Is Sous Vide Oil Infusion with fresh herbs or garlic a practical technique to avoid botulism risk?

Is Sous Vide Oil Infusion with fresh herbs or garlic a practical technique to avoid botulism risk? - Tomatoes Beside Shakers and Olive Oil Bottle

I've been experimenting with flavoring olive oil using dried herbs. So far, I've only used dried herbs in my home infusions because I have read a number of articles which claim there is a botulism risk to leaving fresh garlic or fresh herbs such as whole rosemary sprigs in olive oil.

I had an idea since I have a chamber vacuum sealer and an immersion circulator to put the olive and herbs in a vacuum sealed bag and infuse them at a pasteurizing temperature sous vide.

Has anyone heard of sous vide oil infusion techniques? Is it feasible? Are there any best practices (time / temperature) to get optimal flavor results?

Thanks in advance for any help, suggestions or references.

sous-videolive-oilinfusion


Best Answer

Pasteurization will not do anything to reduce botulism risk. Botulinum spores are very hardy, requiring high temperatures (250f) to destroy them. If you use the method you describe, any spores that may exist will still be there, and a nonacidified, oxygen-free environment would be ideal for them to become active. So my recommendation would be to not take this approach.



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Is homemade garlic infused oil safe?

Oils that are flavored with fresh herbs or garlic can be a source of food-borne illness\u2014specifically botulism. Because of this, this method of preservation has not been recommended for the home food preserver.

Can you get botulism from infused oil?

But, like many other low-acid homemade foods, infused oils can pose food safety risks. The primary concern with infused oils is the extremely dangerous and sometimes deadly microorganism, Clostridium botulinum (C. bot), which can cause botulism.

How does infused oil prevent botulism?

For infused oil or honey Since produce items like garlic and herbs can harbor C. botulinum, it's a good idea to destroy any bacteria on those items before adding it to oil. You can do this by soaking the products in a citric acid solution to reduce the pH and destroy bacteria that might be present.

Is it safe to infuse olive oil with garlic?

Yes. If you want to infuse or store the oil at room temperature, you must acidify the garlic or herbs to avoid potentially deadly toxin production by Clostridium botulinum, the bacterium that causes botulism.


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Answer 2

It's oil, not vinegar. The organic matter (herbs, garlic, whatever) that you put into the oil needs to be exceptionally clean and the infused oil should be used quickly, not stored, because stuff can grow in it. I would wash the fresh herbs or garlic very well and let them completely dry. Then, put into a pouch with the oil and vac seal.

Cook at 147F to 150F and infuse for 1 to 2 hours and then strain into a bottle for use. I would plan to use within a few days to no longer than a week or to keep the oil in the refrigerator, which then means having to let it come to room temp for pouring.

Hope this helps!

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: Pixabay, Patrícia Paixao, Ron Lach, alleksana

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