herb oil

A simple herb oil infused with fresh, soft herbs such as parsley, cilantro, and/or chives.

How to Make Herb Oil 

Salt, for the water

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prepare an ice bath. Once the water is boiling, add the herbs and cook for about 15 seconds; just until the herbs/stems are bright green. Quickly transfer to the ice bath and let sit for 5 minutes to completely cool.

Transfer the herbs to a dry tea towel and wrap/dry. The goal is to get as much moisture out of the herbs. Transfer the herbs to a high-speed blender and add the oil. Puree until as smooth as can be. This can work with a regular blender, but it’s not quite as effective. If the mixture feels too thick to blend, add a bit more oil.

Line a sieve with cheesecloth (layered three times) or a coffee filter (I like to use my Chemex filter). Pour the oil into the sieve and let sit for a few hours, stirring occasionally. Do not press the oil through. Once done, transfer to a bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to a week (sometimes a little longer- keep an eye on it!)

I haven’t made infused oil yet but this recipe is the one I’ll use.  I have a question...I’d love to repurpose the herb pulp and need some ideas. Soup? Compound butter? Salad dressings? Thanks!

This Basil Oil recipe is so good you&#039;ll want to drink it. It&#039;s an herb oil that&#039;s a perfect addition to soup, salad, or crusty bread!

How to Make Basil Oil (In 15 Minutes!)

basil (30 g)

extra virgin olive oil (236 mL)

Prep Ice Bath: Prepare a bowl of ice water.

Blanch: Bring a pot of water to a boil. Place basil leaves in a colander, then dunk the colander into the boiling water, using a spoon to ensure all basil leaves go under the water. Blanch for about 15 seconds, or until bright green and wilted.

Ice Bath: Immediately transfer basil leaves to the ice water to stop the cooking process.

Blend: Strain basil from water, patting dry. Add to a blender along with oil, blending until smooth.

Strain: Strain the pureed mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the basil solids, leaving you with a smooth basil oil!

We are breaking down the techniques that The French Laundry, a 3 Michelin-starred restaurant uses to make herb oil, so you can make Michelin-quality herb oil at home, regardless of the herbs.

The French Laundry's Herb oils

g Chives ((Other herbs: dill, cilantro

170 g Neutral oil

80 g Parsley, picked ((Other herbs: fennel, basil

Parsley

g Curry powder

g Coriander seeds

Cinnamon stick

Mace

Cayenne

227 g Neutral oil

Very Fine (Chive Oil)

 Start by picking through your chives to remove any sad, wilted ones—they will ruin the flavor. To make the chives easier to handle, cut them into 1 inch pieces. You will need 1 cup of chives or 40 grams., then give the chives a hot shower for two minutes. This will help to soften the herb and more importantly help remove the grassy flavor.

Squeeze the chives to remove all of the water and the allium slime. Pro tip, I found it much easier to place all the chives in a paper towel, then squeeze out the water. It is far easier to deal with before blending than after. 

In order to make blending easier, The French Laundry uses scissors instead of knives to cut the herbs into smaller pieces, which will help make the herb oil more vibrant. Chopping some herbs with a knife will oxidize the herb, causing the oil to brown.

Place half of the chives in with half of the oil. The French Laundry says to use a cup or 8 oz of canola oil, but I found that it is closer to 6 oz. Pro tip is to add enough oil to almost reach the tops of the herbs. When fully blended, the puree should have the consistency of a pureed soup.This will ensure a stronger flavored oil.

I personally like avocado oil for high heat and sunflower oil for taste which is what I use in flavored oils.  Be careful not to let the blender overheat, which would dull that lovely green color.

For maximum flavor, The French Laundry stores the puree in the fridge for a day or two which will infuse the oil with more of the herb flavors. Then they strain the oil through a cheesecloth, or my preferred method is a linen like. Make sure to not squeeze the cloth which can cloud the oil. Other very fine herbs include dill, cilantro and chervil, but skip the rinsing step for them.

For the Fine herbs, we will be using parsley, start by plucking the parsley from the stems. You will need 4 cups of picked Italian parsley or about 80 grams. I like to save the parsley stems in the freezer to use for stocks and sauces. 

To get a bright green oil, The French Laundry uses their big pot blanching method to cook the herbs. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, for every quart of water, add ¼ c of salt. This will keep the herbs bright green and season them at the same time. Blanch the parsley for 15 seconds, using a strainer makes it easier to remove from the water. Place into an ice bath to stop the cooking and set the dark green color. Once cooled, squeeze out all the water. It is not only easier to remove the water now, but it will help remove the acid that is released during the cooking process, keeping your oil greener, for longer. 

Cut the herbs same as before with scissors, then place half of the herbs in the blender with half the oil. You want to use ¾ c or 6oz of a neutral flavored oil 6 oz. Same as the first oil, blend until it becomes a smooth puree, store the puree in the fridge to strengthen the flavor then strain.  Other herbs that work well with this process are fennel, basil, mint.

Fine Herb (Parsley Oil)

For the hard herbs oil, we are going to be making a thyme oil. To start, pick a  ¼ c or 7 grams of thyme leaves with 3 cups or 60 grams of picked parsley. The parsley is used to add color to the oils, but it wont really affect the flavor.

Bring a pot of water for big pot blanching, same as before. Blanch the thyme for 30 seconds, then add in the parsley for 10 seconds. Pull from the pot and shock the herbs in an ice bath until they are cold. Squeeze all the water from the herbs, then use scissors to cut into smaller pieces. 

Place half the herbs into a blender with 3/4 c of oil or 6 oz, which I am using Extra virgin olive oil for more of Mediterranean oil. You can use either a neutral flavored oil or Extra virgin with hard herbs, in addition to basil. Same as the first two oils, blend until it becomes a smooth puree, store the puree in the fridge to strengthen the flavor then strain. Other hard herbs are sage, rosemary, marjoram and oregano.

Hard Herbs (Thyme Oil)

Toast ¼ cup or 24 grams of curry powder on medium low heat until it is fragrant. Add this to a bowl, then toast 3 Tbs or 12 g coriander until you start to smell the aroma. Remove from the heat and add inch 1/2 inch long cinnamon, 3 tbsp or 26 grams of mace and  1 ¼ tsp or 1 g cayenne to a grinder, blending to a powder. 

Measure out 1 cup or 8 oz of a neutral flavored oil, and add enough oil to moisten the spices. Add the spice mixture to the blender,I did it in two batches because of the size of my blender. Add the remaining oil and blend, then let this sit on the spices for a day at room temperature and strain the same as before.

I strained the oil with spices , which ended up clogging the Linen like. I would strain the oil on top, then add in the spices to get the highest yield, the most efficient way. This can be left out a room temperature.

Curry Oil (Bonus)

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