Cooking with essential oils.

yummy!

Cooking with essential oils

The majority of people are familiar with the use of essential oils in the bath, in massage or in a diffuser, but few know that it is also possible to use essential oils in cooking. Nevertheless, essential oils are widely used in the food industry for their flavouring qualities. Chewing gum, sweets and fizzy drinks are three examples.

There is no doubt that fans of exotic cuisine and all those searching for new tastes will be seduced by this original idea: because to cook with essential oils is to open up a world of unexpected flavours and aromas.
And, beyond the excitement of your taste buds, cooking with essential oils will enable you to take full benefit from the digestive properties of these quintessences.

Toxicity

Some are no doubt concerned about the risks of ingesting essential oils. They are right to be cautious and the novice can only be advised to reread the warnings before using them. Nonetheless, the essential oils chosen for the following recipes, and above all their weak concentration, exclude any risk of toxic effect.
Moreover, by cooking with essential oils, it should always be borne in mind that extremely concentrated extracts are being used. A single drop of essential oil is the equivalent of up to 10 grams of fresh basil. So of course one drop too much and your meal becomes inedible!!

The importance should be stressed of cooking with chemotype essential oils which are 100% pure and natural, and only those which are fit to be ingested.

Some basic principles

Whatever the dish you are preparing, it is important always to blend the essential oils with a fat base (crème fraîche, vegetable oil, honey, egg yolk and so on) or alcohol before incorporating them into the entire mix, so that they are distributed consistently.

In hot preparations, you should be sure to add the essential oils at the end of cooking, ideally just before serving. Otherwise, the essential oil, which is volatile by nature, will evaporate completely. On the other hand, if you add too much essential oil then let your dish simmer a little longer in order to lessen the taste.

Done quickly, done well

You would like to enliven the dishes you serve without embarking on complicated recipes? Here are some tips to enhance your everyday meals in no time at all.

Flavour 50 ml of olive oil with 5 drops of essential oil of basil. You will obtain a slightly fragrant oil ideal for pasta, to season a mozzarella and tomato salad or even to enhance your sandwich.

For a scented coffee, add a drop (no more!) of essential oil of cinnamon to your coffee filter.

A drop of tarragon will lift your béarnaise sauce, whilst 2 drops of essence of mandarin will add flavour to your chocolate mousse.

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