Is garlic in oil safe to eat?

Answer 1

No. I recently made a vinaigrette dressing that had garlic in it. Basically, garlic, salt, pepper, balsamic vinaigrette and olive oil. While researching the health benefits of garlic to see how good it is for me, I stumbled across many many articles that tell the scary story of how garlic placed in olive oil creates the perfect environment for botulism to develop and thrive. I had kept the oil at room temperature for about 2 weeks and was using it on salad and as a topping of bread (thinking I was being healthy not using butter) before I found this out. I had been praying that I (and any others that have used my bottle) haven't gotten botulism from this and we're all past the normal time for symptoms to show up so, thank God, we are in the clear. Granted, I had used commercially bottled minced garlic in the recipe and I think the fact that it was packaged in phosphoric acid helped tremendously along with the addition of the balsamic vinaigrette and salt to the mix. However, I didn't use nor do I have any idea of the methods used to make garlic in oil safe and I consider myself and my family very blessed to have not fallen prey to that horrible toxin. I had created the perfect environment for botulism to grow (minus the phosphoric acid and vinaigrette).

So, bottom line is, don't do it. Apparently you can create the mixture and use it right away or refrigerate it for up to a week or two without the bacteria growing but botulism being what it is, I wouldn't risk it.

Botulism isn't just your normal tummy ache type food poisoning. It's a neurotoxin (the most toxic toxin known to man) which shuts down the nerve impluses sent from your brain to the rest of your body. Symptoms include blurred or double vision, inability to swallow, droopy eyelids, top down paralysis in your arms and legs, among others. There is an anti-toxin available and the Death Rate from botulism is much lower than it used to be. But this stuff can really mess you up and potentially kill you.

Other herbs, spices, veggies, etc. are also unsafe to put into oil because of their low-acidic nature and water content. It's not the oil that grows the bacteria, it's the water in the produce and lack of oxygen that allows it to grow.

to learn more about this, please research it until you're completely satisified with your knowledge of it. I'm SHOCKED at the number of recipes out there that simply state, "use right away" without any other warning of how dangerous this could be. There is hardly any informaiton accompanying vinaigrette and infusion recipies about the dangers of this deadly toxin. I think this information definitly needs to be more wide spread and should be REQUIRED to be included with every oil recipe out there. It only takes a sentence or two to warn the public of the dangers. Why not include it and be sure to save some lives. I didn't have a clue about this and I got the recipe straight out of the book. I just though, why not make more of it and keep it on hand so I don't have to keep making it. Simple enough. I had no idea (and why would I) that putting garlic in oil could kill me and my family.

Visit the OliveOilSource.com website for more informaiton on olive oil, infusion, recipes, health benefits and safety. I'm not associate with the site in any way, I just love this website for its information.

Be safe. I sincerely praise God and my savior Jesus for not allowing us to become poisoned by it and I hope and pray that this information becomes very common knowledge soon. Especially these days when everyone is so into making their own food and oil infusion is so popular.

It's not worth the garlic flavoring in the oil.

Answer 2

Yes it is. Either add a touch of salt or potassium sorbate and keep well refrigerated.