A lot of us can find an essential oil or two in the medicine cabinet that we use for health or beauty reasons. Others may have heard of the benefits of essential oils, but have yet to find the time needed to try them. Many books and articles that have been recently published focus on using essential oils in bath water, inhaling them or rubbing them on skin to better your health, and ingesting them for other illnesses. Essential oils and aromatic hydrosols smell and taste delicious, but also kill bacteria and preserve food to help with digestion. Many essential oils also have mental and physical health benefits that add to their benefits. When cooking with them, you don't need much to do the trick. A drop or two will often be more than enough for a six person serving. Essential oils can be found in most grocery or health foods stores, but be sure to ask a sales representative if the oils are artificial or absolute. Most essential oils last for approximately one year. Citrus oils sometimes last a little less, so they should be bought in small quantities. When using essential oils in cooking, you will find that they have the most flavor in raw food dishes, especially blender items and uncooked deserts, because they evaporate when they are heated. If you would like to add oils to cooked dishes, add the oil before serving and store extra in glass containers, as they have a tendency to react with plastic or metal containers. Make sure to only use one drop to start with as the oils are very concentrated, until you know how the oil will interact with each food. One or two drops are usually plenty unless it is being used in a baked dish and you want to compensate for evaporation. Carriers, which are used to make extracts when essential oils are too strong and need to be diluted, is what you buy peppermint of vanilla extract from the grocery store. When the oil is too strong or expensive, extracts are a lot more convenient. Good carriers include vegetable glycerin, oils, and alcohol. Carrier oils include sweet almond, avocado, canola, coconut, olive, peanut, safflower, sesame, sunflower, and wheat germ. Check with your local grocery or health store to see which carriers are best to be used in the kitchen. Hyrdosols, which are scented water, are limited on availability. They are milder and safer to use than essential oils and their strength is comparable to that of tea. This makes it safe to use about an ounce or two per meal. However, that much won't be necessary for the flavoring you desire, as usually only one teaspoon per cup is good enough. Hydrosols are especially good in ice cream and fizzy beverages. Some of these are very hard to find, including rosemary and lavender, while others are easier such as rose and orange blossom. When purchasing one of these, make sure that they are natural and remember that they are best when they are uncooked.
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