Homemade Chili Oil: Pepper Oil with Olive Oil

A simple chili oil with olive oil and chilis, like the peperoncino oil known in Italy. With habaneros it turns fruity, and it is nothing for wimps or chili refusers.

Important first: safety with oil and chilis

Fresh ingredients (chilis, garlic, herbs) in oil offer bacteria an oxygen-poor environment. Clostridium botulinum can multiply there and may cause botulism. Heating does not reliably kill the spores. Therefore:

• Use dried chilis whenever possible. With fresh chilis, only make small amounts.
• Always store freshly made oil in the fridge, never at room temperature, and use it within a few days.
• Pat the chilis well dry before use; moisture raises the risk.
• If in doubt (bubbles, strange smell, bulging lid): throw it away, do not taste it.
• For longer shelf life, there are industrially made chili oils or ready-made sauces.

This is not a guarantee, just caution. If you are unsure, better not to make a stock.

Ingredients

• 200 ml extra virgin olive oil
• 5 chili peppers (fresh or, better, dried; habanero is great)

Time: about 20 minutes preparation, 5 minutes cooking, roughly 25 minutes in total.

Method

1. Wipe the chilis with a cloth and pat them dry. Cut lengthwise, remove seeds and white inner membranes and cut into pieces. This takes off the peak of the heat.
2. Warm the olive oil with the chilis over low heat. The oil must not smoke. Let it infuse for about 5 minutes.
3. Let it cool, pour into a clean jar and store refrigerated.

Use

Everyone adds as much as they like: on pasta, pizza, meat or salad. Over time the oil becomes a little hotter because more capsaicin passes from the chilis into the oil. For a crunchy variant, see Chili Crisp or Salsa Macha.