Olive oil infused with garlic plus cooking tips.
Flavored olive oils are fun and so easy to make. But there's good reason to take precautions. There is risk of botulism in making some types, and this seems to be particularly true of garlic oil as it has a low pH and harbors moisture. It's believed that this combination promotes growth of Clostridium botulinum in an anaerobic environment, like oil. To be safe, here are some general recommendations to follow.
Safety Tips:
Cook the garlic in a little olive oil until softened before adding the remaining olive oil.
Once all the oil is added to the garlic, maintain a low oil temperature.
The safest bet is to store the garlic olive oil in the refrigerator and use within three weeks. If stored on the counter at room temperature, use within one week. This is not true of commercially available garlic olive oils as manufacturers are required to include acidifying agents to raise the pH level, for example phosphoric or citric acid.
As a note, many home cooks do not follow these guidelines and have no problem, but risk does exist.
Garlic Olive Oil
Ingredients
- 1 cup of your best olive oil divided
- 20 large garlic cloves smashed to smithereens
Instructions
- Warm one tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and sauté until just softened. Lower the heat to the lowest setting.
- Add the remaining oil and keep warm for 45 minutes. Small bubbles may appear around the garlic, but this should be more of an oil bath for the garlic. If the garlic begins to simmer, remove from the heat to cool before rewarming.
- Strain the oil into a jar using a coffee filter. If you don't have any coffee filters, use the doubled thickness of a paper towel.
- Label and store for up to three weeks in the refrigerator or one week on the counter at room temperature.
apuginthekitchen says
Really good tips, I often wondered about the shelf life for homemade garlic olive oil. I keep it in the fridge but its still concerning. Found some the other day tucked in back of the shelf it had to be over a month old, Threw it out because you just don’t know and it’s better to be safe than sorry. Great post.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Thanks so much Suzanne. It was surprising to me to learn there were some risks on this. I used to always leave my homemade flavored olive oils on the counter – but no more.
cheri says
Good post and information. Thanks!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Thanks so much cheri! I so enjoyed going through your blog this morning!!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I love garlic oil and it’s really easy to make. I don’t make a lot and keep it in the fridge but bring it out to room temperature so I can get it out of the bottle.
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
I had always left mine on the counter until I started to research it. Now it always goes in the fridge – and you’re right it warms up very quickly once it’s back on the counter.
Liz says
I’m so glad you mentioned the precautions when making flavored oils like this one. I remember Sara Moulton warning about botulism, but many recipes make no mention of it. I would have no trouble going through a batch of garlic oil in 3 weeks…your recipe looks terrific!
The Wimpy Vegetarian says
Thanks Liz! Chances are, nothing would happen. But why take the chance once you know the risk? And I agree – most recipes I looked at don’t mention it at all.
mireya @myhealthyeatinghabits says
Hi Susan,
Glad to see you informing others about the dangers of botulisum in garlic oil. I teach food safety and have found that few people are aware of this.
Norma Chang says
Thanks for posting the safety warning about garlic oil, amazing how many people are still not aware of the problem.
Laura Dembowski says
I had no idea there was a risk of food borne illness from homemade oils. That is good to know, but I don’t think this would last long in my house anyway 🙂
John says
Really good advice. Thanks for these!
I will be back 🙂
Oui, Chef says
Hmmm…I’ve made chili oils in the past but never garlic, sounds like a nice thing to have around.