How to Sous Vide Infused Oils

Infusing oils with different flavors is a wonderful way to add nuance and flavor to dishes. Oils can be lightly flavored, only adding background notes, or they can be full of flavors and be the highlight of a dish.

When making oil infusions, be sure to thoroughly clean the flavoring agents before using them. The infusion process doesn’t usually have any effect on bacteria that may be present so there is always a risk of botulism or other bacterial infections. After washing, dry the flavoring agents thoroughly to make sure no water is introduced or it can become rancid.

If proper sterilization of the containers is used, infused oils can be stored in the cabinet for weeks, though for safety and flavor retention I tend to store them in the refrigerator.

Which Oils to Infuse

The type of oil you infuse will greatly affect the final taste of your infusion. If you want the pure flavors of the infusion process to come through, then a neutral oil like grapeseed or canola oil is best.

Stronger oils like olive oil and sesame oils will still impart many of the rich flavors they are known for, so any infusions with them should use complementary flavoring agents.

Sous Vide Infused Olive Oil

Olive oil is one of my favorite oils to infuse. While canola oil infusions, grapeseed oil and other neutral oils are great at picking up flavor, the rich, nutty basetones of olive oil go great with many different flavor combinations.

My favorite combinations to use are classic Italian ingredients, like my "Taste of Tuscany" recipe which is for sous vide infused olive oil with garlic, sun dried tomatoes and rosemary. I also love my sous vide infused canola with rosemary and sage that also goes amazing with olive oil.

You can also use olive oil as an ingredient in many infusion, such as my half-and-half combination of sous vide infused olive oil with citrus peel that uses grapeseed oil to cut some of the strong notes from the olive oil.

How to Use Infused Oils

There are many uses for sous vide infused oils once you have created them. They can be used as finishing oils and drizzled over hot foods right before serving. They can be used as dipping oils for breads or vegetables or mixed into vinaigrettes.

For more dramatic presentations, they can be turned into foams or spreads using a whipping siphon or maltodextrin.

Most oil infusions will last for several weeks in a dark cabinet, or longer if stored in the refrigerator. I usually use the refrigerator to ensure it stays safe to consume. The flavors will fade over time though.

Infused Oil Process

I find sous vide infused oils to be much more flavorful than most traditionally infused ones. Because most flavors are not fat soluble oils don't pick up flavors as quickly as other mediums, especially alcohols. So the added heat really makes a big difference.

Place the oil with any of the flavoring agents in a sous vide bag or Mason jar. Seal it and place in a water bath set somewhere between 130°F and 185°F (55°F and 85°C), depending on how deep and "cooked" tasting you want the flavors. Let the infusion cook for 1 to 5 hours - the longer it goes the stronger the flavors will be.

Once infused, remove the mixture from the water bath and let it cool on the counter for about 10 minutes, and then place it in cold water or an ice bath until fully chilled.

You can then strain the olive oil and use as desired!

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Do you have experience cooking infused oils? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Looking for more infusions? Check out the sous vide infusions time and temperatures for all the sous vide information you need.

What Are Some Sous Vide Infused Oils Recipes?

Here are several of the Infused Oils recipes that I recommend trying out.

• Sous Vide Garlic Confit Recipe
• Sous Vide and Smoked Umami Olive Oil Recipe
• Sous Vide Ginger Infused Macadamia Oil Recipe
• Sous Vide Chili, Onion and Garlic Infused Olive Oil Recipe
• Sous Vide Citrus Infused Oil Recipe
• How to Make Infusions for Gifts
• Sous Vide Taste of Italy Olive Oil Infusion Recipe
• Sous Vide Pepperoni Infused Oil Recipe
• Citrus Infused Oil Recipe
• Thai Chili Infused Peanut Oil Recipe
• Tuscan Olive Oil Infusion Recipe
• Rosemary Infused Oil Recipe
• Pesto Infused Oil Recipe

Sous Vide Garlic Confit Recipe

Garlic confit (and the remaining garlic-infused oil) are culinary treasures that enhance dishes with their rich, nuanced flavors. Garlic cloves gently poached sous vide in oil become tender, mellow, and imbued with a subtle sweetness that elevates any dish they grace.

Sous Vide and Smoked Umami Olive Oil Recipe

First the olive oil is infused using sous vide with black garlic, herbs and mushrooms, then it's finished off with a hot charcoal briquette for smoke flavors.

Sous Vide Ginger Infused Macadamia Oil Recipe

This unique flavor combination uses sous vide infusing to add fresh ginger to macadamia nut oil for an amazing and versitile infusion.

Sous Vide Chili, Onion and Garlic Infused Olive Oil Recipe

When you are looking for a flavor kick, turn no further than this chili, onion and garlic sous vide infused olive oil. It's a great finisher for any dish.

Sous Vide Citrus Infused Oil Recipe

This sous vide recipe captures the nuanced flavors of citrus zest in oil, allowing you to freshen up various dishes by quickly adding it any time you want.

How to Make Infusions for Gifts

What better holiday gift than discovering how to make infusions to give as gifts! Here's a step by step look at creating infusions for oil, alcohol, vinegar, and bitters!

Sous Vide Taste of Italy Olive Oil Infusion Recipe

This infusion is packed with the tasty traditional Italian flavors of sun dried tomatoes, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and rosemary infused into a rich olive oil. The resulting bold infusion is awesome on bread or drizzled on grilled fish.

Sous Vide Pepperoni Infused Oil Recipe

I like to infuse the flavor of pepperoni into canola oil so I can drizzle it on dishes whenever something needs a bump in flavor. Pepperoni infused oil is great on roasted vegetables or as a dip for bread.

Citrus Infused Oil Recipe

Using the whipping siphon infusion method to capture the nuanced flavors of citrus zest in oil is an excellent way to quickly add it to various dishes.

Thai Chili Infused Peanut Oil Recipe

Infusing bird's eye chili peppers and Thai chili peppers into peanut oil is a great way to harness their fruity flavors and hot spices while making them easy to use in dishes whenever you want.

Tuscan Olive Oil Infusion Recipe

This infusion, made with a whipping siphon, encapsulates many of the traditional flavors of Tuscan cooking in a rich and bold olive oil.

Rosemary Infused Oil Recipe

This simple infusion results in an aromatic, flavorful olive oil full of rosemary flavor. Add another flavor dimension by drizzling the resulting oil over an entree!

Pesto Infused Oil Recipe

In this recipe I infuse olive oil with the classic flavors of Italian pesto. The flavorful oil can then be drizzled on various dishes from pasta to meat to fish to help finish them off.

Sous Vide Infused Oils Comments