I heart garlic

Especially when it flavors my olive oil.


A couple of years ago, in an experiment to 'preserve' basil, I bought a ginormous vat of olive oil. Once finished with the preserving, I had plenty of olive oil left in a most inconvenient container (a 'splash' inevitably became a glug). So I bought a small bottle with one of those little pour-spout things and kept it by the stove for easy access. And then one day I added some garlic.



The effect is not immediate--it takes at least a week but then the garlic sinks to the bottom of the bottle and then the flavor really comes through which is great for cooking and especially for salads. I refill the bottle at least once or twice before throwing the garlic out (after a while, the garlic breaks down too much and gets a little too pungent). I think there are other things that people add to olive oil like dried peppers and herbs, but garlic is easy, and it's common to many things that I make with olive oil. It can also make ordinary, cheap olive oil into something more special.

Update: I've overheard some mention about possible ill effects of garlic in oil. In the years I've been making this garlic oil, I've had no problems at all, but wanted to share this info just to be safe. I had never heard of this until recently, and once I did, I was convinced that I would be one of those people affected. This is how my mind works.