Infusing Olive Oil

Infused oils are just base or carrier oils with herbs added to them. Carriers oils can be infused with plant material to create these herbal blends. The process is very simple and involves putting some flowers or leaves into a container filled with oil, covering it for a number of days to allow the oils from plant material to be absorbed by the carrier, and then removing the plants or herbs once all it's oils have leached out into the carrier oil. This process can be used to create oils for culinary purposes as well as for therapeutic purposes. Oils can be infused with just about anything including meat and fish flavoring. (Just remember any raw food added to oil can grow bacteria, so it should be cooked first, and after the oil is infused it must be kept refrigerated.) If you are using herbs from the garden they should be dried out first as bacteria needs water grow

Rather than buying expensive pre-prepared commercial blends it can often be cheaper making your own blended oils at home, using regular vegetable cooking oils, as bases for aroma and massage thereapy. These should be prepared right before use as some oils go rancid and should be refrigerator while others should not be refrgierated. Avocado oil for instance.

Some good herbal unfusions that can be made using outdoor plants that grow wild or in the garden..

Olive oil infused with marigold leaves

Olive oil infused with fennel

Olive oil infused with garlic and basil

Olive oil infused with rosemary

Avocado oil infused with chili pepper

Apricot oil infused with lavender

Almond Oil infused with Comfrey

Jojoba oil infused with Rose

Grapeseed oil infused with Dandelions

...the possibilities are endless