Things to put in olive oil

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:27 am

My wife just bought a set of four square bottles in a whicker holder at a car boot sale. We thought it might be a good idea to fill each one with olive oil but with a different flavouring agent in each one. We thought of chillies for one and smoked garlic for another but after that our rather feeble imagination gave out on us.

"Never mind," I told her, "I know a place where hundreds of people will give us dozens of suggestions. Possibly one or two of them might even be usable." So go to it my culinary friends, astound us with your knowledge of taste sensations.

Martin Milner · Post by **Martin Milner** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:32 am

Keep one for just plain olive oil. There, that's me all kitchened out.

missy · Post by **missy** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:34 am

when I had a garden (sigh...... can't have one now, this yard has too much shade) I did the following:

Cut roma tomatos in slices (round way). Ground up fresh oregano, basil and chopped garlic, and put a small amount of that mix on each tomato round. Put them in a dehydrator, and dried until "stretchy" (tomatos will get burnt if you let them dry too long - and the basil will get black). Then I put them in jars, herbs and all, and covered with olive oil.

I would use these as is on hot pasta, or put them on pizza.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 8:54 am

Martin Milner wrote:Keep one for just plain olive oil. There, that's me all kitchened out.

I second that, extra virgin, of course. Extra virgin olive oil has it's own unique flavor, and the greener it is, the more intense the flavor.
The greener, the better, and don't get fooled by manufacturers that use green bottles. I won't buy from them at all.

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:04 am

Wanderer wrote:
Martin Milner wrote:Keep one for just plain olive oil. There, that's me all kitchened out.
I second that, extra virgin, of course.

These bottles hold about a pint and a half each. Far too small for unadulterated extra virgin olive oil. My family get through that in industrial quantities.

It's more specialised stuff I need help with. Missy's suggestion sounds good.

amar · Post by **amar** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:17 am

sun-dried tomatos and herbs. mhhhhh...

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:33 am

Ah..I understand completely

In that case, I'm personally fond of the flavor of rosemary and olive oil...on lamb or chicken especially.

And then you could always make something a little tangy, like lemon zest, or ginger. I might use the first when searing fish, and the second in stir fry, as obvious choices.

amar · Post by **amar** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:35 am

Wanderer wrote:Ah..I understand completely

In that case, I'm personally fond of the flavor of rosemary and olive oil...on lamb or chicken especially.

And then you could always make something a little tangy, like lemon zest, or ginger. I might use the first when searing fish, and the second in stir fry, as obvious choices.

oh boy...this i my kind of thread...marinated lamb, with garlic, lemon and ginger, herbs, cooked for hours and hours on very low heat...

jbarter · Post by **jbarter** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 9:53 am

amar wrote:oh boy...this i my kind of thread...marinated lamb, with garlic, lemon and ginger, herbs, cooked for hours and hours on very low heat...

Yep! Good food and extra virgins. I knew you couldn't resist.

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:09 am

boilt quail's eggs

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:11 am

Walden wrote:boilt quail's eggs

Hmm... well... that'd work better with vinegar, now, wouldn't it? Another thing with vinegar would be pickled pigs' feet.

Redwolf · Post by **Redwolf** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:20 am

A classic: minced garlic and a bit of balsamic vinegar. Shake it up and you'd have a wonderful condiment for dipping Italian bread in at dinner.

Redwolf

dubhlinn · Post by **dubhlinn** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 11:29 am

Slan,
D.

bradhurley · Post by **bradhurley** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:03 pm

You gotta be careful with some of this stuff: I've read that leaving garlic in olive oil for more than a few days can be pretty risky (e.g., for botulism) unless you keep it refrigerated.

You might want to use those bottles for herb vinegars instead, which have a longer shelf life. Or set one aside for good extra-virgin olive oil. There are some truly amazing olive oils out there; once you get into tasting them it's like wine (with prices to match). I recently paid $40 for a pint of olive oil from Provence, and that was by no means the most expensive oil in the store. Oil at that price shouldn't be wasted on cooking, it's best for dipping bread or drizzling on tomatoes, making simple salad dressings, or other delicacies where the flavor of the oil isn't going to be overpowered by something else.

MarkB · Post by **MarkB** » Mon Apr 25, 2005 1:47 pm

If not Popeye then Bluto perchance

MakrB