Concentrated garlic?

[LMJ]

Recently, I had to substitute a bottle of minced garlic for fresh cloves. Most of the garlic was pretty weak, but... At the bottom... Was all the oil and juice from that garlic... And that was POTENT.

So I'm thinking... We don't actually eat the garlic, we just want its flavor, from its essential oils.

So, couldn't you press garlic and bottle the oil the same as olives?

 

[kitchenelf]

mmmmmmmmmmm.........good question

and the answser is............i dunno

 

[Chopstix]

Could it be that the essential oils would oxidize faster than if not pressed out? Not sure about this. There are garlic oil health supplements that are in gel capsules which I think prevents oxidation aside from parcelling out serving size.

I always like my garlic fesh. If it's minced, it has to be immediately stored in lots of olive oil otherwise it develops an acrid smell. And the garlic-infused olive oil can be used for just about anything.

 

[jasonr]

When I purchased an order from King Arthur Flour, they gave me a free vial of "garlic oil". Never did do anything with it; think I gave it to my neighbor in the end.

 

[cafeandy]

i'm not sure of how all this works...i must have slept thru that class...but i remember something about botulism and mixing garlic and oil. there's some protocol for do-it-yourselfers.

marmalady???!!!!

 

[GB]

Keeping garlic in olive oil is a recipe for botulism if you keep it too long. The max you should keep it that way is a week or else you are asking for trouble. True many people do this with no ill effect, but botulism is not something you want to take chances with. It will kill you and in a very painful and horrible way.

 

[Weeks]

I used a jar of pre-crushed garlic the other day in an alfredo sauce I made from scratch (time constraints, I don't have a garlic crusher...) It came out ok, but when I skimmed the oil off of the top of the sauce (from the butter and garlic) I think most of the garlic taste went with it. I'm gonna have to get one of those crusher things so I can make the stuff fresh.

 

[aruzinsky]

So I'm thinking... We don't actually eat the garlic, we just want its flavor, from its essential oils.

You can buy that here: http://www.essential-oil.org/shop/oilsg.htm.

The fact is, the more concentrated, the slower the oxidation. Also, you can inhibit oxidation by keeping in freezer, or you can add an antioxidant such as BHT.

 

[LMJ]

BHT is more effective in animal fats, not so much in vegetable oils. Tenox recommends their THBQ and PG products for vegetable oils. Unfortunately, THBQ has caused colon and rectal cancer in lab rats, so it's one of those things that's preferable to avoid. I'd suggest using organic antioxidants instead, but they'd color the flavor, so you'd have to either forgoe an antioxidant additive, or carefully select one who's flavor would compliment the garlic (cranberry juice would be a no, expelled oil from small red beans a maybe, while pecan oil would be a definite match to the flavor profile of roasted garlic).

And to inhibit botulism, one can add a food-safe acidifier such as citric or phosphoric acid.

Hmm, I'm tempted to give this a try for myself. Would need a sterile vise with large, flat mating surfaces, pecan oil, citric acid (sour salt), sterilized soy sauce bottles, and lots of roasted garlic.

Hmm... 8)

 

[mudbug]

changing the topic slightly, I am thinking of giving rosemary-infused olive oil out as gifts this Christmas because I have such a humoungous amount of the plants. Anybody done this? What do I need to do?

 

[buckytom]

send some to me, i'll be the guinea pig

 

[LMJ]

changing the topic slightly, I am thinking of giving rosemary-infused olive oil out as gifts this Christmas because I have such a humoungous amount of the plants. Anybody done this? What do I need to do?

Recipe here:
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blcon3.htm

For a commercial product, the FDA would require you to add citric acid (sour salt) to inhibit botulism. Refrigeration should do the trick, but it's not a bad idea anyhow.

Make sure the olive oil's fresh, of course.

 

[mudbug]

thanks, LMJ. This is just to give out to the neighbors (and buckytom if he's nice to me), so no FDA worries here.

 

[LMJ]

thanks, LMJ. This is just to give out to the neighbors (and buckytom if he's nice to me), so no FDA worries here.

Okay, just make sure they keep it in the fridge.

 

[mudbug]

will so advise, along with my warmest holiday greetings. actually, I'm lucky in the neighbor department - they are all great.

 

[buckytom]

i will keep it in the fridge to be sure. anything that the most wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, witty, vivacious, funny, and all around greatest person in the world named mudbug makes should be savored and appreciated in perpetuity. (how's that mudbug?)

 

[mudbug]

uncannily accurate, buckytom! sigh.....OK, send me your address.

 

[norgeskog]

There is a product on the market that is Liquid Garlic and is intense. I comes in a little green bottle with a pointy green cap shaped like a whole garlic. It is OK, but I still prefer the fresh stuff.

 

[norgeskog]

There is a product on the market that is Liquid Garlic and is intense. I comes in a little green bottle with a pointy green cap shaped like a whole garlic. It is OK, but I still prefer the fresh stuff.

 

[Chopstix]

Keeping garlic in olive oil is a recipe for botulism if you keep it too long. The max you should keep it that way is a week or else you are asking for trouble. True many people do this with no ill effect, but botulism is not something you want to take chances with. It will kill you and in a very painful and horrible way.

Egads! I didn't know about possible botulism! Luckily I've never kept my fresh garlic and oil for very long. Thanks for this info!

GB, what I more normally do is when I make Aglio et Olio (or Olive oil and Garlic) pasta, I saute lots of minced garlic in olive oil. I usually make a medium jar full because I prefer working on garlic in big batches for the economies of scale. Then I top the jar up with more olive oil to prevent oxidation. I typically use this all up in about four weeks for pasta and for basic sauteing with garlic. Is this another recipe for botulism?