How to make a Garlic oil?

[Gustavo Duarte]

I would like to make garlic oil or similar product to put in fish food. How can I make it?

[gobies]

Don't use garlic oil...the fish food doesn't absorb it all that well, and it'll play merry heck with your skimmer if you have one. Use McCormick's garlick juice from the grocery store. A 2oz bottle should run about $4-$5, compared to the $8-$9 that Kent charges for a 1oz bottle of the same stuff.

[Brianc_4]

I agrre that garlic oil may cause you some problems, but if you would like to make it for human consumption , just pour some olive oil over a few cups of garlic cloves(whole), throw it in the oven at 350 for about 45min to an hour, strain out the garlic and voila, garlic oil. For aquatic purposes, top off water and garlic cloves in a blender, blast the hell out of it, strain through a cheese cloth and let it set aside for a few hours to let any sediment settle to the bottom, skim off the liquid on top and you have garlic extract.

 

Brianc_4

[Gustavo Duarte]

Tanks a lot!

 

Perfect Brianc_4, j'ai compris très bien. je vais faire l'ail elixir bientôt!

 

I've got one black tang with Ich, I must solve this problem soon.

[ladyamanda]

Making your own garlic oil is no longer considered "safe" as there were several cases of botulism from homemade garlic oil a few years ago. Commercial oil is safe, as the oil is "acidified"..

 

If you're going to do this, soak garlic cloves in oil in the fridge, but overall the USDA does not recommend it be made at home for human use.

 

I realize it may be a 1 in a million chance, but do you want to be the one?

[Brianc_4]

Although there is an extremely slight chance of botulism occuring in an oil base with fresh uncooked garlic, it is easily controlled with a little understanding. Botulism is caused by a build up of the toxins produced by the spore Clostridium Botulinum. C Botulinum is an anoerobic pathogen, which is why there is a chance for it to flourish in oil.

As with all food bourne pathogens, time and temperature are the key. If Grandma Spaghetti throws some dirty cloves of garlic in a vat of oil and feeds off of it for the next year, I might be a little leary of tasting some of her old country cuisine. However, if you roast the garlic in the oil to infuse the flavor, the temperature of the oil will have killed the C Botulinum thereby making it impossible to produce any more toxins. If the oil is then refrigerated you are taking another step of precaution because the cold temperature would retard any growth. If you use it within a week or so, you are still taking another precautionary step by not allowing the time needed to produce the required amount of toxins. This method of making, storing, and using garlic oil is used by the vast majority of the restaurants and hotels in the US, and is approved by the board of health.

As far as use of extract for aquatic purposes, the method I suggested is to use it in water, which is not truly anoerobic, which makes the botulism point mute. This extract can also be frozen in an ice tray for future use(botulism can not grow in the freezer).

As far as safety of commercially produced products, the last two cases of botulism WERE from commercially produced products one in Vancouver and one in New York. Commercially produced products with acid are safer than those without, but you don't want to add acid to your reef, and the above methods ARE safe.

If you want to worry about food bourne illness, worry about the ones that the press don't sensationalize. Botulism and E coli are good TV, because they can cause death in extreme cases. However they are extremely uncommon. But have you ever heard of Listeriosis or Clostridium perfingens, probably not. Even though there is a good chance you have had one of them. They are commonly mistaken for the "24 hour flu". But, as it turns out there is no strain of Flu that only takes 24 hours. So, instead of worrying about botulism and a one in a billion chance, maybe you should worry whether that kid behind the counter at McDonalds washed his hands before he made your Big Mac.

As far as the FDA goes, they would rather put blanket statements on the side of safety than to explain a lot of details. Its easier for them and safer for them legally. But if you want to follow the guidelines to the letter, then kiss sushi goodbye, as well as oysters and clams. And enjoy your beyond well done steak and your eggs over hard.

So don't buy into the sensationalism of the media, instead get yourself informed, and enjoy your garlic products and share them with your fish.

 

Brianc_4:x :x