What is Infusion
Oil infusion involves the process of adding any herb or botanical to a carrier oil, butter or fat of your choosing.
This process infuses the goodness of the ingredients into the oil, making it a healthier choice for cooking, consumption or topical use.
Plus, it's a great way to add flavor to your food and scent to your homecare creations, not to mention the health benefits provided by the botanical properties of the infusion.
With just a few simple ingredients you can create an extensive range of creations that will impress even the most discerning palates!
WHY LĒVO?Infused oil, butter, honey, milk and more is a simple way to tasty, healthy flavor without using processed ingredients.
Infusion is actually the back-of-house secret behind some of the best restaurant dishes!
Think about the difference between a regular sponge cake made plain canola oil compared to a cake made with espresso bean and anise infused almond oil... there's a big difference in flavor.
Infusion goes beyond the kitchen, too. Infuse ingredients for lotions, serums, bath bombs and more to control what goes in and on your body.
Home Infusion
There are a great number of benefits and reasons to begin your journey into the world of home infusions!
While everyone will have their own motivations for venturing into this time-honored craft, the chances of discovering all new uses, flavors, scents, and applications for what you've created are unbelievably high.
In fact, the sky is the limit!
What Can You Infuse?
Herbs
All of the leafy greens we love!
From basil, tarragon, thyme, sage, chives, mint, bay leaves, cilantro, parsley, and beyond, garden herbs are a favorite for infusions.
Their unique tastes and ability for pairing offer plenty of options for cooking and consuming.
WHY LĒVO?Spices
Most often in the form of seeds, but sometimes roots or bark, spices make a statement when combined with oils and fats.
Some favorites include cumin, turmeric, anise, pepper, ginger, wasabi, and cinnamon.
WHY LĒVO?Coffee, Espresso, Cacao, Vanilla
These beautiful beans have a whole complementary array of benefits, both alone or as a flavor consortium.
Heartily useful in both savory and sweet creations, this infusion is any coffee lover’s dream!
WHY LĒVO?What Carrier Liquids Are Best?
Olive Oil
Extra virgin olive oil is rich in antioxidants and Vitamin E and is popular because of its versatility. ‘Extra virgin’ means that the oil hasn’t been extracted from the olives using heat or chemicals.
Olive oil can safely be used to cook with as it has a smoke point of between 374°F and 405°F.
WHY LĒVO?Avocado Oil
A great oil to use for heart health, avocados may help reduce the risks of stroke and heart attacks by helping maintain a healthy cardiovascular system.
The monounsaturated fats that are found in avocados are helpful for cholesterol and are also a great brain food (our brains need fat to work well!).
With a really high smoke point of 520°F, infused avocado oil is a great choice for stir-frying or roasting vegetables.
WHY LĒVO?Coconut Oil and MCT Oil
These are popular options, and longingly selected for their versatility for use in both recipes and topicals.
WHY LĒVO?Butter
The golden goodness of carriers that serves to create rich, creamy infusions for culinary creations of all kinds!
WHY LĒVO?Ghee
As a clarified butter, ghee is known for its health properties, and is frequently used for healing practices in Ayurvedic medicine, such as for treating burns, and rashes and helping to hydrate dry skin and hair.
WHY LĒVO?Vegetable Glycerine
Also known as glycerol, this carrier is commonly used to make alcohol-free tincture, facial serums, lotions, balms, salves, and soap.
WHY LĒVO?Honey
A fan favorite for infusions, home-infused lavender or hibiscus honey is sure to elevate whatever you choose to pour it over!
Additionally, the health properties of using locally sourced honey are sure to provide the immunity support your body needs through changing seasons.
WHY LĒVO?The Challenges with Old School Infusion
Filtering Hot Oil
All other infusion methods require bulky filter bags, silicone gloves, or expensive funnels and presses to strain the herbs out of your oil.
Overall Mess
Traditional infusion methods and other machines are messy, not dishwasher safe, and stink up your house (plus cooking oil on a stovetop for hours is dangerous!)
Managing time and temperature manually
Crock pots and over-simplified competitors don’t allow you to control the precise time and temperature - in fact, you’re even left guessing how hot your infusion is and when it will be ready.
Taste!
Methods that use blades to chop herbs and release unnecessary chlorophyll into the carrier oil. The infusion ends up dark and dirty tasting.
How Do I Get Started Infusing?
People have developed numerous ways to infuse botanicals into carriers.
Infusion has been done with ovens, crock pots, blenders, and double boilers, all followed by manual straining through cheesecloth.
Though these processes are a decent start… results are messy, inconsistent, and hard to replicate.
In order to create a proper infusion, precise temperature control and attention is crucial – this is the main challenge with the devices above.