Making your own infused oils

Infused oils are easy to make and good to have on hand. Simply combine herbs, chosen for the condition they'll treat, in a heavy, non-reactive pan. (no aluminum or cast iron) Cover the herbs with extra virgin olive oil and heat on the lowest possible setting for 30 minutes. Then pour the oil and plant matter into a jar that seals tightly and steep for 2 weeks, shaking daily. Strain the oil and put into clean jars.

Thanks Sonshine

I like to do cold pressed infusions. I add my herbs to the oils and just put in the window sill for a week or so.

That's good to know about the cold pressed infusions. I'm a newbie to all of this, so it's really good to have someone with some experience here.

I am so glad to be here. Thanks for having me. I made calendula oil recently. Use it on scars and as a moisturizer.. Did you know that pure olive oil will remove eye make up- no need for make up remover. It is the best eye make up remover out there.

I actually did know about the olive oil. Part of my ministry was doing gospel clowning and it's what I used to remove the clown make up.

awesome!

Hi Sonshine and joyful, I was wondering about bacteria in the cold pressed infusions. Is it a danger? How to you ensure the safety of these oils? I have always been hesitant to try but would love to do both oils and vinegars.

Vinegars will last just about forever. Oils will eventually go rancid, so it's best to find out the shelf life of the oil you choose.

Sonshine, when you do the vinegar do you heat the vinegar first? An friend did some last summer with rasberries and blueberries. One she did heat the vinegar and the other batch she didn't. I'm just wondering because I would like to do some for possible Christmas gifts. Do you think there is time enough or should I wait until next year?

With vinegar it just depends on your preference. Heating it is faster, but it also breaks down whatever you're heating in it. So if you want to leave the berries in the vinegar for the looks you should probably either do it without heating, or, strain after heating then add some extra berries for looks.

Thank you so much. What is the best vinegar to use for infusing?

Again, it would depend on your personal preference and what you are infusing it with. Apple cider vinegar goes well with fruit, IMO, but some prefer a plain white vinegar. Experiment to find what goes well with what.

Thanks Sonshine. I see some flavored vinegar in the future for Christmas presents. Do you do oils the same say and is olive oil the best to use?

I like using olive oil because it tends to be a lighter oil. I've only done a cold infusion with oils, so don't really know how to do a heated infusion, but would imagine it would be similar.

Cie J wrote:
Hi Sonshine and joyful, I was wondering about bacteria in the cold pressed infusions. Is it a danger? How to you ensure the safety of these oils? I have always been hesitant to try but would love to do both oils and vinegars.

bacteria is killed at 168 degrees F (recognize that temp? you should. it is the safe cooked meat temp for all meats). My method is to use only extra virgin olive oil heated in a double boiler until the oil is about 175 degrees, with the herbs already added. I use the boiler method to keep from scorching the oil.

Thanks everyone. I'm definitely going to try some of these for Christmas presents.