DIY Christmas-Homemade Infused Olive Oils

Last up in the series for DIY Christmas this year is homemade infused olive oils.  I did both garlic chili and rosemary olive oils.  It was a lot of fun and super easy. I mean I hope people think I slaved over a hot stove all day long making these beauties :)

First thing I want to tell you about is the potential for food poisoning....yeah, hate to be a buzzkill but the threat is real so make sure you really take the time to adhere to these guidelines prior to making these.  Any time a fresh ingredient is introduced in to a dish, there is the possibility of it causing more harm then good.  Thus the reason I did not do just fresh garlic infused oils and have garlic cloves in the oil.  If not properly prepared, botulism is a risk.

Moisture brings mold so when making the rosemary infused olive oil, if you choose to buy fresh rosemary, make sure you wash it and let it dry for about a week.  You don't want to be able to bend the herb at all, you want it to the point where it is cracking when trying to bend it as that means all the moisture has been removed.

You can skip fresh rosemary all together and just use dried herbs, too.

For the rosemary olive oil, I sprinkled some dry herbs in my jar and then added the (fresh) dried herb for decoration.  I cooked my oil on the stove with some of the other dried rosemary sprigs for about five minutes and then drained the rosemary out.  Let cool for about five minutes and then add to your jar. You can use extra virgin if that is what you have lying around, but regular olive oil seems to infuse and take on the flavors better.

For the chili garlic oil, I smashed some fresh garlic and put it in a pot on the stove with my olive oil. I let it cook for about five minutes or until you can smell the garlic cooking.  You don't want to burn it so keep an eye on it while it is in the pot.

Then I sprinkled some crushed red pepper in the oil and let it cool for another five minutes.  I threw in a dried chili for decoration in the bottle and then poured the olive oil in the jar.  You can get a funnel but I just used my turkey baster to transfer the oil :)

Done!  I attached a note letting my giftees know to use within one week or keep in the fridge.  You can let them know the oil can be used in cooking, sauteing for example, or you can dip crusty, french bread in the oil and eat it that way.  You can use the chili oil with egg rolls or in stir fry.  You can use the rosemary oil with a chicken salad.  So many delicious options!!

And there ya have it! They look beautiful.  I got my jars from Hobby Lobby when they had all glass 50% off and I just tied a pretty tag on the jar with some twine for the rustic look.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below!!

Enjoy!!

Have a great day!! xo