Store olive oil you've infused with herbs in tinted bottles for freshness.
Derived from olives, olive oil has many uses and health benefits. It has a shelf life of about two years if kept in a cool dry cabinet, basement or wine cellar. If you buy high-quality, extra-virgin olive oil in bulk to save money, store it in opaque or tinted glass bottles to keep it away from light, which deteriorates and begins to oxidize it. When you bottle your olive oil, you not only keep it fresher, but can also give the bottles away as gifts. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Instructions
1. Purchase your olive oil bottles, tops and other supplies from a supplier specializing in olive oil or wine. Select the shape, size and toppers for the bottles depending on your usage. If you plan to sell or gift any of your olive oil, check that the shape of the bottle will allow for your proprietary label or other decorative embellishment. Make sure the bottle stands upright and will fit on retail shelves if you want to sell your oil. Check with the supplier to make sure the glass bottles do not contain lead in their composition.
2. Wash the bottles in hot, soapy water and dry them thoroughly to remove any remaining moisture. If reusing old olive oil bottles, add a tablespoon of vinegar to each of the bottles, fill them half-way with hot water and a few drops of dish soap; shake the bottle. Rinse and repeat. Dry the bottle until no moisture remains.
3. Place a funnel over the mouth of the bottle and pour the olive oil into it from the larger container. Leave about an inch of space at the top. If filling bottles from a large oil drum, first decant the oil into a stainless steel fusti, a large, air-tight container with a spigot to fill olive oil bottles from. The fusti can also keep oil bought in large quantities fresh until you want to decant it. To fill the bottle from a fusti, place the bottle with the funnel under the spigot, open the spigot, and fill to within an inch of the bottle top.
4. Wipe the top of the bottle to remove any oil. Close the bottle with either the bar top, Ropp top, or screw top that came with your bottle. You cannot apply Ropp tops without using special equipment. You can apply screw tops, threaded tops made out of plastic, by hand. Bar tops have synthetic cork bottoms under a plastic cap and you can also apply these by hand for a more decorative look to your bottle.
5. Apply optional finishing touches to your bottle if giving as a gift or selling your oil. Wind a string of raffia around the top of the bottle and tie it off to provide a drip barrier. It's an eye-catching touch. Make your bottles tamper-proof by applying shrink wrap capsules to the top. You can apply these with a heat gun or shrink wrapper. Finish your bottle with a decorative label.
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