What Makes a Spice Infused Olive Oil Gift the Most Refined Choice
Supposedly it should be fun to look for a gift and pick one that you think they’re going to love but in reality, things are not that easy.
When hunting for the right gift, you have to consider the personality of the person you’re about to buy it for, their needs, their wishes, their wants, whether they like their gifts to use right away or just for display, anticipate what the others would bring so you don’t risk offering the same gift as another person, and the list could go on like this for days, weeks, even months for some people.
I used to like picking a gift for my friends when I was little. I would look forward to see their expressions when they’d see the best gift – mine, only to see it wasn’t at all how I imagined it would be. I’m sure almost everybody has had these experiences and I’m sure you’d agree now that it is pretty hard to find a good gift for the people you care about.
This is where I come in to make your job easier. In this article I will tell you about the infused olive oil, which is one of the best ideas to offer to someone as a gift.
Of course, I will tell you why it is such a great idea and along with it I’ll also provide the details of a simple DYI flavored olive oil recipe to make it even easier and spare you from the trouble of wasting precious time hopping from store to store.
The olive oil is not an ordinary type of oil, though very popular throughout the world. It is the only oil obtained through the natural process of crushing the olives, without the industrial refining and without chemicals.
Now imagine this healthy oil infused with the full flavor of garlic or chili and you will know why every respectable home will appreciate it as a refined and useful condiment.
The process of infusion is actually very simple because the oil itself provides the basis for the extraction of any flavor from any herbs and spices you like. Here’s a simple way to do your own garlic olive oil:
Ingredients:
- 1 garlic bulb
- 300 ml extra virgin oil (approximately 1 cup)
- A small pan
You will peel off the garlic cloves. Then, in a small pan you will put the garlic and on top of it you’ll poor the oil as to cover the garlic. You will leave the pan on the stove, on the smallest flame for about 5 – 8 minutes, until the oil starts to bubble.
You will need to check once in a while and if the garlic starts to turn brown, it’s time to lift the pan and let it cool off somewhere away from the heat.
Once it has cooled off, you can either poor it into a normal jar for every-day use and keep it in the fridge, or you can poor it in a fancy bottle with a nice cork and give it away as the perfect gift.
The infused oil will last about 1 month if kept in a cool, dark place.
Of course, just as simple you could have an herb infused olive oil as well. From oregano, rosemary to chili, there are many options to make great, flavored infused oils.
If you really want to make someone feel lucky and impress with your ideas, you could prepare a nice olive oil gift basket with as many bottles as you want, all infused with different types of herbs and spices.
You could search for the best looking, colored bottles for oils and prepare them yourself. It will definitely worth the effort and your gift will be much appreciated and remembered, especially when your oils will have their place of honor in that house.
Another impressive gift idea of infused olive oil is the truffle infused one. I never even knew it existed until I tried it for the first time at a wine tasting in Chianti.
It is very different from any other flavor I know but it’s a very good one. And strong too; it’ll be hard to forget the aroma and taste of the truffle olive oil. This type of oil goes great with some pasta and red wine!
Beside their extravagancy, the truffles are also considered a great aphrodisiac so it wouldn’t hurt at all for any woman to have it and cook with it.
Have you ever tried an infused olive oil so far and if so, which type of infused oil is your favorite? Because I can honestly say I love the garlic one, spread onto all my pasta and even pizza. It’s delicious!
All the evidences so far point towards this spice infused olive oil gift as being a very good and refined choice, not only because of its many health benefits but for the aroma and flavor it can give to any food. Not to mention the easiness with which anyone can make their own infused oil.