Infused oils are one of those super neat gifts that look really fancy and take very, VERY little effort. They’re also a very flexible gift: give to a foodie you know, an older family member OR a kitchen novice to make them feel special as they set about learning to cook. It works for all types of people whilst also having the homemade, loving touch. Best of all, it’s totally customisable to your preference or what you can find, you can add herbs, chillies, spices, seeds… anything you like! This also means you can source your ingredients at any shop near you, even when Christmas is fast approaching, making it cheap and easy to whip up this gift for someone. Shoutout to my dad for the recipe below:

Ingredients for one bottle

– 500ml good quality Olive Oil
– Spices of your choice (I used dried rosemary and thyme), dried herbs are better than fresh as you don’t need to worry about them moulding or spoiling.

Instructions

– Add the oil and spices to a pan and heat gently until the oil is around 60 – 70 degrees celsius (use a thermometer to check the rising temperature). Stir the oil as it heats and, if you’re using something such as chillies, crush them a little in the pan to release flavours.

– Let the oil cool down before decanting everything, including herbs, into a sterilised bottle

– If you can, leave to sit for at least a week, as the infusion flavours improve the longer you give them.

That’s all there is to it! Until next time, stay magic y’all.