Salad Oils?

[Rough Jack]

Gidday

I have just finished my lunch. We had a beautiful salad and cold meat from last night.

The best part about it is that everything apart from some oil I put on the salad was home grown, including the beef and eggs and all the herbs we tossed into it.

Now my question is, do any of you make up your own salad oils with your herbs infused into it and if so how do you do it?

[Chickpea]

We did this discussion a while ago and learned:
a) It's tricky to get right. I tried garlic and rosemary in oilve oil but it turned foul
b) It can be dangerous to get wrong. IIRC there is a risk of botulism.
c) Not something to try for yourself, sadly, although I'd still love to know how they do it commercially. Is there a process that can be reproduced at home? Or does it involve some kind of treatment that would make the oils less appetising if we knew about it?

I can't see any harm in making small quantities for immediate use. How about warming a small amount of oil with herbs and garlic in to infuse the flavours quickly, then cooling it and using as salad dressing.

[Wombat]

What about a vinegar dressing Jack?

Nev

[Rough Jack]

Gidday

Yeah Nev, but I have gotten used to the oil and just throw a bit of vinegar on with it. I suppose if I dosed my vinegar that I put on instead of the oil it might do the same trick but I though the oil would drag the flavours out better.

[wulf]

I've found that heating oil with herbs or chillies in seems a good way to infuse the flavours and also retards decomposition.

I think garlic was the particularly dodgy choice regarding botulism, but most other things should be fine (perhaps with garlic you should try to use it quickly).

Wulf

[caithnesscrofter]

I don't understand why you'd be worried about botulism. I make my own culinary oils and also homemade herbal medicine made with cold and hot infusions in a double boiler. Fairly straight forward.