Marinated Feta

Asked by Lizzini. Answered on 27th January 2013

Full question

I am trying preserving for the first time. I have marinated whole garlic cloves in olive oil and also feta (in another bottle of course). I am storing in the fridge (it's too hot in Queensland to store in pantry). The oil has solidified. Is this normal and will the oil "return to normal" when I remove it from the fridge. Please help. Cheers, Liz

Our answer

Olive oil, and several other oils will tend to turn a little cloudy if they get too cold and can become a little thick. However they will clean and return to their normal viscosity when they come back to normal room temperature and will not suffer any harm from being in the fridge. You can stand bottles of cold oil in a bowl of warm water to help them come to room temperature more quickly, if necessary.

We would however caution on storing garlic in oil for any period of time. There is a risk of botulism, even if the garlic and oil are stored in the fridge. Please see our previous posts on this issue. Marinating feta in oil is fine but we would not keep the feta for a long period of time and it should be eaten within the time specified on its original packaging.