Subject: garlic oil

From: [email-masked] (Edgar Wickberg)
Date: 20 Jul 1995 17:37:52 GMT

Derek, all homemade herb or vegetable flavoured oils have doubtful safety 
if they are not refrigerated immediately and kept in the refrigerator.  
The reason for concern is botulism.  Clostridium botulinum, the organism 
that makes the deadly poison that results in botulism, grows in airfree 
environments.  It is only when it grows that it produces the toxin.  
Putting anything up in oil produces a really great airfree ( oxygen free) 
environment and therfore the risk of toxin production.  Clostridium 
botulinum is a very common organism in all of our environments, but the 
orgamism itself isn't dangerous to us.  It requires, besides the airfree 
envirnoment, a low acid one and temperatures above fridge temps.  This is 
probably more than you ever wanted to hear about why not to make garlic 
flavoured oil.  Why not dry most of your garlic so it will last and make 
just a little oil an d keep it in the fridge.  To make the kind that you 
store in the fridge, just heat a small quanitity of oil ( of your 
choice), put a few peeled cloves of garlic in a small bottle, pour the 
hot oil over, cool for half an hour, cover and refrigerate.  Happy salad 
and cooking times, Ellen ( feel free to email me at Ed's account, or my 
own which is [email-masked]  right now we are having access 
problems, but they just come and go.