Infusing EVOO with Rosemary

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Hopz

Senior Cook
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
272
Location
Utah, near Park City
I like to rub my steaks with vegetable oil then with rosemary.(then cracked pepper)
I had the idea of infusing the oil with the rosemary. That led me to think EVOO would be better.
I placed several sprigs of Rosemary in a squeeze bottle with EVOO, then added a couple of cloves of garlic.

Do I need to heat the oil to "activate" the rosemary/garlic? Do I need to keep it in the refrigerator? or just leave it out? I leave my EVOO out and it does not seem to spoil. I guess I use it fairly rapidly.

Your thoughts and experiences would be appreciated, as well as suggestions for other oil infusions.
 
Not a good idea to keep for a long time because of possible botulism. Heat with the rosemary--soft bubbles--and do it again in a week.
 
if i had a jar of oil for every flavor i wanted, i'd have no space in my kitchen. i only make enough for whatever i need at the moment. i put the rosemary, garlic, chilis or whatever in a small pan, add the olive or canola oil, and slowly bring it up to temperature
 
Oil infused with fresh herbs, fresh garlic, fresh chiles, etc. mustbe kept refrigerated and used up within a week or so because of the risk of botulism.

Same with roasted or cooked herbs/garlic, etc.

DRY herbs can be used in oil and last longer, but i would still refrigerate.

In the alternative, you can properly acidify the oil with citric acid to eliminate the risk of botulism.

Heating the oil will bring out the flavor. Or you can process in a food processor and strain.
 
Since I posted the original question, and reading your replies, I had a BFO...(Blinding Flash of the Obvious)... and googled the subject.

this is what I found... http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/cr_diy_people/article/0,2025,DIY_13752_2277178,00.html

She suggests shelf life of up to 6 months. Is there a difference in her assumptions from our own concerning durability? I tend to agree with you guys on the one to two- or three weeks in the frige, but 6 months?

What am I missing?
 
I wouldn't want to take a chance with that. Botulism is a very serious problem and there have been many warnings on the subject of infused oils and their very short safe life span. Commercial bottlers have a better grasp on making those products successfully and I'd leave it to them except for very short term concoctions.
 
O.K., I'm convinced... I have now read several scholarly-like articles on this subject and I now believe that oil infusions can be great additions to my cooking, but time is of the essence (pun intended)... two weeks or less is the new rule.

Thanks for your inputs
 
Hopz said:
What am I missing?

The major problem is with the garlic in your recipe. Pay attention to that line from the DIY site that says, "As for the shelf life of the infused oil, Annette says that depends on what type of ingredients you place in the bottle." Go back and look at that page very carefully - galric is not mentioned at all!

The link Ironchef posted is where we have already discussed this topic in the past ... and posting that link was to save us from having to "reinvent the wheel", yet again.
 
I missed the Ironchef link. I Did not recognize it as a link, maybe all the colors threw me off.

Thanks for your input Michael, I will give it consideration.
 
Garlic is the most common cause for botulism, but any fresh thing that comes in contact with soil can also carry spores.

I think she is giving very bad advice unless there is sufficient acid in the lemon zest/lemon she is using to make it safe. And from the recipe i doubt that.

Google infused oil and botulism and you'll find overwhelming evidence that you should not keep home-infused oils for more than 2 weeks or so and that you must keep them refrigerated.
 
No no no!!!! I'm a chef, certified in food safety and sanitation and one of the first things we were taught is never hold oil that has anything added to it. The risk of botulism is extremely high. I love the idea of the rosemary and garlic, however. Instead, make enough to use just once. If you want to burst the flavour of the rosemary, chop it before you add it to the oil. Same for the garlic.

Store bought infusions are safe because they have been pasteurized.
 
VeraBlue said:
No no no!!!! I'm a chef, certified in food safety and sanitation and one of the first things we were taught is never hold oil that has anything added to it. The risk of botulism is extremely high. I love the idea of the rosemary and garlic, however. Instead, make enough to use just once. If you want to burst the flavour of the rosemary, chop it before you add it to the oil. Same for the garlic.

Store bought infusions are safe because they have been pasteurized.

If you're a chef, you should also know that the Clostridium (C.) botulinum needs both time and temperature to spore. Homemade infused oils are safe to use, if both the time and temperature restrictions are abided by.
 
ironchef said:
If you're a chef, you should also know that the Clostridium (C.) botulinum needs both time and temperature to spore. Homemade infused oils are safe to use, if both the time and temperature restrictions are abided by.

Better safe than sorry when it comes to botulism.
 
OK, now I am totally confused Annette says its ok to keep Infused Oil refrigeratred up to 6 mos. Do you mean, if you dont use Garlic in the oil its oK to keep refrigerated and used for 6 mos. Wont the lemon zest and Lemon Juice keep it from spoiling, or causing Botulism to form by using this acid in the infused oil???
 
I like to rub my steaks with vegetable oil then with rosemary.(then cracked pepper)
I had the idea of infusing the oil with the rosemary. That led me to think EVOO would be better.
I placed several sprigs of Rosemary in a squeeze bottle with EVOO, then added a couple of cloves of garlic.

Do I need to heat the oil to "activate" the rosemary/garlic? Do I need to keep it in the refrigerator? or just leave it out? I leave my EVOO out and it does not seem to spoil. I guess I use it fairly rapidly.

Your thoughts and experiences would be appreciated, as well as suggestions for other oil infusions.

Bad idea. Unless you know your chemistry. You need to put some acidic agent in with the oil and rosemary. By acidic I mean vinegar. And you need to keep it in the fridge. But the best advice is to make just enough of an infused oil for your immediate need. Toss any you don't use. Make a new batch on an "as needed" basis. :angel:
 
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OK, now I am totally confused Annette says its ok to keep Infused Oil refrigeratred up to 6 mos. Do you mean, if you dont use Garlic in the oil its oK to keep refrigerated and used for 6 mos. Wont the lemon zest and Lemon Juice keep it from spoiling, or causing Botulism to form by using this acid in the infused oil???

Annette is some random Internet article subject and likely has done zero research (by that I mean setting up and conducting careful scientific experiments) on this topic :)

I prepared a presentation on how to preserve fresh herbs for my master gardener class earlier this year; our information has to be based on university agricultural research. There is no safe method of infusing fresh ingredients into olive oil at home for long-term storage, I.e., longer than a week.

You cannot "acidify" oil because oil and water (lemon juice or vinegar) don't mix. Pickling works because the acidity of the liquid is high, and it usually includes large amounts of salt as well; acid and salt are preservatives. But oil is not a water-based liquid.
 
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Since I posted the original question, and reading your replies, I had a BFO...(Blinding Flash of the Obvious)... and googled the subject.

this is what I found... Infusing Olive Oil : Home Improvement : DIY Network

She suggests shelf life of up to 6 months. Is there a difference in her assumptions from our own concerning durability? I tend to agree with you guys on the one to two- or three weeks in the frige, but 6 months?

What am I missing?
To be perfectly honest I agree with the others who say home made infused oils are not a good idea. I wouldn't do it. You might get away with it but botulism is very serious - it kills people and the risk is just not worth it. The organism which causes botulism poisoning is anaerobic which means it thrives in an air-free environment - in this case in oil. Commercially made infused oil is heated during production to kill any nasties on the garlic, herbs or whatever so is safe to use.

I buy commercially infused oils (and not ones for sale on small home-made craft stalls at farmers' markets, etc.,) as I feel the extra expense is worth the safety.
 
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OK, now I am totally confused Annette says its ok to keep Infused Oil refrigeratred up to 6 mos. Do you mean, if you dont use Garlic in the oil its oK to keep refrigerated and used for 6 mos. Wont the lemon zest and Lemon Juice keep it from spoiling, or causing Botulism to form by using this acid in the infused oil???

a bit of unconfusion:

no oxygen + non-acid pH + some moisture + botulism spores = sickness or death

"in oil" = no oxygen
no intentional additives = non-acid pH
moisture is present on all those things people want to "infuse"

keeping an infused oil under refrigeration for six days, that'll work
six weeks - really really iffy
six months - don't go there; or if you do, pay up your life & medical insurance.
 
Annette is some random Internet article subject and likely has done zero research (by that I mean setting up and conducting careful scientific experiments) on this topic :)

.


Annette claims she she still has year-old infused oil. :ohmy:

She clearly has no idea what she is talking about. DYI should have better editors and attorneys.
 
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