One of the greatest benefits of essential oils is their wide variety of uses. With so many different oils that each hold unique benefits and advantages, you can incorporate essential oils into nearly every area of your daily routine and lifestyle. Essential oils can help with things like relaxation and sleep, beautifying the skin and hair, creating a soothing massage, repelling insects naturally, cleansing surfaces around the home—and so on. Because cooking, eating, and drinking are such a natural part of our everyday lives, it is no surprise that essential oils are also useful in the kitchen as well.
With so many options for spices, seasonings, and extracts on the market that can help enhance our food, you might be wondering, “Why should I cook with essential oils?” While cooking methods often depend on diet and personal preferences, there are several benefits to using essential oils in cooking. Not only will essential oils provide any meal with powerful flavour, but they also allow the user to enjoy any internal health benefits that the essential oil may hold, as well as providing a safe, natural way to flavour your food and offering convenience when fresh ingredients are not available.
Safe, Natural Ingredients
While there are plenty of spices, seasonings, and extracts available that can help flavour your food, many of these options contain highly processed or questionable ingredients. By using essential oils to flavour your food and enhance your cooking, you will not only have endless options for making healthy and creative meals, but you can rest easy knowing exactly what you are putting into your food. As mentioned, essential oils are taken directly from natural sources, and do not include processed or harmful ingredients. Remember that not all essential oils are created equal, and some companies will use fillers or synthetic ingredients in their oils. By using Young Living Seed to Seal grade essential oils in your cooking you can enjoy the benefits of natural flavours and ingredients.
Is Cooking With Essential Oils Safe?
While some are skeptical about the consumption of essential oils, internal usage of essential oils has actually been in practice for centuries, and is not a mysterious new fad. People have successfully and safely consumed essential oils for many years, and the key to safe use is following proper safety guidelines. Like any substance, essential oils only present risks when used improperly or in incorrect amounts. We will discuss the important safety guidelines for cooking with essential oils in more detail in an upcoming post.
You likely already consume small amounts of essential oils in your diet.
Because essential oils are taken from plants, fruits, and natural substances, the body is well equipped to process them. Fruits, plant parts, and extracts are already a normal part of our diets, which makes it safe for the body to consume essential oils internally and process them properly. Like other things we consume, essential oils are ingested through the digestive system, enter the bloodstream, and can then be
metabolized by the organs. Because our body is able to easily process and metabolize essential oils, cooking with oils is a simple way to enrich the food we eat every day.
Choose essential oils that are safe for internal use
Before adding essential oils to your food, make sure that each oil you intend to use has been approved for safe consumption and internal use. Not all essential oils are safe for consumption.
While the list above identifies essential oils that are safe to use internally, not all essential oils are approved for this kind of use. Due to their chemical makeup, some essential oils should never be added to food or used internally in any amount.
The following oils are considered safe for internal use:
In the USA Vitality Line:
HERB
Basil
Lemongrass
Oregano
Rosemary
Thyme
Lavender
Peppermint
Spearmint
Laurus Nobilis
Mountain Savory
Marjoram
Sage
German Chamomile
Tarragon
SPICE
Black Pepper
Cinnamon Bark
Clove
Ginger
Carrot Seed
Celery Seed
Dill Cardamom
Coriander
Nutmeg
Fennel
CITRUS
Bergamot
Citrus Fresh
Grapefruit
Jade Lemon
Lemon
Lime
Orange
Tangerine
IN CANADA DIETARY ESSENTIAL OILS (Plus+ Line)
Basil+
Black Pepper+
Cinnamon+
Cumin+
Frankincense+
Ginger+
Lavender+
Lemon+
Lemongrass+
Lime+
Orange+
Oregano+
Parsley+
Peppermint+
Rosemary+
Spearmint+
High quality, well-tested essential oils are safe to consume
As previously mentioned, not all essential oils are created equal. Some essential oil companies add fillers or substitutions to their essential oils, which lowers the efficacy, potency, and purity of the oil. On the other hand, some essential oil companies use thorough testing methods to ensure that the oils don’t contain any harmful substances or contaminants, and that they are as pure and high quality as possible. Just remember, not all distributo
rs use testing to assure quality. Before you use essential oils in your cooking, it is important to know how they have been produced. Are they Seed to Seal grade? Have the oils been carefully harvested and distilled? Have they been tested for possible contaminants or harmful substances? If you plan to use essential oils for cooking, it is best to use high quality, thoroughly tested oils that can provide you with the best results.
Essential Oils and Cooking with Heat
Because essential oils are easily affected by heat, some worry that cooking with heat may lessen the efficacy of the oil. Cooking with heat can evaporate essential oils due to the steam, so it is best to add the essential oil at the end of the recipe, if possible. It is not always possible to add the essential oil later, especially when it comes to baking or steaming. If your recipe requires that you bake, steam, simmer, or boil, and you cannot add the essential oil at the end, simply add a larger amount of the oil, as some of the oil’s flavour will be baked, steamed, simmered, or boiled out. If you plan to add the essential oil at the very end when your dish has been removed from heat, a much smaller amount will be needed.
Measurements
While it would be nice to know the exact amount of essential oil to add to a recipe, there are so many variables involved in cooking that it is more a process of experimentation and trial and error. While there is no fool-proof measurement guide for cooking with essential oils, there are a few guidelines that will help you as you experiment with essential oils and food.
Something that makes cooking with essential oils so convenient is that it takes far less of an essential oil to flavour your food than if you were using dry seasonings, spices, or flavouring agents. Because essential oils are so potent, even the tiniest amount can add a serious blast of flavour to your dish. When you first start experimenting with essential oils and cooking, it is best to use the toothpick method—dip the tip of a clean toothpick into the essential oil bottle and stir the toothpick into your ingredients. This will allow you to add the smallest possible amount of the oil, so that you don’t risk ruining the dish by adding too much flavour. After you’ve stirred the toothpick around in the dish, do a taste test to see whether you want to add more of the oil or not. This is the safest way to slowly add flavour to your dish without ruining it by using too much oil.
In some cases, it is appropriate to add an entire drop (or several drops) of an essential oil, but just remember: once you’ve added an essential oil to your dish, you cannot take it back. You can always add more oil, but once added, you can’t take the flavour back, so use caution when adding essential oils to your meals, and stick with the toothpick method until you feel more comfortable with cooking using essential oils.
Toothpick Method
Allows you to add the smallest amount of an essential oil. Use for particularly potent essential oils. Taste-test before adding more.
One Drop
Helpful when cooking large quantities of food. Works for essential oils with a mild chemistry.
Several Drops
Can help preserve flavour when baking or cooking with heat. Best for large quantities of food, or mild essential oils. Pour droplets into a spoon, or use a dropper for exact amounts.
Don’t drop essential oils directly into the dish
Once you’ve decided how much of an essential oil to use in a recipe, it is important that you don’t add the oil directly to the dish, bowl, or pan, but drop the oil onto a spoon first. When pouring essential oils, it is easy for more than one drop to sneak out of the bottle, so if you hold the bottle directly over your dish, you might get more oil than you intended.
ESSENTIAL OIL RECIPES
Now that you’ve learned about the best ways to use essential oils for cooking, here are a few recipes that will help you practice. Remember, cooking with essential oils takes a little experimentation to perfect, but the possibilities are endless.
Beverages
Adding essential oils to beverages is one of the easiest ways to enjoy their potent, refreshing flavours. When you want to brighten up any of your favourite drinks, here are a few ideas for adding essential oils to beverages:
Water
Adding one to two drops of an essential oil to your water is a simple way to make a flavourful drink. Whether you are looking for a creative way to increase your daily water intake, want to cut down on soda or sugary drinks, or just want to reap the internal benefits of a particular oil, adding essential oils to your water is one of the most effective ways to enjoy essential oils.
- If you are trying to drink less soda or sugary drinks, add essential oils to your water for powerful flavour
- Add invigorating essential oils to your water in the morning to give you a refreshing jump start
- Put a drop of Cinnamon oil in your water when hiking, for hydration
- In the winter add one drop of Cinnamon oil with honey to hot water and sip slowly to soothe
- Place a drop of Lime oil in a glass of water for enhanced flavour and antioxidant support
- Combine Peppermint, and Lemon oil in your water glass and drink to freshen the breath
Tea
If you like drinking tea, essential oils provide a natural way to add a variety of flavours to your beverage— making tea time infinitely more fun. Only a small amount of essential oil will be required to provide your tea mixture with potent flavour, so make sure that you do not add too much, especially if you are drinking from a small cup or using strong oils.
Which essential oils go best with tea?
Bergamot Fennel Peppermint Cinnamon Lemon Chamomile
Other Beverages
While adding essential oils to a glass of water or cup of tea provides a simple way to use essential oils to enhance your beverage, you can add an essential oil to practically any beverage to enhance the flavour. Essential oils also work well in smoothies, slushies, lemonades, hot chocolate, and many more of your favourite drinks.
Marinades
Because essential oils can provide sweet, savoury, potent flavours, they make the perfect addition to your favourite marinades. Whether you are marinating meat, vegetables, seafood, or anything else you plan to cook up, adding essential oils will give your dish an extra dose of flavour. The amount of essential oil that you add to your marinade will depend on what you are marinating, how long the food will marinate in the mixture, and how much liquid the marinade has. However, it is best to add a small amount of essential oil to your marinade— start with one drop for most essential oils, and work your way up from there.
Which are the best essential oils for marinades?
Basil
Black Pepper
Cardamom
Cilantro
Cumin
Fennel
Ginger
Lemon
Lime
Marjoram
Oregano
Rosemary
Baked Goods
Using essential oils when baking provides a simple way to add extra flavour to your favourite desserts, breads, and anything else you like to make in the oven. Whether you want to add a hint of flavour to your favourite cookie recipe, or provide a dessert recipe with a healthy twist, essential oils will definitely come in handy when making baked goods.
Remember, when essential oils are baked, much of the oil will evaporate because of the heat. For this reason, it is best to add a little more oil to your mixture before placing it in the oven. Keep in mind that strong oils should still be used in small amounts, but oils with a milder chemistry can be used generously to ensure that the flavour survives the baking process.
Sauces & Dips
Whether you want to break free from boring, bland dinners; need creative snacks to give your kids after school; or want to mix up your favourite dip recipe before hosting the next game night, adding essential oils
to dips and sauces is an easy way to bring more flavour to the table. Essential oils make a great addition to hummus, chip dip, spread, and more. Adding a drop of essential oil to a simple pesto or marinara can also liven up any plain pasta recipe. Because dips and sauces are often served in small portions, add essential oils using the toothpick method to ensure that you don’t overpower the recipe with too much oil.
Salad
If you want an easy way to brighten up any salad recipe, essential oils can help add a refreshing, healthy, or invigorating punch of flavour. Whether you are making a traditional green salad, chicken salad, pasta salad, quinoa salad, potato salad, or anything in between, a dash of essential oil can help take any ordinary salad recipe to the next level. If you like to make your own salad dressing, essential oils are easy to incorporate into dressing recipes—especially for oil-based dressings.
Because many salad recipes require the salad to cool in the fridge, it is important to note that essential oil flavours will become stronger the longer they sit on or in the food. If your potato or pasta salad is going to sit in the fridge for a day before you serve it, consider adding the essential oils just before serving (instead of when you first make the salad) to ensure that the flavour isn’t too strong.
Seasoning
While essential oils add plenty of flavour to any food or beverage when mixed in on their own, you can also combine essential oils with dry seasoning ingredients to create powerful seasoning blends to flavour your food.
Sweets
Whether you are a connoisseur of all things chocolate, or enjoy making the occasional sweet treat for a party or get-together, we’ve got the perfect list of essential oil dessert recipes to give you a little inspiration. Take a look at a few of our favourite recipes that will satisfy your sweet cravings, without inflicting major guilt.
The possibilities are endless. Now that you’ve learned about the best methods for cooking with essential oils, it is time to practice. As you experiment with different flavours and recipes, you will see how easy it is to brighten any meal with the power of essential oils. By always observing safety guidelines, and being willing to learn as you go, you can transform the way that you eat, drink, and cook by enlisting the help of essential oils in the kitchen. Bon Appetit!
Want to get your hands on essential oils that are safe to ingest? Contact me and I will take care of the rest!
