Foodie Eshé
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • American
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • British
    • Cafés & Coffee Shops
    • Drinks
    • French
    • Fine Dining
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Fusion Food
    • Greek
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Mexican
    • Pop-Ups & Supperclubs
    • Pub Food
    • Takeaway & Fast Food
    • Thai
    • Vegetarian & Vegan
  • News
    • Wriggle calls for a lunch box revolution

      Win £200 (and more prizes) when you vote…

      Honest Burgers is coming to Brighton in 2019

      OctoberBEST returns for a third year!

      Real Pâtisserie, Bread Baking Classes

  • Guides
    • 6 Ways To Spoil The Foodie In Your…

      5 Must-Try Gourmet Takeaways In Brighton

      7 Restaurants In Brighton To Dine At This…

      Which Pubs In Brighton Sell Mulled Wine (And…

      10 Of The Best Independent Coffee Shops In…

  • Recipes
    • Blueberry Buttermilk Scones & Jam

      Steak With Homemade Salsa Verde

      Wasabi Beef Burgers

      Chocolate Mini Egg Cake

      Christmas Sauerkraut with Lakeland

  • Products
    • M&S New Year’s Eve Party Food

      The Kari Club – Indian Recipe Box

      Baileys Chocolat Luxe + Giveaway!

      Lakeland & Mary Berry Bakeware

      Spoiltpig ‘Raised Without Antibiotics’ Bacon

  • Travel
    • A Taste Of Jura (Home To Comté)

      A Taste Of Panama

      Iceland Road Trip Travel Diary

      A Taste Of Tuscany

      A Taste of San Sebastían

  • About
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • American
    • Breakfast & Brunch
    • British
    • Cafés & Coffee Shops
    • Drinks
    • French
    • Fine Dining
    • Fish & Seafood
    • Fusion Food
    • Greek
    • Indian
    • Italian
    • Japanese
    • Mexican
    • Pop-Ups & Supperclubs
    • Pub Food
    • Takeaway & Fast Food
    • Thai
    • Vegetarian & Vegan
  • News
    • Wriggle calls for a lunch box revolution

      Win £200 (and more prizes) when you vote…

      Honest Burgers is coming to Brighton in 2019

      OctoberBEST returns for a third year!

      Real Pâtisserie, Bread Baking Classes

  • Guides
    • 6 Ways To Spoil The Foodie In Your…

      5 Must-Try Gourmet Takeaways In Brighton

      7 Restaurants In Brighton To Dine At This…

      Which Pubs In Brighton Sell Mulled Wine (And…

      10 Of The Best Independent Coffee Shops In…

  • Recipes
    • Blueberry Buttermilk Scones & Jam

      Steak With Homemade Salsa Verde

      Wasabi Beef Burgers

      Chocolate Mini Egg Cake

      Christmas Sauerkraut with Lakeland

  • Products
    • M&S New Year’s Eve Party Food

      The Kari Club – Indian Recipe Box

      Baileys Chocolat Luxe + Giveaway!

      Lakeland & Mary Berry Bakeware

      Spoiltpig ‘Raised Without Antibiotics’ Bacon

  • Travel
    • A Taste Of Jura (Home To Comté)

      A Taste Of Panama

      Iceland Road Trip Travel Diary

      A Taste Of Tuscany

      A Taste of San Sebastían

  • About

Foodie Eshé

Tales of a lady in love with food

Recipes

Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil

by Eshé Brown December 19, 2017
written by Eshé Brown December 19, 2017
Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil - Hairy Bikers Foodie Gifts

Rosemary & redcurrant infused olive oil

Beautiful, flavoured oils for the foodie in your life

In episode 3 of The Hairy Bikers – Home for Christmas I walked you through how I make my festive rosemary & redcurrant oil. I chose redcurrants because of their bright festive colour but it all honesty they are more for decoration than flavour. Redcurrants can be hard to come by now (they are in season in the UK, July through to early September) so if you need to you can use dried cranberries instead (in season October through to December).

rinse the redcurrants
wash the rosemary
dry in the oven
Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil
Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil
Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil
dried redcurrants
Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil
rosemary and redcurrant oil

The basic recipe can be adapted very easily. For instance, try swapping the redcurrants for citrus peel and rosemary for thyme – just think about the flavours you enjoy on salads and meats and get creative!

Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil
Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil

The key thing to remember is the peel, berries and herbs all need to be thoroughly dried out before adding them to a sterilised bottle. Chillies and garlic are also really tasty to add to oils but if you use fresh garlic you’ll need to keep your oil in the fridge to prevent it going off.

In terms of the presentation, I recycled bottles I already had at home for this recipe but it’s nice to pick up ones that are unusual shapes or sizes to give your gift a unique look. These faceted glass bottles from Lakeland (£4.49) are ideal for the job and come with an airtight lid.

If you missed the show you can watch the recipe again here on my YouTube channel:

I’ve also included the full recipe plus a few little tips for foraging and drying herbs below:

Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil - Hairy Bikers Foodie Gifts

Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil

Foodie Eshé This festive rosemary & redcurrant oil recipe (as seen on The Hairy Bikers) will make a beautiful homemade gift for the foodie in your life. Recipes Festive Food Gifts: Rosemary & Redcurrant Oil European Print This
Serves: 1 bottle Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 8 hours 8 hours
Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat
Rating: 5.0/5
( 1 voted )

Ingredients

  • 5 sprigs of rosemary per bottle
  • 1 punnet of redcurrants
  • Olive oil
  • Edible glitter (optional)

Instructions

Drying process for redcurrants

  1. Preheat the oven to its lowest temperature (around 50ºC)
  2. Wash the redcurrants in a colander and tip out onto a clean tea towel. Using paper kitchen towels, gentle pat the fruit dry.
  3. Line a large baking tray with baking paper and gathering the tea towel at both ends pour the fruit carefully onto the baking tray.
  4. Then place the tray of redcurrants in the oven (turn the fan on if possible and dry for 8 hours (or until fully dried out). It’s vital that you dry the berries out properly as not doing so can cause bacteria and create cloudy coloured oil.

Drying process for rosemary

  1. With scissors, snip sprigs off of the rosemary plant.
  2. Wash the sprigs and pat dry with a paper towel.
  3. Tie the sprigs in a bunch and hung somewhere dark and dry for approximately two weeks (or until fully dry).

Making the oils

  1. Sterilise the bottles by washing in hot soapy water, but do not dry them with a tea towel. Instead, stand them clean roasting tray whilst wet and put them into a preheated oven at 160–180ºC for about 15 mins.
  2. By hand, slide the rosemary sprigs into your bottle.
  3. Then add the dried redcurrants into the bottle.
  4. Using a funnel then pour in enough olive oil to fill the bottle and seal the bottle with the lid/cork and leave in a cool, dry place.
  5. Add a sprinkling of edible glitter if you want to make it extra special then, once the bottle is firmly sealed, shake well and then store for at least two weeks in a cool, dark place. Test the flavour and store for longer if desired.

 

Notes

1. Even if you don’t have a garden yourself Rosemary bushes are easy to find and when they are happy, they grow like wild fire. Just keep your eyes peeled and if you spot one in a neighbour’s garden, ask permission to take a few cuttings.

2. The best time to take cuttings is in the morning, after the sun has dried off all the morning dew.

3. If you are drying your herbs somewhere where there’s lots of light, cover with a brown paper bag to prevent colour bleaching. Punch a few holes into the paper to ensure ventilation.

4. Redcurrants are in season from in June through to early September so it’s worth picking them early and drying them in advance of Christmas.

Homemade foodie gifts hairy bikers

Photo by Eshé Brown

Christmas Food GiftsThe Hairy Bikers
1 comment
0
FacebookTwitterPinterest

You may also like

Blueberry Buttermilk Scones & Jam

September 24, 2018

Steak With Homemade Salsa Verde

July 17, 2018

Wasabi Beef Burgers

June 28, 2018

Chocolate Mini Egg Cake

March 21, 2018

1 comment

Kelly Mahan January 2, 2018 - 10:51 AM

What a wonderful idea for a DIY gift! Thank you so much for sharing the details with us.

Reply

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

About Me

About Me

Hello, I'm Eshé - a food-obsessed blogger from Brighton and in 2017 I was featured on The Hairy Bikers on BBC One. Every day of my life revolves around finding or making good food, and if you follow me, you'll soon see I make it my mission to seek out all the best places to eat.

Follow me on Instagram

  • So yesterday I went to @pattyandbun a burger chain restaurant on Ship Street. I went because I was planning a guide to Brighton's Best Burgers and I wanted to compare all the venues in the city, not just the independents. But after seeing the state of Duke Street & Ship Street yesterday I realised that it's not enough to just focus on independents on the blog. I have to put my money where my mouth is and commit to only covering independents. It's something I've wanted to do for a while but with people's interest always high for the new additions I didn't. But I've realised I feel uncomfortable covering these places and I have to be true to myself - otherwise this will no longer be fun and more importantly the places that make this city amazing will disappear. This is not to say I judge anyone else for going to them and there are brilliant chains collaborating with local businesses, just like these guys working with @brightsausco and the upcoming Honest Burger (which collaborates with local businesses too). But I'll leave that to the other bloggers in the city to update you. So thank you very much for inviting me down @pattyandbun your new vegan milkshake was delicious and although they are pricey the burgers are really tasty too. From now on Foodie Eshé will cover independents only. Small local chains like @theflourpotbakerybrighton and @smallbatchcr will make the cuts still. 🖐🏾 That's all from me... Checkout the great thread over @eatnaked_uk for more discussion on this topic ♥️
  • I can't move after this epic roast and plum sponge pudding @the_swan_inn in Lewes today 🐽 Was really good to get out of the city for the day but I definitely needed a second walk to let my food go down! Now what should I have for dinner? 😂
  • Two of the beautiful starters @gingerdogbtn yesterday. The first - roast quail with burnt pear and pomegranate seeds, on a bed of chicory leaves. The second from the specials boards - beef cheek croquettes with garlic purée, pickled onion and chimmi churri. This place brings pub grub to a whole another level. Stunning stuff - get it on your list of must gos. #invited
  • We made it to Friday folks - yaass! 🥂 I have a big weekend of eating ahead of me so naturally I am starting as I mean to go on with an epic burger @bisonbeer 😋 I'll be dining @hixongreen tonight, followed by @gingerdogbtn tomorrow and a pub lunch in Lewes on Sunday. I don't know Lewes that well so please leave suggestions below of where to go for a great roast 👇🏽 Reviews to follow on the blog and Insta Stories (for those of you that can't wait) 😉
  • A girl at work told me she has a phobia of tuperware today. She was deadly serious too. Guess what I told her she needed then... Yes, you guessed it – a lovely new bamboo Wriggle lunchbox! All the details now up on the blog and (link in bio) #gifted #plasticfree  #BYOlunchbox @wrigglebrighton
  • Join the lunchbox revolution with me and @wrigglebrighton! ♻️💪🏽💚
---
🌊🐟Cut single-use waste, keep plastic out the ocean and help small businesses like @hellskitchendeli cut its costs by bringing your own lunchbox to eateries across #Brighton. #BYOlunchbox #ad
----
✔️💚 Places like @smorls @brightonopenmarket will happily fill up your lunchbox and give you a discount if you do.
----
📱 👛 Download the Wriggle app to discover what local lunch offers are near you & use my discount code: QLQUUH to get £5 off your first order via the app!
----
P.S. Like my lunchbox? Pick one up for just £5 from @hisbe_food @filfilbrighton @curry_leaf_cafe @timeforkimchi @cafetrafe @socialboardbrighton @lostinthelanes @smorls @thebokshop or @harrietsofhove
----
But get a wriggle on... as 50% of the stock has already gone!
  • Picking Brighton's Best Restaurant in the BRAVOs 🏆 is a tricky one for me because I have lots of favourites for all different reasons, but this year @cincinuk 🇮🇹 gets my vote. The reason... Well firstly, great Italian food is hard to come by in Brighton and Cin Cin consistently nails it. 🔨 Secondly, the service is always top notch. 🍽️ Thirdly the £10 Tuesdays offer (handmade pasta + wine/beer for a tenner) 🍝🍷is a total bargain. There may be restaurants that make fancier food but for me when I dine at Cin Cin it feels like visiting an old friend (that happens to feed me incredibly well). I haven't eaten a better arancini yet in Brighton either 🙌🏾 Who will you vote for? #sponsored by @brightonrestaurantawards
  • I can almost remember what the sun feels like on my skin... But the memory is fading! So here's a snap of a day when my bones weren't so cold to keep me motivated with saving for a holiday. It's Friday soon and I'll be so very tempted to order a Deliveroo Chillie Pickle but I'm not doing it. Short-term pain for long term gain 💪🏽 #getmetothebeach
  • Went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 4am 😴. So much for that weekend lie-in... oh well I’m up now so time to think about breakfast. 🍴 What I want is this bad-boy @cafecoho but I’m trying to save up for a holiday so I’m going to be good and stick to cereal 🥣 If you’re not saving up, I recommend going here this morning. They have my favourite coffee @unionroasted and the portions are HUGE – as you can see!

Looking for something else?

Blog Archive

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Top 100 Restaurant Blog

Brighton Reviews

About

Foodie Eshé is a Brighton food blog and insider’s guide to where to eat across Brighton & Hove, with a focus on independent restaurants. On my blog you’ll find honest reviews of restaurants, cafes, supper clubs, takeaways and pop-up restaurants in Sussex and further afield when I travel. As well as all the latest news on the new openings.

Promotion Image

West Sussex Reviews

Subscribe

Pop your email in the box below and be the first to read my restaurant reviews, news posts and food guides.

Join 207 other subscribers.

London Reviews

Copyright

All rights to the content on Foodie Eshé are reserved. You may not copy or reproduce any of its material, without my written permission.
The photographs on the blog are taken by me, unless otherwise stated and are subject to copyright. If you'd like to use imagery for personal or professional use, please contact me before doing so for licensing.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Email
  • Terms & Privacy

© 2014 - 2019 FOODIE ESHE

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More