You probably make an infusion every day. Infusing means to steep an ingredient in a liquid until the flavor of the ingredient has been extracted and infused into the liquid. To infuse something in cooking usually involves a solid, aromatic ingredient, and a liquid, such as water, milk, or even oil.
Infusing means to steep an ingredient in a hot or acidic liquid until the flavor of the ingredient has been extracted and infused into the liquid.
When you make a cup of tea, you are infusing the tea.
So, teas are infusions. A cup of coffee is also an infusion. You can also infuse liquors such as vodka to make your own liqueurs. Some examples of infusion ingredients are vanilla, cinnamon, and various aromatic herbs.
Using broths, marinades, brines, etc. to impart flavor to foods is also infusing. Pressure cookers are sometimes used for infusion cooking, as the pressure allows the liquids, and thus the flavors infused into them, to penetrate the foods. This can add more flavor to meats, poultry, fruits, rice and other grains.
Oils are used to create infusions as well, resulting in a flavored oil that can be used in cooking in place of plain oil. Garlic, chiles, truffles, and various herbs and spices are infused in oil for this purpose. If you’d like to know how to infuse your own olive oil, see instructions for infusing olive oil at OliveSource.com. Or, watch the video on garlic infused olive oil below.
When making garlic-infused olive oil, or other flavored oils, be aware of the very real risk of botulism poisoning.
