Is there a difference between infused oil and adding the ingredient?
For example, is there any difference (taste, use, health, etc) between using an olive oil infused with lemon and a regular olive oil and adding lemon juice?
If there are differences, do they only apply when not cooking with the oil (e.g. in a dressing or garnish) or also when heating the oil?
Best Answer
There certainly are differences. Specifically regarding lemon there are differences not only in taste, because the lemon olive oil is flavored using the zest of a lemon, but also in acidity. Lemon juice is very acidic, olive oil is not. There are plenty of times where it is completely inappropriate to add an acid.
A better comparison would instead be lemon infused olive oil compared to olive oil and lemon zest. There would still be a difference, but it would be less noticeable. The infused olive oil has had more opportunity to capture the fat soluble flavor compounds in the lemon zest, however the flavor compounds that aren't fat soluble will be forever lost.
That is generally the trade-off when it comes to any infused oil. You will get lots of the fat soluble flavor compounds, but you will lose the non-fat soluble flavor compounds.
As for difference of use in the olive oil and lemon juice case, yes, definitely. You can't always add acids to foods. In the lemon zest case, apart from the slight flavor difference, there's also a texture difference. Of course, if you want something very smooth, pieces of zest wouldn't be a good thing. Apart from those though, not really.
All of these differences still apply both in uncooked as well as cooked preparations.
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Is infused olive oil worth it?
But trust us: It's not worth it. Flavors can mask defects, so you can't tell if the olive oil you're buying is any good. What's more, though, is that flavored oils are often home to chemicals rather than pure extracts.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.Are infused oils good for you?
Like any other antioxidants, they have properties that can enhance your heart health and do things like lower blood pressure and bad cholesterol. They work by improving your overall cardiovascular health and clearing out arteries. Infused olive oil also has properties to act as an anti-bacterial.What is the difference between infused and flavored olive oil?
Flavored olive oil is generally loaded with chemicals, additives, preservatives, and sometimes even food coloring. Infused olive oil consists of the base olive oil (ours is extra virgin of course) and a select amount of herbs, spices, fruits, etc.Thanksgiving Flavor in a Bottle: How to Make Herb-Infused Oil
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Answer 2
An obvious one is convenience -- it's easier to just pour stuff out of a bottle if you're going to be doing it anyway for the oil, although you loose the ability to control the two separately, as you can't add more of the flavorant without also adding more oil.
As for questions about heating, if you're dealing with garlic infused oil, there's the advantage that it's much harder to burn than adding the garlic separately; also, it can be drizzled over at the end, without risking there being an overly garliced spot in the food.
In the case of garlic, the taste will be different depending on how you prepare the garlic (either when infusing the oil, or when cooking with it separately) ... so you might have an infused roasted garlic vs. unroasted garlic.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Dibakar Roy, Karolina Grabowska, Pixabay, Dana Tentis