Homemade basil oil – Infuse: Oil, Spirit, Water book

I bought a gorgeous basil plant at my local farmers market over the weekend.

It’s big and beautiful, with leaves just begging to be picked and devoured. I keep walking by it to catch a whiff of the intoxicating scent.

I’m hoping it doesn’t die, or rather, that I don’t kill it. My thumbs are not green. At all.

So I wanted to use some of the basil leaves while they were alive fresh.

What to do with all those seductive leaves?

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I’ve been using fresh basil on my toast each morning, but I wanted to use a large portion of leaves at once. Should I make a vibrant pesto? Mince and freeze for future recipes?

Then I remembered. I was lucky enough to receive a copy of Infuse: Oil, Spirit, Water by Eric Prum and Josh Williams from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for an honest review.

So I grabbed Infuse from the bookshelf and turned to its modest section of flash-infused oils — like homemade basil oil. :)

The process is simple enough.

As Infuse explains, with only five tools, anyone can infuse a homemade oil, spirit or water into a delightful part of any meal.

The book itself is beautifully designed. There’s gorgeous high-quality photography throughout. The layout is fun and modern. The recipes are beginner-level and not over complicated.

The table of contents is simple and efficient:

• The Basics
• Oil
• Spirit
• Water
• Index

The book includes all the fundamentals of infusions — tools, mason jars, the mason tap (a Prum and Williams invention), base liquids, ingredients and time.

Then, Infuse explores different recipes for oil, spirits and water infusions — with classics like the basil or sage oil, a fresh Bloody Mary or Irish cream, and cold-brewed teas.

I adore that Prum and Williams thought to include tips for using certain infusions to add some zest to carry out meals and movie night popcorn. It’s little touches like that that make this book stand out to me.

That and making some tasty basil oil with minimal tools and ingredients.

I made use of what I’ve got.

I don’t own a muddle. Or any mason jars. Or the fancy mason jar tap. So I improvised.

I reused an empty but clean glass salsa jar with lid. And the handle of a wooden spoon to make my basil oil. Also, I didn’t have any cheesecloth on hand so I poured it through the finest mesh strainer I had, which made for a cloudier oil.

I had hoped for a stronger basil flavor in an oil made fresh like this, but the flavor just wasn’t there. With the proper tools, maybe I would have had a better result? I don’t know. I released some frustrations and mashed those leaves well. Ha!

Still, I enjoyed the oil, the book and the entire process. At the end of the day, that matters more to me than a perfect oil. :)

Here’s a video peek at the book:

Have you made homemade basil oil? What process did you use? What results did you get? Tell me in the comments or join the discussion on Facebook or Twitter.