Garlic confit botulism?

[BAPyessir6]

Never made garlic confit before and I wanna try. I'm planning on making it in the oven then storing the garlic separate from the oil (so I can use them in different applications) and using the cloves on some focaccia.

Is botulism a worry if I store the confit in the fridge? Most sites I've looked at say never to store either in the fridge longer than 1-2 weeks or else. . .BOTULISM. Should I freeze both either together or separately if I don't use them in 1-2 weeks?

On a other note, is it better to store the cloves and oil together, or separately? Does storage change the . . . likelihood of botulism?

 

[caseydog]

Seems to be a lot of botulism fear popping up. Just to put things into perspective, an average of 110 cases of botulism are reported annually in the US. About twenty-five percent of these cases are foodborne botulism. That means 28 cases of food bourne botulism annually in the US. (source-CDC)

CD

 

[blissful]

Botulism increases with oil covered garlic while in the fridge, so instead just freeze it. It will thaw quickly.
You can store them separately in the freezer if you like. Oil usually doesn't need freezing. Garlic if fresh unpeeled is fine on the counter at room temperature.

 

[Badjak]

What's the recipe?

If you would "cook" your garlic in oil, I don't see a problem as all spores will be killed by the high oil temperatures.
A quick fry in oil would also be sufficient.

 

[GotGarlic]

Here's a good, safe recipe for garlic confit, aka mojo. Killing bacteria with heat is a function of time + heat - you can do it in less time with higher heat, or more time at a lower temperature, like this recipe does. It's also acidulated with lime juice, which helps it to last longer. Depending on what you want to use it for, you could replace the lime juice with lemon juice or vinegar.

Slow Roasted Garlic Mojo - Rick Bayless

www.rickbayless.com

 

[GotGarlic]

Seems to be a lot of botulism fear popping up. Just to put things into perspective, an average of 110 cases of botulism are reported annually in the US. About twenty-five percent of these cases are foodborne botulism. That means 28 cases of food bourne botulism annually in the US. (source-CDC)

CD

Hopefully the low incidence of botulism poisoning is because of the high level of fear of getting it

When we first bought our house and I started my herb garden, I decided to make infused oil. I knew nothing about the process - just what I had seen in the stores - so I stuck a few sprigs of fresh rosemary and a couple cloves of garlic in a bottle of olive oil and put it on the kitchen windowsill. A few days later, there were tiny white strings floating in the oil, apparently growing from the leaves of the rosemary. I can't remember how we decided it was a bad idea to eat it, but something about it gave us pause.

People don't know what they don't know, so I think it's okay to reiterate over and over that botulism is a danger from improperly preserved food.