Flavored Cooking Oil is easier than it sounds

FLAVORED oils are precious summer ingredients, at home over salads, grilled vegetables, meat, fish or almost anything else for that matter. They’re also among the simplest exotic kitchen creations possible.

You can pay $15 or even $30 for a half-liter bottle of flavored oil, or you can pay for oil plus herbs plus bottle, more probable to be around $10 a liter, and wind up with something considerably better.

Start with polite extra virgin olive oil (other cold-pressed oils can be interesting, but olive oil is the default) and any herbs or aromatics that you like.

Garlic or ginger oil, for example, creates super last-minute additions to non-sautéed dishes, like mashed potatoes or steamed vegetables. Rosemary oil is incredible brushed on grilled lamb, chicken or full-flavored fish. Two flavors can work together if they’re complimentary: think rosemary-thyme, ginger-garlic, or bay leaf-peppercorn.