Boost flavors in your favorite recipe with this special ingredient

Your favorite recipe can always have a little improvement. With this special ingredient, a little change can boost flavors in the most ingenious way.

Have a favorite recipe? Often those recipes have been carefully crafted and honed over a long period of time. Whether it is a family recipe handed down through generations or a recipe invoking a special memory, those dishes hold special meaning. Still, that specific recipe can benefit from a boost, reinvention or upgrade.

Finding a way to upgrade a recipe doesn’t necessarily have to come from a huge overhaul. Truthfully, boosting flavors with a few special ingredients can make a huge difference. One way of enhancing a recipe’s flavors is by using essential oils.

While many people use essential oils in diffusers or in other ways, essential oils can be used in a recipe. Young Living’s brand ambassador and pharmacist, Dr. Lindsey Elmore shared some recommendations and answered some questions about using essential oils in recipes.

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Cristine Struble: Often essential oils offer big, robust aromas. How can you avoid those flavors overpowering a recipe?

Dr. Lindsey Elmore: First, use very small amounts of essential oil. It is very easy to add too much essential oil to a recipe, so only add one drop at a time and taste in between. If you are adding herbaceous essential oils like thyme, basil, or oregano, dip a toothpick into the essential and swirl the toothpick in savory dishes. Another way to get limit overly strong flavors is to add essential oils at the very end of the cooking process. You can be most liberal with citrus and mint oils, but use smaller amounts when you use herbaceous or woodsy essential oils.

CS: Some people avoid lavender or other floral flavors in foods because it reminds them of dried flowers or soap. How do you find the right balance with floral essential oils?

LE: To avoid getting overly floral flavors and aromas, combine floral essential oils with citrus and sweet flavors. Combine lavender essential oil with lemon juice, soda water and raw sugar to make a lemonade. You can. Also taste a dab of essential oil before adding to a recipe. To dab the essential oil, place your finger on top of the essential oil bottle and invert the bottle. Taste immediately. This allows you to get the smallest amount of oil possible, taste it, and find out how much the flavor you want to bring to your dish.

CS: How long does an open bottle of essential oil last for?

LE: Essential oils last an extraordinarily long time, and typically last many years. To ensure that bottle of essential is still safe for consumption, smell the oil before use. If it smells sharp or different than it has in the past, it may have oxidized. Storing your essential oils properly is the best way to make them last longer. Be sure that they are stored with the lids tightly screwed on. Avoid exposure to heat and light, as oils can evaporate very quickly.

CS: If essential oils can replace dried herbs or other ingredients, is there a particular conversion method?

LE: There is no one conversion ratio between plants and essential oil. You can roughly estimate one drop per teaspoon of herb, but it is always better to start with one drop at a time or the toothpick dip and swirl method. Taste and re-taste before adding more essential oil.

CS: Is there any essential oil that shouldn’t be used in a recipe?

LE: Be sure that you are only using essential oils labeled for consumption, and use them according to the label instructions. Because trace amounts of chemical solvents are used in the extraction process, never ingest any absolute essential oils.

Have you ever used essential oils to boost flavors in your favorite recipe? Could this idea be part of your new cooking routine?