Aesop announces that it is launching its first olive oil product

Every so often a design house launches a fragrant olive oil and everyone raises an eyebrow. But infused oils are an old idea, and the olive has always straddled kitchen and skin. The question is only whether the flavour was built with care or sprayed on for show.

An infused olive oil is simply a good oil that has taken on another flavour — lemon, garlic, chilli, rosemary, sometimes something more exotic like ginger or coriander seed. Done properly, the aromatics are introduced gently and the base is a real extra virgin, so you taste olive first and perfume second. Done cheaply, a dull refined oil is dosed with a synthetic flavouring and the olive is nowhere. The olive has also long led a double life on the skin as well as the plate — it is a traditional base for soaps and balms — so a brand treating it as both a food and a cosmetic is following a very old thread, not inventing one.

Infusion versus flavouring

There are two honest ways to flavour an oil, and one dishonest one. You can co-mill — crushing whole lemons or chillies together with the olives, so the flavour is pressed in with the fruit, which usually gives the truest result. You can steep — resting citrus peel, herbs or spices in finished oil and then straining, which is what a careful small producer or a home cook does. Or you can cheat, spraying a neutral oil with a lab flavouring to fake the effect. The first two build flavour from real ingredients; the third only imitates it. The label, and the price, will usually tell you which you are buying.

A cold-use ingredient

Whatever the method, an infused oil belongs at the end of the cooking, not the start. Heat drives off the delicate aromatic compounds that were the whole point of infusing, so frying with a lemon or ginger oil throws your money down the pan. Use these oils raw and late: a thread of lemon oil over grilled fish or steamed greens, a chilli oil across a pizza as it leaves the oven, a herb oil on warm bread or soft cheese. Treat them as a finishing flourish, the way you would a squeeze of citrus or a scatter of fresh herbs.

Buying an infused oil worth having

The base oil decides everything. A citrus or spice oil built on a flat, tired olive oil will taste of nothing but flavouring; the same infusion on a fresh, peppery extra virgin will taste alive. So read past the pretty front label to the ingredient list — you want real olive oil and real aromatics, not 'natural flavouring' standing in for lemons that were never there. And buy small: aromatics fade, and an infused oil is at its best young, well before a plain oil would show its age.

	Culinary infused oil	Cosmetic olive oil
Purpose	Flavour for the plate	Emollient for the skin
Base	Edible extra virgin	Often refined or blended for feel
Additions	Citrus, herb, chilli, spice	Fragrance, other plant oils
How to judge	Taste of real olive and aromatic	Texture, absorption, scent
Shared root	The olive as a food	The olive as an old skin remedy

Using infused oils well

• Use them raw and last — heat destroys the aromatics you paid for.
• Check that the base is real extra virgin, not a neutral oil carrying a flavouring.
• Prefer co-milled or steeped oils over sprayed 'flavoured' ones.
• Buy small bottles; infusions fade faster than plain oil.

Infused olive oil: common questions

What is an infused olive oil?

A base olive oil that has taken on another flavour — such as lemon, garlic, chilli or herbs — either by being milled together with those ingredients or by steeping them in the finished oil.

Is infused oil the same as flavoured oil?

Not always. The best are genuinely infused with real ingredients; the cheapest are neutral oils sprayed with a synthetic flavouring. The ingredient list usually reveals which you are holding.

Can I cook with infused oil?

Better not to for the flavour's sake. Heat drives off the delicate aromatics, so use these oils raw and at the end — over finished dishes, bread or salads.

Can you really use olive oil on skin?

Olive oil has a long history as a base for soaps and balms and is a genuine emollient. Cosmetic versions are formulated for feel and scent rather than flavour, so keep culinary and cosmetic bottles separate.

How long does an infused oil keep?

Less time than plain oil — the added aromatics fade. Buy small, store it cool and dark, and use it while the infusion is still lively.

Drawn from standard practice for co-milled and steeped flavoured olive oils, and the olive's traditional use in skincare.