Essential oils are known primarily for their scent and for their application and beautifying effect on skin and hair. However, can they be consumed directly? Natural, organic oils can also be used to refine food and drinks. They are a great alternative to fresh herbs, which you don't always have in your kitchen in winter. Of course, they can also be frozen, but they sometimes lose their characteristic taste and aroma properties. Dried herbs, on the other hand, are rarely aromatic. Things look different with the variant in a liquid state. You can use essential oils wonderfully for cooking, baking and drinking because they taste just like the original.
Just a small drop is enough to experience new possibilities in the culinary arts. This gives the already familiar dishes and drinks a new lookmore intense tasteand pamper the palate. Even without tasting an essential oil, it has an effect on our senses. It has been scientifically proven that scents are real encouragement and awaken our bodies and minds. Cooking with essential oils takes on a new meaning and is now referred to as aromatic cuisine.
In the aroma kitchen you feel a pleasure both when cooking and later when eating the food. Every dish gets a special twist and is perceived in a new way. Essential oils open the senses and not only have a seductive effect. They are ideal forhealthy and vital nutritionand strengthen body and mind. Although aromatic cuisine is characterized by a lot of creativity and sensitivity, there are also some basic rules to follow. To help you get started, we'll give you a few tips and suggestions for tasty aromatic cuisine based on your own preferences.
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are used for skin and hair care, aromatic massages and soothing baths. They are also ideal for flavoring and refining dishes. However, these are not the same fragrance oils that you drip into the aroma lamp.With aromatic oilsIt is usually about a synthetically produced product that you are not allowed to eat. Only pure, natural essential oils are suitable for consumption and are best sourced organically. The golden rule applies here: quality rather than quantity. Even if you suffer from allergies, you have to take these special features into account. When preparing food and drinks for babies, small children and hypersensitive people, you should generally avoid intensive spices and therefore also avoid aromatic cuisine or seek advice from an aromatherapist.
In aromatic cooking, as well as for body care, the essential oils are not simply poured out of the bottle and applied or consumed directly. These are only used diluted. On the skin, direct application of pure essential oil may cause irritation, irritation, itching, etc. A dish is simply ruined in the kitchen. It becomes so strongly flavored that you can no longer enjoy it. In order to better understand the strength of an essential oil, you must be aware that just one drop of rose oil contains the aroma of 30 fragrant roses. So if you put a drop of rose oil in a glass of water, it tastes like 30 rose petals and that's just way too much.
The best way to dose essential oils for cooking or drinking is with a little trick or a toothpick. So you put a conventional toothpick in the bottle with the respective essential oil and then you wash it briefly in the glass or in the container with the dish. This gives the cocktail or dish a wonderfully delicate taste. For good results, you must strictly adhere to the dosage suggestions.
Pay attention to theQuality
As already mentioned, essential oils for seasoning and fragrance oils are not the same thing. Only natural essential oils of impeccable quality - organic oils - are suitable for flavoring and refining drinks and dishes. They come from controlled organic cultivation. Depending on the plant material, the essential oils are obtained by steam distillation for most spices or pressing for citrus fruits. Another method often used in production is high-pressure extraction. Different solvents such as hexane, alcohol and etc. are used. However, only natural carbon dioxide is used to produce organic oils. This method is considered ultra-modern and particularly gentle, so that the complete, natural extracts of the plants are preserved.
Although essential oils have better properties than dried spices, they cannot replace fresh herbs. That's why it's worth always having fresh herbs on hand and taking advantage of every opportunity to grow them yourself. There are now many variants for your own herb garden. If not in the garden, at least on the balcony or on the windowsill, there is certainly enough space in every home to grow a few pots of herbs.
Essential oils for cooking:use
Natural essential oils are highly concentrated essences and just a single drop contains all the flavoring power of a handful of spices. It is therefore important to only use small amounts of it when cooking or, best of all, to dilute the respective essential oil. Of course, it is not just diluted with water, otherwise the oil will float on the surface. It is recommended to emulsify an essential oil. High-quality cooking oils, natural salts, honey, sugar, cream, etc. are suitable for this. In this way, you can produce an oil mixture yourself that can be dosed more easily later when preparing food and drinks.
Correctstore
In order to be able to enjoy the quality and taste properties of the essential oils or home-made seasoning oils for a long time, they must be stored away from light and heat. It is best to keep them sealed in dark jars and stored in a cool, dark place. They cannot tolerate large temperature fluctuations and in summer they should be kept in the refrigerator. If an oil or oil mixture smells sour or rancid, it is spoiled and must be discarded immediately.
Which species?suitableyourself to cook?
Aromatic cooking uses oils from plants and fruits that are otherwise used in cooking and baking, such as: peppermint, vanilla, lemon, orange, chamomile, thyme, bay leaf, lemongrass, rosemary, etc. Essential oils are not cooked directly , but first diluted with an emulsifier. Then you add it dropwise or spoonful to the dish and then taste again and again.
Correctdose
Essential oils for cooking are best used diluted. A high-quality, neutral base oil such as olive, sunflower, hazelnut, almond, sesame, argan, linseed, rapeseed oil and etc. is suitable for this. To make your own seasoning oil, 5-15 drops of pure oil are sufficient per 50 ml of oil essential oil of your choice. You can generally add a little more citrus oil and mix up to 20 drops with 50 ml of base oil. With intensive oils such as clove, cumin or cinnamon you have to be more economical and use around 1-2 drops. Of course, everything is a matter of taste and you should test it first to see what tastes good and what doesn't. Here we present a few delicious and tried and tested recipes for oil mixtures and seasoning salts.
Oil Blend Recipes
AromaticLemon oil(can be used in many different ways, but especially for salad dressings and baking):
- 50 ml cold-pressed olive oil
- 20 drops lemon oil (can be replaced with orange oil if desired)
ItalianSeasoning oil (suitable for Mediterranean dishes and salad dressings):
- 50 ml high-quality base oil (cold-pressed olive oil)
- 3 drops of basil oil
- 3 drops rosemary oil
- 3 drops of oregano or marjoram oil
- 5 drops of lemon oil
Spanishseasoning oil
- 50 ml olive oil
- 1 drop of oregano oil
- 2 drops rosemary oil
- 2 drops of tangerine oil
Asian oil
- 50 ml sesame oil
- 2 Lemon juice
- 1 drop of ginger oil
- 1 drop of cardamom oil
Lemon soy sauce (goes well with fish, meat, vegetables and tofu):
- 100 ml soy sauce
- 5 drops of lemongrass oil
- Drops of lemon oil
Flavored honey (goes well with tea, milk, water, cocktails, muesli, desserts, etc.):
- 50 g honey (acacia)
- 1 drop of bergamot oil
- 1 drop of cinnamon oil
- 2 drops of tangerine oil
- 3 drops vanilla extract
- 5 drops of orange oil
Cocoa oil (suitable for baking, desserts and ice cream):
- 40 ml sweet almond oil
- 16 drops of cocoa extract
Vanilla oil (suitable for baking, desserts, milk and ice cream):
- 40 ml sweet almond oil
- 16 drops vanilla extract
Lavender spice oil
- 50 ml mild base oil (rapeseed oil)
- 3 drops of lavender oil
Essential oilsandtheir effect
Grapefruit: stimulating and harmonizing
Rosemary: stimulates circulation and appetite
Basil: relaxes, cheers you up and promotes wholesomeness
Rose: harmonizing
Sage: calms and makes food more digestible (must be used in low doses)
Tarragon: relaxes and promotes wholesomeness
Ginger: stimulates the appetite and promotes digestibility
Mandarin: refreshing, stimulating and mood-enhancing
Essential oils forCook:Tasty and healthy
Although cooking with essential oils may sound unusual at first, it's always worth trying something new in the kitchen. If just not enoughfresh herbsare available or you need a tasty oil mixture for salad dressings, you can do it yourself and mix a seasoning oil or seasoning salt. Herbs, seeds and spices give the prepared dishes and drinks a tasty aroma. The art of creating a unique experience lies in the right combination of all these aromatic substances.
Essential oils are not only used for cooking and refining drinks and dishes. The focus used to be, but still is today, health. The cleansing and antispasmodic effects of herbs such as rosemary, peppermint and the like were already known in ancient times. By properly selecting and using pure essential oils in the kitchen, you can benefit from the healthy effects of herbs and spices.We hope you have fun and success trying it out!
