Everyone should do this because it is easy, delicious, and a little fancy-shmancy. Not only is it a piece of cake to make for yourself and wonderful to use in almost all your cooking; but small bottles would also make pretty, handmade gifts. I made the first batch on a whim a few months ago, and since then the BF and I have made a few variations to always keep on hand. It's especially good to use to cook stove-top popcorn(which, if you don't, you SHOULD) because the popcorn comes out so flavorful without having to add a ton of butter and salt.
You can infuse pretty much any cooking oil with any kind of flavoring you want(check the interwebs for ingredients that might not keep well) and there are more complicated methods of doing it; but our current, simple favorite is just to fill a mason jar(or old Sriracha bottle) 1/4 full of herbs, fill it completely with olive oil, and start using it the next day.
Here are our favorite recipes:
Garlic Herb Olive Oil
-fresh basil
-fresh rosemary
-lots of fresh cloves of garlic, cut in half
- around 1 Tbs of whole peppercorns
Hot Pepper Olive Oil - this one makes DIVINE spicy popcorn
-fresh jalapenos, sliced
-fresh habaneros, sliced
-few cloves of garlic, cut in half
And, in case you haven't done so yet, try making some stove-top popcorn. So much better, cheaper, healthier, and infinitely customizable.
Stove-top Popcorn
1. Buy a jar of popcorn kernels at the grocery store.
2. Add a few tablespoons of oil to a large pot with a lid and put on high heat.
3. Almost immediately, add 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels, and cover.
4. Stand by the pot, shaking it around every 30 seconds or so, until you start to hear them pop.
5. Shake continuously while you keep the pot on the burner, until the sound of popping slows down.
6. Remove from the heat and shake a little bit more until the popping stops.
7. Still in the big pot, add salt, spices, more oil, butter, etc. Cover with the lid again and toss to evenly coat.
8. Eat in large handfuls while growling at anyone who comes near.
Our favorite seasonings:
Savory: cook in garlic herb olive oil, add a dash of garlic powder, dash of salt, dash of cayenne pepper, dash of fresh-ground black pepper
Sweet: cook in coconut oil, add a dash of powdered sugar, dash of cocoa powder, pinch of salt
You can infuse pretty much any cooking oil with any kind of flavoring you want(check the interwebs for ingredients that might not keep well) and there are more complicated methods of doing it; but our current, simple favorite is just to fill a mason jar(or old Sriracha bottle) 1/4 full of herbs, fill it completely with olive oil, and start using it the next day.
Here are our favorite recipes:
Garlic Herb Olive Oil
-fresh basil
-fresh rosemary
-lots of fresh cloves of garlic, cut in half
- around 1 Tbs of whole peppercorns
Hot Pepper Olive Oil - this one makes DIVINE spicy popcorn
-fresh jalapenos, sliced
-fresh habaneros, sliced
-few cloves of garlic, cut in half
And, in case you haven't done so yet, try making some stove-top popcorn. So much better, cheaper, healthier, and infinitely customizable.
Stove-top Popcorn
1. Buy a jar of popcorn kernels at the grocery store.
2. Add a few tablespoons of oil to a large pot with a lid and put on high heat.
3. Almost immediately, add 1/3 cup of popcorn kernels, and cover.
4. Stand by the pot, shaking it around every 30 seconds or so, until you start to hear them pop.
5. Shake continuously while you keep the pot on the burner, until the sound of popping slows down.
6. Remove from the heat and shake a little bit more until the popping stops.
7. Still in the big pot, add salt, spices, more oil, butter, etc. Cover with the lid again and toss to evenly coat.
8. Eat in large handfuls while growling at anyone who comes near.
Our favorite seasonings:
Savory: cook in garlic herb olive oil, add a dash of garlic powder, dash of salt, dash of cayenne pepper, dash of fresh-ground black pepper
Sweet: cook in coconut oil, add a dash of powdered sugar, dash of cocoa powder, pinch of salt