Make Garlic Oil
If you like the taste and flavor of oil on your salads, vegetables, meats and other food, you might enjoy the taste of oil flavored with garlic. Filled with antioxidants and other healthy nutrients, garlic is a fresh and flavorful ingredient to add to your food and your cooking oil. Most people find that it is not difficult to prepare, and once you make it you can keep it in a sealed container for a few weeks for additional use. Make garlic oil by heating several cloves of garlic in the oil of your choice, until it is translucent and opaque.
Steps
- Choose a head of garlic to use for the garlic oil. You can buy garlic at your grocery store, farmer's market or local produce shop. Or, you might grow your own.
- Pull apart the cloves of garlic until they are all separated into several pieces.
- Peel the skin off the garlic cloves. This may be time consuming, and your hands and fingers will likely end up smelling like garlic.
- Try to keep the garlic cloves whole. An easy way to peel garlic is to smash the clove with a knife and then peel away the loosened skin. You do not want to do that when you are making garlic oil because it might result in pieces of garlic floating around in the oil after it is heated and strained.
- Avoid rinsing or soaking the garlic in water before you peel it. While some people do this to loosen the skin, it will put your garlic at risk for developing a bacteria that could contaminate your oil.
- Place the garlic in a small pot. You could also use a sauté pan. Anything large enough to accommodate the garlic and the oil will work.
- Cover the garlic with about 2 cups (16 ounces) of oil. You can use any oil that you enjoy. Extra virgin olive oil seems to be the most popular among chefs and food bloggers, but good results have also been found with canola oil and grapeseed oil.
- Heat the oil and garlic on a low to medium-low setting. If you have a thermometer, keep the oil at around 200 to 210 degrees Fahrenheit (93 to 98 degrees Celsius) and no higher than 220 degrees Fahrenheit (104 degrees Celsius).
- Judge the heat without a thermometer by making sure it is hot enough that the oil bubbles gently. If the garlic starts to fry or brown, just remove the pan from the heat for 2 minutes.
- Let the oil and garlic heat for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes. You will know the garlic flavor has infused into the oil when it becomes opaque in color.
- Cook the oil for longer (closer to 30 minutes) for a stronger garlic taste. For a lighter flavor, turn the heat off after 15 minutes.
- Use the garlic oil immediately. You can either remove the cloves with a slotted spoon, or pour the oil onto what you are cooking with the cloves, depending on your taste.
- Cool the oil to room temperature.
- Use a strainer or a slotted spoon to remove and discard the garlic cloves.
- Store the remaining oil in an airtight container or a glass jar. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends you use the oil within 1 to 2 weeks in order to avoid bacteria such as botulism or salmonella.
Tips
- Try garlic oil as a salad dressing, or pour it over a leafy green vegetable such as spinach or broccoli. It will also taste good tossed with roasted potatoes or grilled veggies or covering roast chicken, steak or fish. Find your favorite recipes online or in cookbooks.
Warnings
- Do not leave your hot oil unattended. It can splatter and cause burns or a grease fire.
Things You'll Need
- Garlic
- Pot
- Oil
- Thermometer
- Slotted spoon
- Airtight container
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