A main staple in my kitchen is garlic oil. To me, it’s as essential as salt and pepper. I use it in most of my dishes to add a nice leek-y taste to the low FODMAP foods I make. You can get this ingredient pre-made, but making garlic infused oil yourself is easy to do. All you need is a stove, pan, garlic and a vegetable oil like olive oil. Let’s get started!
Making low FODMAP garlic oil
Step 1. Pour a tablespoon of olive oil into a pan. Put it on the stove on the lowest heat.
Step 2. Peel two cloves of garlic. Slice in half and remove the green stem that’s inside.
Step 3. Put the garlic halves in the olive oil, cut side down. Keep the heat low and let the oil sit for 15 minutes. You don’t want to cook the garlic itself.
Step 4. After it’s done infusing, discard the garlic halves from the oil. Your garlic infused oil is now ready to use.
Note: This method also works with onions!
Storage
I usually only make enough garlic infused oil for the recipe I’m making that day. If that’s too much of a hassle for you, you can make extra. Pour the infused oil into a clean jar with an airtight lid and store it in the fridge for up to two days. Do not use your oil if it’s been in the fridge longer than two days, because you’ll risk botulism growth. Botulism is invisible and odourless but can be fatal. So do yourself a favor and don’t make too much oil, too far ahead.
Why garlic infused oil is low FODMAP
Eating garlic is a big no-no for many people on the low FODMAP diet because it’s extremely high in fructans. However, most of them can tolerate a garlic infused oil perfectly fine. That’s because fructans in garlic are water soluble. If you soak or boil a garlic clove, the fructans will leech into the water. As a result, the water is now likely no longer low FODMAP. However, the fructans are not oil soluble. That’s why you can infuse the oil with garlic without having the fructans leach into the oil. You only get the flavour out of the cloves, not the fructans.
Where to buy infused oil
Even if you know how to make your own garlic infused olive oil, I totally understand not being up for it. We already have to cook from scratch so much on the low FODMAP diet, so any shortcut is welcome. Though much to my surprise, my local supermarket didn’t carry any. (I swear I live in a civilized country.)
So where to go for garlic infused olive oil? If you’re having trouble finding a bottle as well, you have multiple sources online. One of my favourites is Oil & Vinegar, who have both physical stores and an online shop. Their garlic infused extra virgin olive oil may be more expensive, but the quality is great. You really get what you pay for in this case.
Another alternative is FODY, the specialty low FODMAP brand. They sell both shallot and garlic infused olive oil. Yum! I haven’t found Fody brand in stores anywhere, but they have an online shop as well.
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