (dried)
Olive Oil

These should then be left to infuse for 14 days, sieved of there content, re-bottled and enjoyed, storing in a cool place and used within 6 months.