Slow Food Adventures

If you’re anything like me, you looked at the calendar a couple of days ago and realised that Christmas is next week. In which case, you’re probably running around like a mad thing trying to think up a neat idea for gifts. Well, in keeping with my last foody gift idea, I thought I’d share what my friends and family are getting from me this Christmas – jars of home made infused olive oil.

These are fun and easy to make. I had my daughter helping with sticking herbs into the necks of the bottles, holding the funnel still while I poured the oil in, and of course with the inserting of the corks and sticking on of the ribbons.

Once made, push the cork in tight, and leave them to sit for at least a week before using them in cooking. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with using them earlier, but the flavours won’t have had a chance to fully infuse, so it will probably taste just like ordinary olive oil. Try, though, to use them within about six weeks. I will endeavour to get a recipe or two up for use with these soon.

WARNING: You can use just about anything to flavour the oils, but avoid garlic or other roots. Garlic cloves are actually reasonably popular things to add to oil infusions, and garlic-infused olive oil is simply divine, but don’t be tempted, just DON’T DO IT! When garlic is added to oil, it can create a chemical reaction when exposed to air again that can lead to botulism in humans. It’s just not a terribly good idea. Ever. Got it? Good. Let’s move on, shall we?

First of all, you need some bottles.

I went to a large warehouse discount-style shop and found these delightful little cork-stoppered bottles for only a couple of dollars each. You might also want to check out discount homewares stores, novelty and gift stores, or even your local supermarket.

I bought ten – five each of two varieties – to give to my friends and family.

First of all, remove all the corks.

Then fill your sink with hot, soapy water.

Drop the bottles into the sink, and make sure they fill with hot water.

Leave them sit for a few minutes, especially if they have sticky labels on the bottom like mine. I just waited until the water was cool enough to stick my hands in.

Rinse each bottle well. The labels should all have soaked themselves off, but if you can’t get all the sticky stuff off, pop on a rubber glove and rub it with that. If that still won’t get it off, give it a go with some tea-tree or eucalyptus oil, and then give the bottle another good wash. Once you’ve got the labels off, and there’s no soap residue left at all, pop them in to the oven, and turn it on to about 80-100 degrees. Leave them for about an hour.

After an hour or so, check that there’s no water left inside the bottles. Look around the neck for condensation, and tip each one up to make sure there’s no stray dribbles in the corners. Remember to use an oven mitt to handle the bottles while they’re still hot from the oven.

When they’re completely dry, set them out on the bench to cool down for fifteen minutes or so.

Now for the fun part! I’m using some coloured peppercorns and birds’ eye chillies. Half of mine are going to have lemon thyme (on the left) and the other half will have rosemary (on the right). Of course, you’ll also need a bucketload of olive oil. Buy the best quality extra-virgin olive oil you can afford. I’ve bought four litres here, and used about half of it.

Divide the fresh herbs up evenly between the jars, and poke them in.

And then go ahead and add a whole chilli to each jar as well. Try and pick chillies that don’t have any blemishes on them, if you can.

Grab a small funnel to add the peppercorns.

And then just pour them evenly between the jars.

They look like little culinary terrariums at this point, don’t they?

Use a slightly larger funnel, if you have one, for the oil. It also helps if you have someone to help you by holding the funnel straight, especially if you’re pouring from a big tin of olive oil. You need two hands to control those things!

Fill each jar up, leaving a centimetre or two of air at the top.

You will find that the chillies and some of the peppercorns might float. Give them a day or two to absorb the oil fully, and they will sink to the bottom.

Then stick all the corks in, and push them down tight. This can be a pain in the neck for the person who has to then open the sucker, but a ‘waiter’s friend’ bottle opener will do the trick, and if you’re careful, the cork should be reusable.

Lovely little bottles of oil. You could be really fancy and dip the tops in sealing wax too. I would definitely recommend that if you’re posting these gifts, or if they have to travel a long way.

I added note cards to each bottle, listing the ingredients and suggesting dishes of what each type of oil would go well with.

Then we spruced them up with bows and curling ribbon as well.

Ready to give away!

Merry Christmas!

Tags: Chilli, Herb, Olive Oil