Make Rosemary Oil Directly in Your Slow Cooker With Just 2 Ingredients

Photo: Stocksy/Marti Sans
Once you sniff rosemary, you won't forget it. The highly aromatic herb with needly leaves is a popular go-to for giving food a more complex flavor—especially in traditional Mediterranean dishes. But, its ability to make your meals taste top-notch is just one of its many impressive qualities. Rosemary also offers plenty of beauty and health benefits too, and getting your fix via an easy-to-make infused oil will allow you to have access to the plant's superpowers whenever you need 'em.

The benefits of rosemary oil—and how to use it

While there's still more research on rosemary oil to be done, several small studies have highlighted promising benefits of the fragrant herb. For instance, eating it could help keep your memory strong as you age (use it as a salad dressing, or drizzle it over your favorite roasted veggies!), and the simple act of smelling it or breathing it in could help boost your mood and amp up your brain power.

Aside from the host of health perks, rosemary oil could also be a great addition to your beauty routine. Because it's known to stimulate hair growth, simply rubbing a drop into your eyebrows every night could give you that extra-bold look you've always wanted. (If you have sensitive skin, pairing it with a carrier oil like avocado oil is a smart way to stay safe from irritation.) For that same reason, some people even add it to their shampoo to lengthen their locks and add volume and shine. You can also use it as a natural deodorant, gargle it to combat bad breath, and apply it to your skin. Rosemary been even said to help combat aging by toning and tightening your complexion, and it could also improve elasticity, and act as a disinfectant to counteract the damage from air pollution.

How to make rosemary oil

When you're ready to make your very own batch of rosemary oil, get excited because you only need two ingredients: four fresh sprigs of rosemary and two cups of olive oil. While you can brew the healthy elixir on the stovetop, the best—and easiest!—way to quickly infuse the herb into oil is in a slow cooker. Even though the process takes a couple of hours, it's so hands-off that you'll be able to do other things around the house, like an impromptu meditation sesh or perhaps a cathartic closet clean-out, while it's cookin'. Also, if you'd rather make rosemary oil without cooking, there's a slower solution: Just put those same ingredients in a tightly closed Mason jar and set the mixture in a sunny spot for a month, letting it infuse naturally.

Ingredients

  • 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 2 cups of olive oil

Directions

1. Remove the leaves from the rosemary sprigs

You can make this 2-ingredient rosemary oil right in your crockpot
Photo: Getty Images/Tetra Images

The fist step in making your own rosemary oil is simple: Remove all the leaves from the stems of your sprigs. The best way to do this is to pinch the top end with your fingers, then slide the fingers of your opposite hand down the stem, stripping off the leaves as you go.

2. Put the rosemary and olive oil in a slow cooker

Next, put the two cups of olive oil and all of your newly-removed rosemary leaves in a slow cooker. Stir everything around, then let it cook uncovered on the highest setting for two hours.

3. Cool and strain the rosemary oil

After the rosemary oil is finished cooking, turn off the slow cooker and let the mix cool for at least 30 minutes before pouring it through a strainer to remove the leaves from the oil.

4. Put the rosemary oil into air-tight containers for storage

After your oil is rosemary-leaf-free, use a funnel to fill up some airtight containers. While some people prefer glass jars, others go for those easy-to-pour glass bottles that are great for storing in the kitchen.

Your final product will stay nice and fresh for at least two months, whether you're using it in your cooking, in your shampoo, or on your face. And if you want to make bigger batches to use over a longer period of time, just stick it in the refrigerator where it'll last up to six months.

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