CATEGORY |
CUISINE |
TAG |
YIELD |
|
Fusion |
Info/tips |
1 |
Informed |
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
Here are some guidelines for making your own infused oil. Always
sterilize the bottles into which you will put the oil. Wine bottles
are a good choice, but you may want to use smaller containers, such as
cruets, because the flavor of infused oil, like all oils, deteriorates
with age. Don't use more expensive extra-virgin oil to make infused
oils. Because you are introducing flavors into the oil, you do not
need or want the often peppery or perfumey flavor that is intrinsic in
fine first pressings of olives. Don't exclude grape seed and canola
oils, especially for flavors such as ginger, mint, and mustard. In his
book "Marinades" (Crossing Press), Jim Tarantino says that he uses
grape seed oil for steeping fresh herbs. When he is heating the oil to
make infusions with dried chilies, mushrooms, curry, dried lemon grass
or other Asian spices, he prefers light peanut or canola oil. Pure
good-quality olive oil is a good match for spices and herbs ~-
rosemary, oregano and the like -- with Mediterranean character. After
the flavoring ingredients are placed in the oil, keep the bottle in a
cook, dark place while it is infusing. Crumple and bruise herbs such
as basil before adding them to the oil to help the flavor and aroma to
escape. These are four main techniques for infusing oil: | 1. Simply
clean herbs (or use dried ones) drop them in a bottle of oil and allow
to sit in a cool dark place for at least two weeks. This technique
does not produce an oil with added color. | 2. Blanch an herb such as
basil in boiling water for a second or two, pat dry with paper towels,
puree the herb with a bit of oil and then add it to more oil. After a
few days, strain the oil. This method has produced lightly tinted,
highly flavorful but sometimes muddy-looking oil. When omitting the
pureeing step, and simply adding the blanched herb to the oil, the
result is a highly flavored, fragrant oil, but not one that changed
color. | 3. Warm the oil in a microwave for a few minutes, in a
saucepan over medium heat, or in a double boiler. You can add the
infusion ingredients while warming the oil, or drop them in after the
oil is warm. This method is speedier. It produces flavorful oil in a
day or two. | 4. Make a paste. This method comes into play when using
dried spices. As described by James Peterson in his book, "Sauces"
(Van Nostrand, Reinhold $39.95), ground spices (as well dehydrated
foods such as dried mushrooms) must be moistened before being combined
with oil. | Then, if using ground spices, make a paste with an equal
amount of water before whisking the paste into a quart of oil. Allow
to stand for a week before straining. The author made an interesting
cardamon oil and an orange curry oil this way. From Gemini's MASSIVE
MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini
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