Things You'll Need:
- Olive oil
- Ingredient to infuse oil, such as herbs, garlic cloves, lemon peel, vanilla beans
- Sauce pan
- Measuring cup
- Glass, porcelain or stainless steel container
- Cheese cloth or small mesh strainer
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Step 1
Pour one cup of olive oil into a small saucepan. You can use extra virgin olive oil, but What's Cooking America recommends saving the more expensive extra virgin variety for recipes where the olive oil will not be cooked, as in salad dressings.
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Step 2
Add the flavoring ingredient to the oil. For example four to five sprigs of rosemary, thyme or other herbs; two cloves of garlic; two vanilla beans; a piece of fresh ginger; lemon or orange peel.
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Step 3
Heat the olive oil and flavoring ingredient over low to medium-low heat for three to five minutes. Chef Emeril Lagasse, on the Food Network, explains that the result should be oil that is fragrant, but not colored.
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Step 4
Remove the pan from the heat, and let it cool. Do not place a cover on it, as the heat will create condensation that can affect the flavor.
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Step 5
Once it's cooled, cover the pan, and allow the flavoring ingredient to infuse the olive oil for one hour. Strain into a clean container, using cheese cloth or a small mesh strainer. Discard the flavoring ingredient.
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Step 6
Store infused olive oil in the refrigerator. The length of time it can be kept depends upon the flavoring ingredient. According to Olive Oil Source, olive oil infused with dried herbs can be kept for a long time; however, oil that was infused with anything that contains water can only be stored in the refrigerator for a week, and should be used within that time.
