Hi all,
while surfing the net, I came across a place in the UK that sells smoked Olive oil. Sounded very intriguing and they are selling it at exuberant prices. Any one has any idea how that is done?
Well, as a guess, I think they might generate smoke and bubble it through the oil. A lot of what is produced in generating smoke is pretty lipophilic and hence would dissolve in the oil. Or, maybe just exposing a pan of oil with a large surface area to smoke would accomplish the smoking. I wouldn't use a good grade of oil however as the smoke would almost certainly overpower the nuances of a good oil.
This probably sounds a little weird and was possibly a bubble pop induced thing, but I was trying for a roasted garlic infused olive oil and something made me put some heavily smoked and seasoned Tasso fine chopped in it and into the fridge for about a week along with the smoked roasted garlic. The spices and smoke from the goodies do blend into the Olive Oil and add some great flavor.
Some time back I did a lot of searching into how to infuse oils and vinegars with smoke. I thought the best way to go was to place marble size stainless steel bearings into the smoker. The smoke will adhere to the metal, then you can place these bearing into your oils or vinegar to infuse them, of course removing them after a period of time. As I searched more (it's hard to find information on this), it appears for homemade the oils or vinegars are placed in a large pan, to create as much surface area as possible, then cold smoked; stirring occasionally.
I haven't gotten around to trying either method; but I'm still leaning towards using the bearings. If I every got around to using the other method; I would use a pan with low sides that would fit on the rack (if infusing vinegar use pyrex, glass or stainless steel pan), and cold smoke; stirring occassionally. Starting with 3 hours, and adjusting from there.