Crikey are you around

[jean2579]

as our resident gourmand chef I am hoping you can help. I bought a bottle of chilli infused olive oil and used it tonight for the first time

I used it like I do the normal olive oil, big mistake!

The chilli taste was so intense that nothing else could be tasted, the worst part was the concerted rush to the fridge for iced water.

Do you know how this is meant to be used, appreciate your help it cost a fair bit and I am banned from using it again until I sort it out

[amber-eyed-girl]

You can use it in cooking or as an addition to a dressing...now you know how strong it is, just use it sparingly, that will work fine 🙂

In recipes that call for oil, you can use normal oil, and add a little of this one for flavour, if chilli is wanted.

So, in a dressing, normal oil and a splash of this one

In a marinade, normal oil and a splash of this one

A little added to a mayonnaise for flavour

A little in a pan when cooking, with the normal oil

So, really, anywhere you would like a little chilli flavour, just add a little...alongside plain olive oil.


You can even make your own infused oils, there are plenty of ideas on the net, with dried herbs, etc.

That way you can control the intensity.

So don't throw it out!

The same thing applies to truffle infused oils...they can be very strong, so just a little dash for the flavour.

Always try anything like this on its own first to assess how much to use, and add sparingly, as you can put more into a dish as you go.

[nevynreally]

Not Crikey, but you use chilli infused oil in stir-frys or for BBQs, not like normal oils.

[amber-eyed-girl]

You could send Crikey a PM. Just look her up then it will have that option on the right hand side,

crikey*mate

[*crikey*mate*]

How was it made?

ie, are there whole chillis just floating around in the bottle of oil or are they kind of blended up in it so there are no chunky bits? Is the oil itself cloudy?

I would have thought it was more to be used as a dipping sauce for crustini kind of thing similar to olive oil and balsamic vinegar and rock salt.

If it's the blended kind, I'd say it's really only meant to be used in asian or indian cooking where there are many other flavours to complement and offset its potency.

If used like regular oil to cook a steak for example, the heat would bring out the chilli more as well.

Have a look at the ingredients list too - what sort of chillis were used? Different varieties vary in their heat.

Make a small batch of salad dressing and see if the flavour is as intense.

I've never used it to actually cook with, I'm sorry, mainly to flavour dips or as dipping sauces etc or to drizzle over pizzas or to finish off stirfry kind of dishes.

To take the heat out of huighly alkaline dishes (chilli is an alkaline) use something acidic such as lemon/lime or for salad dressings, vinegar

Or, I'll have a guess here, but sour cream, coconut milk and yoghurts feature pretty heavily in Indian cooking, I'm thinking this may well be the reason, so add a bit of one of these at a time.

[amber-eyed-girl]

I have used it to cook, a little in a pan, like a normal oil, but a drizzle with a plain olive oil...used it that way for steak, also for prawns.

Lemon chilli prawns are superquick and delicious.

I have also used chilli seeds toasted up in normal oil as it heats, then tossed in some vegies to give them flavour, you could use chilli oil there too.

If it is clear, as is.

If it has the chilli in it, without the solid bits, as that would be excessively strong...

[jean2579]

Many thanks to Crikey and other posters. You are all correct. I took the time to actually read the label this morning and is meant to be for drizzling over salad, asian food or seafood, It is made by a local company and has not been sold for very long. They have a few other great infusions too, lemon, basil and garlic. One poster suggested that I could make my own with herbs and I will Google that today.

Pity I didn't read the label first instead of using it almost like a bath. You are supposed to get smarter not dumber as you age.

[debra9275]

You sound like a good cook amber-eyed-girl-:)

Do you happen to work in hospitality?

[amber-eyed-girl]

No, but thanks 🙂

I just like seeing how flavours I like go with different things and I do cook a lot.

[debra9275]

Good for you! -:)

I used to like cooking but after 20 years of trying to think of something different to cook every night, I'm getting over it lol