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Subj:  Herb oils and vinegars
Date:  95-06-05 18:41:00 EDT
From:  Zappafreak

Here's a message I sent to someone earlier that might be of use.  It's
what I do with herbs when I'm not eating them,  i.e. soak 'em in
vinegar or oil.  And, it might sound strange coming from a hairy
loud-music-listening male pig, but throwing a few basil stems in a
hot bath and soaking is another good use for the parts of the herb you
might throw away:

To MAKE is pretty straightforward.  For vinegars, wash the fresh herbs
well and chunk 'em in.  My favorite is red wine vinegar infused with
apple basil and cinnamon basil if you can find those.  I made that two
years ago and am hoarding my last bottle;  it smells just like apple
pie and is the best vinegar for vinaigrette bar none.  Lemon thyme
does well in white wine or champagne vinegar.  And tarragon vinegar
just goes without saying;  a must have for hollandaise sauce.  Oregano
vinegar is pretty boring.  Basil vinegar is OK but not magnificent.
Stick with thyme, mints, flavored basils, tarragon, or at least
that's my preference.  Rosemary is also good but I've found less uses
for it.  It IS good for a barbecue rub and for making the sauce later.
And don't forget the ever-popular hot pepper vinegars (habaneros
soaked in vinegar for about 2 weeks give a hot vinegar that can't
be described without sweating).

Making herb infused oils is trickier and dangerous if you do something
dumb like I did the first time.  I made garlic-basil olive oil and
left the garlic and basil in the oil.  The top blew off.  Plus, if
you leave fresh herbs in oil they eventually give off this milky crap
that basically means it's spoiled.  I usually strain the oil through
cheesecloth after about two weeks, clean out the bottle (must be
perfectly dry), replace the flavored oil and cap it.  You can leave
peppercorns in the oil.  My favorites are (a) basil-garlic (the
non-exploding variety);  heat the garlic in a little of the oil first;
leave the cloves whole and use large basil leaves which are easier to
fish out; (b) peppercorn oil (mixed peppercorns in olive oil);
(c) thyme oil (very good for dressings); (d) walnut oil infused with
either basil or mint (good for salads); (e) garlic and rosemary oil;
(f) rosemary oil; (g) curry leaf oil (if you can find them); (h) hot
pepper oil (peppers spoil quickly;  take your favorites, prick the
stem end with a knife tip, soak in oil about a week).  I've also made
sesame oils with peppercorns and fresh hot peppers for oriental
sauces;  this lasts forever (provided you remove the fresh peppers).
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