Raw Oil and Herb Infusions - with garlic?

[Tirza]

I have a bottle of flavored oil that has gotten very low, so I decided to top it up with some olive oil and then to add a few peppercorns and garlic to liven it up again in case the herbs in there were too tired. I thought I had heard you could do that somewhere.
I went online and searched for oil infusion recipes to give me an idea of what else I could put in it and perhaps to start a new one from scratch. Imagine my horror to find that there is a big ban out on garlic-in-oil infusions because of botulism !!!! :eek: ???? They say it needs to contain some acidifying agent like citric acid, lemon juice or vinegar to ensure that the spores will not cause harm. Okay, so I'm putting in some right now, but I am no scared of it. Should I be?
Does anyone have experience with making these infusions? What is your advice?

[rawpriestess]

I NEVER use flavored oils because they just aren't raw.

I personally don't use alot of oils in anything anymore.

even in salad dressing, I just use a little lemon juice, and some herbs, I used to try to make all kinds of fancy shmancy dressings, and I never found one that I liked, I mean they were okay, and Rawkinlocs has a good Rawnch dressing that I liked, but I'm just not that much into salads to go to all the trouble of making a dressing for them. LOl

I like to eat fruits, mostly and some pate's but that's about it.

so instead of making the infused oils, why not just toss the oil and the seasonings together just before using in a very small amount, and try that?

that way no botulism. of course, I've never heard of this botulism thingy being in oils, but that's just me, I don't read the paper, or watch TV, so I know nothing of this stuff, but then, I'm not bothered by it either.

[exurb]

totally agree with rawpriestess. The food safety issue with that is very serious. The best way is to really make those before you use them.

The only exception to that I do is freezing ice cubes of pesto, with olive oil, basil and garlic in the deep freezer, when the basil is in season, I haven't died from that. I have never had the time but also hear that other pestos from other herbs can be quite handy and delicious too, like cilantro for instance.

[sport]

I have been doing it for years. Long before I went raw.
I add garlic, chopped chilly peppers and chopped sun dried tomatoes to a jar full of oil and use it as a dressing (as a dipping oil in the old days). It could be sitting in the cupboard for weeks or even longer or sometimes it would be gone after a few days.
I have never had a problem but that does not mean that I never will so maybe I will just make less and use it in a shorter time (but I am not going to stop doing it as it is my fave dressing).