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Questions tagged [infusion]

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What are the consequences of infusing a tea bag longer than recommended?

I'm a regular consumer of tea (since about 2 years ago), usually from commercial tea bags. They advise to infuse tea for 3 to 5 minutes, but there is some times that I have left it longer by accident. So I have been wondering what are the…
Javier
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How did/do the Russians make carrot tea?

A while ago I read a book about the Russian Civil War (it was Blood on the Snow by Emanuel Litvinoff) in which the characters frequently drank coffee made out of acorns and tea made out of carrots. I tried naively making carrot tea by grating some…
Flounderer
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Why does my lime peel-alcohol infusion become cloudy when mixed with water?

Over the past week or so, I've been experimenting with infusing lime peels in alcohol, by: Peel limes Mix with 250mL of 151-proof grain alcohol Let sit for a week Strain through a coffee filter. What I got is a nice, clear-green liquid: However,…
Evan Krall
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How to make coffee-infused butter?

What are some ways to make "coffee-infused butter"? By that I mean cow butter but injected with espresso, somehow. Essentially, produce a block of butter with strong coffee flavours in it (the color, I imagine, would be medium brown rather light…
Sridhar Ratnakumar
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Why does curry flavor improve overnight (beyond the effects of permeation and infusion)?

The flavor of a curry usually improves overnight. Harsh overtones mellow and disparate elements combine for a richer, more coherent result. Some people think this is just because the flavors from whole spices have more time to infuse (and larger…
Joe Pairman
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When and why would one infuse flavor into sugar for baking?

Listening to The Splendid Table today, the first caller asked how to infuse flavors into her marshmallows. The answer provided was essentially to infuse the sugar, by placing herbs, tea, lemon rind, etc, in a sealed container with the sugar for a…
Flimzy
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How can I infuse alcohol with 'fragile' herbs?

I would like to infuse alcohol (gin specifically) with basil, but basil is quite a fragile plant and doesn't seem to react well to sitting in booze for a few days. I tried muddling basil and putting it in an air tight container with my gin. I stored…
yossarian
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How to infuse flavours in alcohol?

When making lemon lime and bitters at home, I decided to try the bitters by itself (the one with the classic oversized label, I think it's Angostura). It tastes heavily of what seemed like cloves and cinnamon, or aniseed-ish flavours and wondered…
Trogdor
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Does dissolved sugar really help to extract fruit flavours?

A few times now I've come across online advice that, when steeping/infusing fruits in liquid to extract their flavours, it helps to add sugar to the solution. As an example this sloe gin Wikipedia page states "sufficient sugar is required while the…
geotheory
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Is there a compressed gas device designed specifically for creating infusions?

This answer about creating infusions suggests using a compressed gas siphon to quickly infuse liquids with flavours from 'fragile' herbs. The manufacturer of the popular iSi compressed gas siphons seems to sell whipped cream and soda siphons, but…
alx9r
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Making large quantities of tea with bags

Say I'm making a litre of tea, for ice tea, would it be better to steep one bag for longer or several bags (five, I guess, given a cup is around 200ml) for the time stated on the box (a few minutes)? I've read that the longer you steep, the more…
Xophmeister
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Infusing Chilies in Alcohol

I have been reading about infusing chilies in alcohol to create a liqueur, and I'm not clear on how they should be infused (if at all). Various sources suggest various methods (whole vs. chopped, length of time, etc.), but I'm not clear on the…
nbubis
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Oil temperature for flavor extraction?

A little context: I make craft chili oils for friends and family. I use a two-step infusion process. First, I infuse the oil for flavor with spices. Second, I add dried chili flakes into the flavored oil. I have used canola and grapeseed…
Luke
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How to infuse coconut flavor into nuts?

While traveling abroad, I purchased a small bag of salted cashews at a convenience store. I immediately noticed that they have a distinctively different taste from what I'm used to; slightly more sweet than salty. I took a look at the back of the…
Vivian River
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Is Sous Vide Oil Infusion with fresh herbs or garlic a practical technique to avoid botulism risk?

I've been experimenting with flavoring olive oil using dried herbs. So far, I've only used dried herbs in my home infusions because I have read a number of articles which claim there is a botulism risk to leaving fresh garlic or fresh herbs such as…
Adisak
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