# Concentrated garlic?



## LMJ (Oct 6, 2004)

Recently, I had to substitute a bottle of minced garlic for fresh cloves. Most of the garlic was pretty weak, but... At the bottom... Was all the oil and juice from that garlic... And that was POTENT.

So I'm thinking... We don't actually _eat_ the garlic, we just want its flavor, from its essential oils.

So, couldn't you press garlic and bottle the oil the same as olives?


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## kitchenelf (Oct 6, 2004)

mmmmmmmmmmm.........good question

and the answser is............i dunno


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## Chopstix (Oct 7, 2004)

Could it be that the essential oils would oxidize faster than if not pressed out? Not sure about this.  There are garlic oil health supplements that are in gel capsules which I think prevents oxidation aside from parcelling out serving size.  

I always like my garlic fesh.  If it's minced, it has to be immediately stored in lots of olive oil otherwise it develops an acrid smell.  And the garlic-infused olive oil can be used for just about anything.


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## jasonr (Oct 7, 2004)

When I purchased an order from King Arthur Flour, they gave me a free vial of "garlic oil". Never did do anything with it; think I gave it to my neighbor in  the end.


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## cafeandy (Oct 7, 2004)

i'm not sure of how all this works...i must have slept thru that class...but i remember something about botulism and mixing garlic and oil.  there's some protocol for do-it-yourselfers.

marmalady???!!!!


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## GB (Oct 7, 2004)

Keeping garlic in olive oil is a recipe for botulism if you keep it too long. The max you should keep it that way is a week or else you are asking for trouble. True many people do this with no ill effect, but botulism is not something you want to take chances with. It will kill you and in a very painful and horrible way.


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## Weeks (Oct 7, 2004)

I used a jar of pre-crushed garlic the other day in an alfredo sauce I made from scratch (time constraints, I don't have a garlic crusher...) It came out ok, but when I skimmed the oil off of the top of the sauce (from the butter and garlic) I think most of the garlic taste went with it. I'm gonna have to get one of those crusher things so I can make the stuff fresh.


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## aruzinsky (Oct 7, 2004)

LMJ said:
			
		

> So I'm thinking... We don't actually _eat_ the garlic, we just want its flavor, from its essential oils.



You can buy that here: http://www.essential-oil.org/shop/oilsg.htm. 

The fact is, the more concentrated, the slower the oxidation.  Also, you can inhibit oxidation by keeping in freezer, or you can add an antioxidant such as BHT.


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## LMJ (Oct 7, 2004)

BHT is more effective in animal fats, not so much in vegetable oils. Tenox recommends their THBQ and PG products for vegetable oils. Unfortunately, THBQ has caused colon and rectal cancer in lab rats, so it's one of those things that's preferable to avoid. I'd suggest using organic antioxidants instead, but they'd color the flavor, so you'd have to either forgoe an antioxidant additive, or carefully select one who's flavor would compliment the garlic (cranberry juice would be a no, expelled oil from small red beans a maybe, while pecan oil would be a definite match to the flavor profile of roasted garlic).

And to inhibit botulism, one can add a food-safe acidifier such as citric or phosphoric acid.

Hmm, I'm tempted to give this a try for myself. Would need a sterile vise with large, flat mating surfaces, pecan oil, citric acid (sour salt), sterilized soy sauce bottles, and lots of roasted garlic.

Hmm...  8)


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## mudbug (Oct 7, 2004)

changing the topic slightly, I am thinking of giving rosemary-infused olive oil out as gifts this Christmas because I have such a humoungous amount of the plants.  Anybody done this?  What do I need to do?


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## buckytom (Oct 7, 2004)

send some to me, i'll be the guinea pig


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## LMJ (Oct 7, 2004)

mudbug said:
			
		

> changing the topic slightly, I am thinking of giving rosemary-infused olive oil out as gifts this Christmas because I have such a humoungous amount of the plants.  Anybody done this?  What do I need to do?



Recipe here:
http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blcon3.htm

For a commercial product, the FDA would require you to add citric acid (sour salt) to inhibit botulism. Refrigeration _should_ do the trick, but it's not a bad idea anyhow.

Make sure the olive oil's fresh, of course.


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## mudbug (Oct 7, 2004)

thanks, LMJ.  This is just to give out to the neighbors (and buckytom if he's nice to me), so no FDA worries here.


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## LMJ (Oct 7, 2004)

mudbug said:
			
		

> thanks, LMJ.  This is just to give out to the neighbors (and buckytom if he's nice to me), so no FDA worries here.



Okay, just make sure they keep it in the fridge.


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## mudbug (Oct 7, 2004)

will so advise, along with my warmest holiday greetings.  actually, I'm lucky in the neighbor department - they are all great.


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## buckytom (Oct 7, 2004)

i will keep it in the fridge to be sure. anything that the most wonderful, beautiful, intelligent, witty, vivacious, funny, and all around greatest person in the world named mudbug makes should be savored and appreciated in perpetuity. (how's that mudbug?)


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## mudbug (Oct 7, 2004)

uncannily accurate, buckytom!  sigh.....OK, send me your address.


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## norgeskog (Oct 7, 2004)

There is a product on the market that is Liquid Garlic and is intense.  I comes in a little green bottle with a pointy green cap shaped like a whole garlic.  It is OK, but I still prefer the fresh stuff.


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## norgeskog (Oct 7, 2004)

There is a product on the market that is Liquid Garlic and is intense.  I comes in a little green bottle with a pointy green cap shaped like a whole garlic.  It is OK, but I still prefer the fresh stuff.


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## Chopstix (Oct 7, 2004)

GB said:
			
		

> Keeping garlic in olive oil is a recipe for botulism if you keep it too long. The max you should keep it that way is a week or else you are asking for trouble. True many people do this with no ill effect, but botulism is not something you want to take chances with. It will kill you and in a very painful and horrible way.



Egads! I didn't know about possible botulism! Luckily I've never kept my fresh garlic and oil for very long. Thanks for this info!

GB, what I more normally do is when I make Aglio et Olio (or Olive oil and Garlic) pasta, I saute lots of minced garlic in olive oil.  I usually make a medium jar full because I prefer working on garlic in big batches for the economies of scale. Then I top the jar up with more olive oil to prevent oxidation.  I typically use this all up in about four weeks for pasta and for basic sauteing with garlic. Is this another recipe for botulism?


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## aruzinsky (Oct 7, 2004)

"Essential oils" are not oils in any technical sense.  They are mixtures of aromatic compounds usually obtained by steam distillation.  They are only called oils because, like oil, they are liquid and not very soluble in water.  For example, wintergreen oil is 98% methyl salicylate.

Almost every spice can be replaced by its essential oil in cooking.


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## GB (Oct 8, 2004)

Chopstix said:
			
		

> GB, what I more normally do is when I make Aglio et Olio (or Olive oil and Garlic) pasta, I saute lots of minced garlic in olive oil.  I usually make a medium jar full because I prefer working on garlic in big batches for the economies of scale. Then I top the jar up with more olive oil to prevent oxidation.  I typically use this all up in about four weeks for pasta and for basic sauteing with garlic. Is this another recipe for botulism?



Yes you are playing with fire here Chopstix. The number of cases of botulism each year are very very small, but it is still not something you want to take a chance with IMO. 

Here is a blurb from the Ohio State University's website:
Flavored oils can be a concern if not prepared correctly. When herbs, garlic, or tomatoes are placed in oils, the botulism spores on the plant material can start to produce the toxin in this anaerobic (oxygenless) mixture. To be safe, keep these flavored oils refrigerated and make only the amount of herbal oils and butters that will be used in a few days. Using dried herbs and vegetables will also reduce the risk. 

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5567.html

Here are a link to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)  which will give some good info:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/botulism_g.htm

I hope this info helps!


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## aruzinsky (Oct 8, 2004)

LMJ said:
			
		

> BHT is more effective in animal fats, not so much in vegetable oils. Tenox recommends their THBQ and PG products for vegetable oils. Unfortunately, THBQ has caused colon and rectal cancer in lab rats, so it's one of those things that's preferable to avoid. I'd suggest using organic antioxidants instead, but they'd color the flavor, so you'd have to either forgoe an antioxidant additive, or carefully select one who's flavor would compliment the garlic (cranberry juice would be a no, expelled oil from small red beans a maybe, while pecan oil would be a definite match to the flavor profile of roasted garlic).
> 
> And to inhibit botulism, one can add a food-safe acidifier such as citric or phosphoric acid.
> 
> ...



We are talking about "essential oils," not flavored vegetable oils.  This is the topic that you chose in your first post and then changed along the way to "flavored vegetable oils."  Most essential oils don't need protection from oxidation.  I have some essential oils that are 30 years old and have no noticeable deterioration.  The one exception, in my experience, is Now brand lemon oil, which changed flavor after 1 year.  Next time, I will add a pinch of BHT to this and see what happens.  The fact that it is of plant origin doesn't make any difference in my decision, because lemon oil is not oil, just as a hotdog is not a dog.  I have no experience with garlic (essential) oil and do not know its shelf life.


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## jennyema (Oct 8, 2004)

mudbug said:
			
		

> changing the topic slightly, I am thinking of giving rosemary-infused olive oil out as gifts this Christmas because I have such a humoungous amount of the plants.  Anybody done this?  What do I need to do?





If it's fresh rosemary you are using you have the same problem with botulism.  Any fresh herb can be the source of the toxin.  So unless you properly acidify the oil like aruzinsky says or boil the oil for a certain amount of time (hard to do at home) you are taking a big risk.

Better to use dried rosemary or make vinegar instead.


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## aruzinsky (Oct 8, 2004)

jennyema said:
			
		

> mudbug said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Sorry, but I did not say that or anything like that.  

However, given your apparent needs and desires, I can give you the following unsolicited advice.  Buy rosemary essential oil (which is not oil) and add a drop or two to your olive oil just before you use it.


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## buckytom (Oct 8, 2004)

just curious aruzinsky, what defines an oil?


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## aruzinsky (Oct 8, 2004)

buckytom said:
			
		

> just curious aruzinsky, what defines an oil?



1. any of large class of substances typically unctuous, viscous, combustible, liquid ar ordinary temperatures, and soluble in ether or alcohol but not water, used for lubricating, illuminating, etc.. 


Although not in this definition, most people do not call volatile substances such as gasoline, "oil."

Most essential oils are volatile, not unctuous or viscous and have some  slight solubilty in water, e.g., maybe 1 drop/gal. or partial solubility in water at greater concentrations.  Out of the class of all essential oils, I suppose that a few are true oils, but that would be a small minority.  This bring me to correct my previous statement about lemon oil.  Now brand lemon oil is cold pressed as opposed to steam distilled so maybe it has nonvolatile components that might be true oil.  Steam distilled lemon oil, which is completely volatile, is available elsewhere.


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Oct 8, 2004)

HEY... Immmmmmmm the brains of this operation!   :roll:   Oil is slippery stuff that you can light on fire. And you cant mix it with water.    There you have it.


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## aruzinsky (Oct 8, 2004)

-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
			
		

> HEY... Immmmmmmm the brains of this operation!   :roll:   Oil is slippery stuff that you can light on fire. And you cant mix it with water.    There you have it.



Exactly, neighbor!  Most essential oils ain't slippery.


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Oct 8, 2004)

They arent?


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## choclatechef (Oct 8, 2004)

Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I like garlic very much, and I hate the minced bottled kind.  Give me the natural stuff.  As a matter of fact, I love wild garlic better than cultivated garlic.  It has more flavor!


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Oct 8, 2004)

Wild garlic is FANTASTIC! It really ODES make a difference. Chocolate Chef...... you have the right idea. It just tastes better. One of the differences where wild food tastes better than mass grown food and that includes organic.


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Oct 8, 2004)

Wild garlic is FANTASTIC! It really DOES make a difference. Chocolate Chef...... you have the right idea. It just tastes better. One of the differences where wild food tastes better than mass grown food and that includes organic.


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## buckytom (Oct 8, 2004)

aruzinsky said:
			
		

> buckytom said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



wow, thanks, you da man... (did you write that or take it from another definition?)


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## -DEADLY SUSHI- (Oct 8, 2004)

no one calls ME 'Da man'.


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## choclatechef (Oct 8, 2004)

-DEADLY SUSHI- said:
			
		

> Wild garlic is FANTASTIC! It really DOES make a difference. Chocolate Chef...... you have the right idea. It just tastes better. One of the differences where wild food tastes better than mass grown food and that includes organic.




You have tasted the difference too!  I pick, and use wild garlic all the time!  Did you know that you can pick it, and plant it in your garden!  It requires absolutely no care after the initial watering.

I had a wild garlic patch amongst my roses for many years.  Wonderful stuff!  My friends would always ask me for it when I would cook at their houses for dinner parties.  They were too lazy to grow it, or harvest their own!


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## buckytom (Oct 8, 2004)

ok, you really da man, sush.

yo yo yo, dat's off da hook, yo...


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## Chopstix (Oct 8, 2004)

Thanks GB and to the rest for all the info!  Bet you guys never thought you could save lives on this forum huh?


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