THE A LIST: make your own olive oils

THE A LIST: Make your own flavored olive oil for use at home.....It is super easy

For some time now I have been making my own favored olive oil for use in my home kitchen. I always start with an Italian clod pressed organic olive oil as a base. This type tends to have the best flavor as I am mostly using these as flavors on foods vs. cooking with them. The Italian cold pressed oils tend to maintain the rich and creamy flavors we like best in olive oil.

I use the favored oils on all sorts of things - as I always have them on-hand in my kitchen:

they are great on cooked veggies
they are great on popcorn after its been popped
they are great on salad
they are great on grilled meats or veggies
they are great on pasta or risotto or potatoes
love them for dipping a crusty bread
and more

To get started I buy glass bottles that have sealed pop tops or dispensers - I find the best sizes are between 12 and 18 oz. Glass bottles are the best for keeping the oil fresh and clean. Once you use a bottle for a flavor and want to change it up, remember to clean and sanitize the bottle before you change so you don’t layer the flavors.

For the flavors, use the real fresh thing when possible.
Flavors I have in my kitchen now:
Roasted garlic oil
Rosemary oil
Black currant oil
Hot fire roasted chili (Serrano) oil
Six pepper blend oil

Here is what I do -
For the garlic - I roast 4 cloves of garlic and slice them in 4 and drop them in the bottle and fill with oil. cap and let rest in a cool dark space for a week before use

For the herbs - I make sure they are clean and dry - I drop them into the bottle, a use a lot, top with oil. Cap and store as noted above

For black currant - I buy them dried and drop in a cup of the currants, top with oil. Cap and store as noted above

For the hot chili - I grill in a pan, 6 whole Serrano chili peppers until blackened on all sides, drop into the bottle while hot and top with oil. cap and store as noted above

For the six pepper, I start with two tablespoons of French whole peppercorn blend - black, red, white, pink and green and add one teaspoon red pepper flakes. Top with oil and cap and store as noted above.

Its best to store them for the week as it gives the flavors time to mellow and blend.
Before use, sample each for an understanding of the flavors.

I never add salt or citrus as it shortens the lifespan of the oils. Don't store them in the fridge.

In addition to your use, these make great gift ideas and there are loads of flavor ideas to be tried.

Enjoy and always eat well
Aaron