[Cheese] Preserving cheese in herb oils

[JOHN MURREN]

Linda Conroy <rosemarygoddess at moonwiseherbs.com> wrote:    > Greetings. As for the Chevre in oil, olive oil will keep the longest so is a really good choice. Seed oils go rancid more quickly than fruit oils ie olive, avacoda, coconut etc. And an herbal oil you make yourself would be fabulous. I like to add fresh herbs to the jar that I put the cheese in. I put the herb in the jar before I add the cheese, I then add the cheese and then the oil. I predominantly use olive oil. The nicer the oil, the better the flavor. 
happy cheese making
Linda


A note of caution - be careful about your preserving techniques when using herbs in the oil.  I lost a bushel of beautiful roasted/dried tomatoes this past season by following a recipe off the web that called for emersing the dried tomatoes in basil olive oil, and storing them at room temp.  Within a few days, they all began to spoil.  Refrigeration is needed, and that means the oil turns solid.  It's fine, it just doesn't look as nice!  Only later did I read that although the old timers often preserved by covering with oil and storing at a "cool" cellar temp, it's not recognized as a safe thing to do today, especially when adding herbs, which add the likelyhood of botulism or other nasties.
   
  John

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