a mini guide to garlic oil AND how not to get botulism

i like garlic. more specifically i like garlic flavored things. for example, when you confit* garlic you get two gifts: the garlic confit and garlic oil. the confit is literally the slow roasted piece of garlic in the oil. honestly, i wasn't a fan. many people recommend spreading it on bread, which is what i did..but it fell flat for me. BUT that is fine with me because the star of this show was the oil. oh this oil was like velvet. buttery with the perfect balance of garlic flavor. i was surprised by how much this oil tasted like butter. i still can't get over it. this oil over toasted bread was everything. i couldn't stop eating it. i drizzled it on pizza, pasta, directly in my mouth...i put this on and in everything i could.

but i made a BIG mistake in the storage of this oil. after the oil cooled initially, i unsuspectingly poured it into a mason jar, and stored it at room temperature on the counter. i used it over the course of two weeks. In doing research for this post, i learned that this oil MUST be stored in the fridge otherwise you risk catching botulism**. yes, THAT botulism. luckily today it is rare but it is not impossible to do. so please store your oil in a jar for no more than 2 weeks. if you would like to keep it longer, you can freeze it for up to 3 months.

Garlic Confit Oil

ingredients

2 cups of olive oil

3 head of garlic peeled

2-3 sprigs of rosemary

what you do

1. preheat your oven to 195 degrees F.

2. prepare you garlic by removing the peel. ***

3. add your oil, garlic and rosemary to an oven safe dish.

4. place the dish in the oven for about 2 hours. the garlic should be lightly golden brown and soft.

5. allow the oil to cool before storage. but definitely, use some of that garlic oil on some bread while the oil is warm. a treat for your patience.

6. store in fridge in air tight container for up to 2 weeks. freeze in airtight container for up to 3 months.

glossary and notes

confit

Confit is a method of cooking food in fat, oil or a water syrup at a low temperature usually over a longer period of time.

botulism

Botulism is a rare but serious illness caused by a toxin that attacks the body's nerves. very serious business.

to peel or not to peel

I really hate peeling garlic, so I usually buy a 2 cup container of pre peeled garlic from the international mart. just an idea, you could also just peel the garlic, that works too!