Scents & Sensibility Newsletter - Volume
II - Issue 10 - March 11, 2001
Cooking With Essential Oils
School will soon be out regardless of the sun but I have been assured by long time Oregonians that
summer will arrive. My own garden is beginning its season debut and the herbs and mints I scattered around
the yard last year have taken hold and are presenting me with richly scented leaves just right for summer
barbecues and healthful refreshing drinks. Cooking with essential oils and herbs need not be a summer only
activity but it is a wonderful place to start.
Dividing essential oils for cooking use into
four categories, herbal, spice, citrus and
floral, it becomes more obvious where they
can be used in your daily meal preparation.
Soups and casseroles will benefit from a
drop or two of sage oil just as they would
from the dried herb, though it is important
to use the oils sparingly as they are far
more concentrated and can quickly take over
the taste of a dish. Last year an acquaintance
was making ginger snaps which called for ground clove,
we substituted some clove oil cut the measurement in
half and still had overpowered the cookies! (They were,
however, still useful in deterring toothache pain.) Bearing this in mind,
the highly concentrated nature of essential
oils also makes them economical to cook with.
It requires approximately 20 drops of oil
to equal 1 gram and there are 28 grams per
ounce or 560 drops. Your bottle of lemon
essential oil will add zest to a lot of meals
before running out.
More Than A Flavour Enhancer
The superior flavour of essential oils is
only part of the story. Essential oils will
aid in the digestion of foods, including
meats and their antimicrobial, antibacterial
and antiseptic properties will provide more
to your well being than any synthetic flavourants. Cinnamon bark oil added to a cup of hot tea will not only
spice up the tea but assist in healing from
the flu or other viral infection. A geranium soufflé not only tastes delicious
but can lift your mood. Dill and fennel in
your soup can ease indigestion and constipation.
Rose essential oil has been broken down into hundreds of constituents
and operates at the highest frequency of
all the essential oils at 320Mhz making this
special oil especially attractive as a food
ingredient and adds an exotic Moroccan flavor. (For more on roses read - January 27, 2001 - Scents of Amour - Rose)
Special Meals
Victorian England loved to cook with roses,
indeed many cultures cook with roses regularly.
Rose jelly on water crackers is divine and
rose flavoured wine coolers add a special
touch to any table. Try rose as an accompaniment
to lamb or pork if you eat meat by blending
a couple drops with thyme and marjoram in
an olive oil base and spreading over the
meat before eating or make a rose flavoured
chutney! Delicious.
A simple recipe for a rose wine cooler is
to mix a bottle of rosé wine, 2 to
4 cups of rose petals (free of any sprays,
please), 1/4 cup vodka, 1 quart of mineral
water (carbonated) and 1 cup of fresh raspberries
puréed with ground ice. Mix all together
in a bowl adding the vodka and raspberry
mixture last, add 2 or 3 drops rose oil to
taste and voila as eye appealing as it is
delicious.
The more you experiment with essential oils in foods, the more you will appreciate the amazing flavors you can
achieve. Sorbets, lemon and dill flavored mayonnaise, rose and herb flavored butters and citrusy marinades,
lavender jelly, baked breads and flavored cooking oils, vinegars and of course, the party punches and holiday
grogs you can create. Don't be afraid to crush fresh picked herbs from your garden into your omelet or lemonade
or drop whole sprigs of rosemary, nasturtium petals and pansies in a water jug and let it chill in the refrigerator
for thirsty pick me ups. If you have children involve them in the picking and choosing and of course never use
anything sprayed with chemicals in your cooking and wash everything before using.