Lemon Infused Olive Oil Recipe

• 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 5 oz. glass bottle
• citrus zester
• wire mesh strainer

Makes one 5oz. bottle of lemon-infused olive oil.

1. Using a vegetable peeler or paring knife, carefully strip one lemon of its zest. Try to keep each strip long and wide, and avoid getting any of the bitter white pith underneath. Stuff the zest strips into your bottle. Set aside.

2.  Zest your second lemon, and set aside. (It’s not as important to make the zesting pretty with this lemon. Just make sure you’re only getting the zest, and not the pith.)

3.  In a saucepan, heat olive oil until a few small bubbles start forming. If you have a candy-making thermometer, you can measure the temp of the oil and when it gets to 180 F add the lemon zest to the oil while it is heating.  (If your oil starts smoking, take it off the stove and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.)

4. When you see bubbles, turn off the heat and let it steep for about 30 minutes.

5.  You will want to use a small or medium-sized wire mesh strainer to pour the oil into the bottle (straining out the lemon zest.)  Carefully pour the lemon oil into your bottle over the uncooked strips of lemon zest.

I advise doing this in the sink or over a plate that can catch any oil that spills over by mistake.  This step can get messy if you aren’t careful.

6. Screw the top on the bottle and store in the refrigerator.  You will want to use your lemon-infused olive oil within 2 weeks of making it.

When you refrigerate your oil, it will start to solidify just a bit.  The picture above shows splotches of solid oil on the edge of the glass.  When I first saw it I thought it just went bad – but its actually solid oil and not bacteria!  Before using, you should put your bottle in a glass of hot water to be sure your oil is in its full liquid state.

Lemon infused olive oil is fantastic for cooking!  If you are pan-frying some fish, cook it in this lemon oil to give the fish a nice lemon flavor which is a great addition to fresh-squeezed lemon that you may use on your fish after it is cooked.

You can also use this as a base for homemade salad dressings.  Combine this with balsamic vinegar and you have a great salad dressing!

Or, if you have some fresh bread that you’d like to dip in infused olive oil with some herbs – the pour the oil in a bread dipping dish and sprinkle some bread dipping seasonings on the oil.

Rip off a bite of bread, dip it in the herbs and infused oil, and you will have an amazing flavor in your mouth that you just have to try!!!

Be sure to keep your infused oil in the refrigerator and use it or throw it out within 10-14 days.

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