Edible Wedding Favors: Rosemary Olive Oil

So! Are you hard at work planning your own wedding feast? The rosemary-rubbed pork chops I suggested got me thinking: why not let your guests take home a bit of the wedding meal you spent so much time preparing, and send them away with rosemary-infused favors? Making herb-infused olive oil at home takes mere minutes, a minimum of supplies, and is a thoughtful way both to show off your affinity for all things culinary, and offer your guests a treat to keep in their own kitchens.

Of course, to make a large quantity of these favors requires a bit of planning and shopping. You’ll need, first, to locate a vendor for large amounts of olive oil, the exact quantity of which will depend on the vessel you plan on using. I used mason jars for my project, because that’s what I had around, but I’d certainly recommend picking up some glass oil dispensers from any restaurant supply store. A quick Google search brought up these two vendors of bulk olive oil, but shop around for the best prices. Because you’ll be masking the oil’s base flavor with the rosemary, I wouldn’t worry too much about the oil’s quality, but for its general characteristic, shoot for something on the fruity rather than nutty side.

You’ll also need a fair amount of fresh rosemary. One 4-inch sprig per glass bottle should do, but of course that can add up when we’re talking olive oil favors for 100 or more guests. Large rosemary trees are available at many garden and even grocery stores: one 24-inch tree should offer up enough fresh rosemary for about 20 favors.

Rosemary Olive Oil Favors

Materials:

• Glass bottles or containers with either canning jar lids or rubber stoppers
• 8 ounces of olive oil x number of guests
• 1 24″ rosemary tree per 20 guests
• tags and ribbons for instructions and labels

Directions:

• First, gently trim, wash, and bruise the rosemary to release its flavor.
• Then, combine the oil and the rosemary in a large pot. Cook until a candy thermometer inserted in the oil reaches 180 degrees.
• Remove the oil from the heat and allow it to come to room temperature.
• Remove the rosemary from the oil and place in the bottles. Using a funnel and ladle, carefully spoon oil into the bottles, sealing tightly.

Oil should be made several days before the wedding, at a maximum, as the infused oil will keep in the refrigerator for about a month.

Before distributing as favors, decorate the bottles with ribbons and labels. Delish!

Of course, you can infuse olive oil with just about anything… Suggestions, anyone?