Garlic olive oil is a popular flavor-infused oil used for dipping bread or as a topping for salads, vegetables, pasta, or meats. It can be made at home or purchased commercially, but should be used within 24 hours or stored in the refrigerator for several days to a week to prevent bacterial growth. Roasted garlic olive oil is a variation, and balsamic vinegar is often added when served as a dipping sauce. Garlic olive oil is associated with Mediterranean cuisine and has a long history dating back to ancient civilizations.
Garlic olive oil usually refers to an olive oil flavored or infused with garlic. Commercially produced garlicky olive oil is widely available for purchase or can be made at home. Like other flavored olive oil, garlic olive oil is commonly served as a dip for bread or crackers, or as a topping for salads, vegetables, pasta, or meats.
Commercially produced olive oil can be flavored with garlic by initially pressing the olives with garlic, or the oil can be infused with garlic through a hot infusion process in which the garlic is cooked in the olive oil. For the latter hot infusion process, the garlic is typically preserved with a vinegar or brine solution before being cooked with the oil. The preservation step prevents the water-containing garlic from developing bacterial growth. If stored improperly, garlic-infused olive oil can become contaminated with Clostridium botulinum, the microbe that causes botulism.
To make olive oil at home, a simple hot infusion is usually the safest and most common approach. The garlic cloves are minced or pressed and gently cooked on the hob with the olive oil. Usually, the garlic pieces are then strained out of the oil, although they can be left in the oil if it will be consumed immediately. Garlic olive oil should be used within 24 hours or stored in the refrigerator for several days to a week. After about a week, fresh garlic olive oil is susceptible to potentially dangerous levels of bacterial growth and should not be consumed.
Roasted garlic olive oil is a variation on the common recipe, and is made by roasting garlic cloves in the oven before cooking them in the olive oil. When olive oil is served, its flavor profile can be made more complex with the addition of vinegars or a spicy element such as pepper. When served as a dipping sauce, it is common to add a dollop of balsamic vinegar to garlicky olive oil.
Garlic olive oil is most commonly associated with Mediterranean cuisine. Indeed, the consumption of garlic and olive oil probably originated in the Mediterranean. The history of garlic and olive oil dates back to ancient civilizations that flourished in the Mediterranean basin as early as 2,500 BC and perhaps much earlier. Knowledge and cultural understanding of the health benefits of both olive oil and garlic have been passed down from those ancient civilizations, and scientific research has uncovered evidence of at least some of these benefits.
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