Making a flavored oil, what to use?

I thought this year for Thanksgiving, I would take a new direction from the tired old Cranberry sauces. I am thinking of making a cranberry-mint flavored oil. Would a light extra virgin olive oil be the best for this? Any additional thoughts or ideas for this recipe would be appreciated.Making a flavored oil, what to use?
What a creative combo! The red of the berry oil and the green of the mint will look very festive together. :)





Grapeseed oil would be the best choice. It is naturally very lightweight, and since it comes from grapes it also has a natural fruity flavor to it that would be a perfect match for the cranberries!





The second best oil would be either safflower oil or sunflower oil, due to the light nuttiness these oils have. This yields an awesome pairing! :)





And the third best would be soybean oil, because it is flavorless and has no flavor to clash with your berries and mint.





My experience has been that *no* olive oil goes well with cranberries, they *all* clash. Extra light canola oil is OK, but it too has a bit of a ';green'; flavor that isn't the best match for the cranberries.





Here's a recipe I've used:





Frozen cranberries that have been thawed may be used if fresh aren't available. Put 1 cup fresh cranberries into a mortar and finely crush with pestle. Transfer berries to a small bowl.





Warm 1/2 cup grapeseed, sunflower, or safflower oil to toasty warm (about 140F) and add to cranberries. Stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight. The following day put cranberry mixture into a sieve set over a small bowl and gently press on solids with a rubber spatula to extract the red pulpy cranberry oil.





Discard solids, or experiment with using them to make a cranberry bread. :)





Wash mint sprigs and dry them. Allow mint sprigs to air-dry until they have no more detectable moisture. Put whole sprigs into decorative bottle. Use a funnel or Pyrex measuring cup with pouring spout to transfer cranberry oil into decorative bottle or cruet. Close the container and refrigerate until it is time to use the oil. Shake bottle/cruet thoroughly before using.Making a flavored oil, what to use?
I would visit your nearest grocery store and look at the ones offered there. Examine the ingredients and get a mental picture of what you want yours to look like.





You have the option of using dried cranberries (in the raisin section of the store), a light Olive Oil and a mint extract.





I am just curious as to why you chose mint?





If I were doing bottles I would want them to be eye appealing as well as useful. When I think cranberries I think allspice, nutmeg or even cinnamon. You could put cinnamon sticks in the oil with the dried cranberries. If I had to make a final decision on what to flavor the oil I would more than likely choose cinnamon or all spice and cranberries.





You have go to think about what they can use this with when they receive it as a gift. Although with your time it might just look pretty sitting on the counter your goal is for them to use it and think of you when they do.





After you have mastered this I would suggest coming up with some particular recipes they could use it with and attach them on pretty paper with a ribbon to the bottle as well.
go with a 50 50 blend (1/2 cp) olive oil. (1/2 cp) canola oil. use a emulation blender, and add your flavoring
When making flavored oils you want to choose a neutral tasting oil so the flavors will be clear. Try canola or extra LIGHT olive oil for best results. Have a great holiday!


Try foodnetwork.com for recipes, I know Alton Brown has made a bunch of flavored oils.