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Nettles
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Making Nettle Beer
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How to Make Sloe Gin
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Grow Your Own Chilli Peppers
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fruits
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Making Garlic Oil
Make your own garlic oil
Making Garlic Oil
preserving | grow your own | recipes
Garlic Oil is both delicious and is a great time saver. In recipes where garlic is to be chopped and fried, garlic oil can be used. It also makes a fantastic salad dressing.
If you grow your own garlic, making a batch of garlic oil will give you a good supply, and the oil makes an excellent present. If you buy your garlic, then it will give you a reason to purchase one of those nets of 20 garlic bulbs for £2 (which you cannot normally get through before the bulbs start to rot) instead of paying 30p per bulb and constantly running out of garlic when you need it!
The garlic you use must be properly matured - i.e. after harvesting, it needs a good few weeks of drying until the skins are all papery.
Garlic Oil Dangers
If you attempted to make garlic oil by simply throwing handfuls of peeled garlic cloves into a bottle of oil, the results would not be good. Garlic is a very low acidity food (pH 5.3-6.3), and it can carry the bacteria linked to botulism. Putting it into oxygen free oil would generate the perfect breeding ground for this anaerobic bacteria potentially leading to very serious food poisoning.Garlic Oil Recipe
To avoid killing yourself with your home made garlic oil requires a bit of care and attention in the kitchen. Wash, skin, and halve the cloves of one bulb of garlic per bottle of oil. Put these in a warm sterilised heat-resistant air-tight glass bottle. Heat your oil (virgin or extra virgin olive oil) to around 180 degrees Celcius, and then very carefully (and not through a plastic funnel!) pour the hot oil into the bottle over the garlic. Seal the bottle well with a sterilised top and leave to stand for about a week in a cool dark place.
Now the garlic has done its work, you want to get it out of the oil so that the finished garlic oil will keep for longer. Strain the contents of the bottle through a couple of layers of muslin directly into another sterilised bottle, and seal this with a sterilised top. Store the oil in a cool dark place or in the refrigerator. Never store garlic oil at room temperature.
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Quick and Easy Roasted Garlic Oil Recipe
If you want to make a quick garlic oil, the a roasted garlic oil is what you need. Take a couple of bulbs of garlic, and cut them in half horizontally. Place the garlic cut side down into a baking tray with two cups of extra virgin olive oil, a little thyme (fresh or dried), and black peppercorns. Cover, and put in a pre-heated oven at 150 degrees Celcius and leave for around 50 minutes until the garlic is soft and mushy.
Strain the contents of the baking tray through muslin or cheese cloth, and store the collected flavoured oil in a sterilised bottle. It can be stored for around one month in a cool dark place or in the fridge.
Article Published: 14:49, 25th Nov 2010
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