If you have any spare oil oil and citrus lying around the house, consider using it to make this gorgeous, aromatic, lemon infused olive oil.
It all started with that picture.
That's how this blog post begins.
As you're aware I've shopped up big on lemons and limes.
The apartment is beginning to smell like a citrus orchard (not that that's a bad thing).
I was bored earlier today and thought it would be a good exercise to shoot some still life images of all this abundant citrus produce.
After that was done I was still faced with the dilemma of what to do with it all.
I thought about whipping up a healthy olive oil cake but I just wasn't in a baking mood-yet.
The only other abundant product that I ALWAYS have in the house is olive oil.
It's been with me “like forever”. LOL!
I am very lucky that I have it sent from Greece.
I get a shipment every few years and enjoy it quite a bit in many of the traditional Greek and modern Greek recipes I make.
I'd actually been thinking for quite a while now to make some sort of infused olive oil concoction as the commercial ones are very expensive and frankly not worth it.
In the end I decided to make a batch of lemon infused olive oil.
The process was quite simple actually. The oil needs to be gently simmered with a little lemon peel for about ten to fifteen minutes. Once it cools, strain it and seal your bottle, before storing it in a cool, dark place.
I’ll let you know how the flavours develop over time. It will definitely need a few weeks to do this.
Related: see my vegan lemon cookies for further inspiration.
📋 Recipe
Lemon infused Olive Oil Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup olive oil, extra virgin
- Peel from 1 or 2 lemons
Instructions
- Scrub your lemons quite thoroughly and peel avoiding any of the white pith.
- Place the lemon peel with the olive oil in a sauce pan and cook over a very low heat for 10-15 mins. (make sure the mixture does not boil. We want to the flavours to infuse nice and slowly)
- Remove from the heat and allow the olive oil to cool down completely. Once cooled, remove the peel and pour the flavoured oil in a bottle or jar.
- Store in a cool, dark place to allow the flavours to develop.
Nutrition
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Souvlaki For the Soul
Diana Anderson
I thought lemon infused olive oil would be wonderful in a olive oil cake. So I ordered some and it was very expensive! I followed your recipe and it is cooling on the stove at present. It tastes better than the high dollar lemon olive oil I bought! I am going to try the tahini cake next. Your recipes sound marvelous. You should write a book. I’d buy it!
Peter G
Thanks Diana I really appreciate your kind words. Glad you also liked the recipe.
Jean
Definitely i will do this, as i tasted it last week when we were in Greece. Thanks for the recipe.
Vern
I have made your lemon infused olive oil wow its delicious 😋
Chyrl
Question: I want to make lemon olive oil for gifts and have been searching for a recipe that would keep. How long can this be stored before use?
Peter G
The shelf life for olive oil isn't that long. I think a few months would be ok. Thanks