I have made Gardenia oil without the boiling process. I stuff as many of the flowers as I can into a bottle and pour the oil over it and let it infuse itself over time. After the scent level is achieved, I strain all of the flower particles out of the oil and Voila!

Hiya'!

Sarah, olive oil, among others, is the ONE commonly thought of oil that I tell my students to AVOID when making infusions; the scent and flavor is simply TOO STRONG!!! That's why it's best used for cooking... And, you will need A LOT of flowers or herbs and citrus peeling for a strongly scented infusion; however, you can steep the flowers in 95-proof vodka for a tincture; just keep repeating the process with the tincture to strengthen the scent.

Also, you don't want to directly simmer the oil and fresh flowers, herbs or fruit peelings directly over an open flame in a saucepan! Here is something on the subject that I posted to another Group this evening:

"Ah...with the warm weather from Beltane onward I simply adoire making fresh herbal oil-infusions! I can't wait until my Provence Lavender grows to maturity so that I can make an infusion of the leaves; it's my favorite variety, and my favorite part of lavender...it smells like my favorite cologne, Eternity for Men! My lily-of-the-valley has started to come up; and my Star-Gazer Lillies will be up sometime next month, so I'll have a busy summer this year!

"Now, when brewing infused-oils I generally employ both a hot-method, as well as the so-called "cold-method".

"But, first thing's first: steralize all of the jars and bottles that will come in contact with the infusions (and make sure the final bottle you strain the oil into has a tight-fitting glass stopper).

"Then, gather enough of the herb you plan to infuse so that you will have a heavily-scented product. In this case I used the peeling of a single (large) naval orange, and somewhat finely chopped the peeling to allow for more surface-contact when mixed with the oil.

"The oil should be an unscented carrier-oil (otherwise known as a "base-oil".) When making herbal-infusion I generally employ safflower oil, which has absolutely no detectible scent, and it so pale and clear, it's almost an off-white hue. Serrt Almond oil is a traditional carrier oil, that will condition the skin; but it contains vit. E oil, so it will aid in preservation due to the antioxidant. However, trained aromatherapists (which, in the UK and elsewhere, as I understand it, one may obtain a license to practice this field) prefer grapeseed oil for their concoctions, which ahs a much higher content of naturally occuring vit. E (if I remember correctly).

"Now, depending upon the size of the bottle you want to hold your finished infusion, and the amount of herb you plan to infuse, measure the quantity of carrier oil you will require. (I used somewhere between 4 and 6 ounces.) However, for a strong infusion, the infusion process must be repeated with fresh or dried herbs being added to the strained infused oil (when using dried herbs, employ only those herbs that are strongly scented when dried, such as lavender leaves, or mint, for example; I have never known an infusion "to take" that was made by using dried herbs that were not strongly scented after the drying process).

"Place a portion of the herb in a sterile canning jar (I just added the whole chopped peeling), and pour the oil ontop of it. If using the hot-method, you may create a double-boiler (if you don't own one)--hence the canning jar!-- by placing it in a water-bath in a sauce pan. Place it over an open flame and bring it to the simmering point; allow the oil to infuse for several hours (three usually works for me) by simmering the water around the jar.

"Afterwards, I usually remove the pan from the heat, and allow the jar to sit until the water is temped; I then remove it, wiping the water from the jar with a towel, and placing the lid onto the jar until the next morning.

"Because I prefer a strongly infused oil I tend to employ a hot-method, and a cold-method, the next day (usually when it's nice, warm, and sunny) I set my jars outside in the southern area of my yard where the warmth is greatest, until the sun sets. Then I usually bring my jars of oils back in the the night, and repeat this process for a week or two; shaking each jar of oil twice a day.

"Strain into a seperate, sterile, jar (see below); or strain the oil into your final bottle or jar. press the herbal-matter firmly with a spoon or ome other impliment to ensure that any oil and herbal-essence is squeezed from the bulk-material. Usually, you will find that, if using the cold process, some of the oil will be absorbed by the herbal material; and if you allow the strained herbal material to "rest", some more infused oil is likely to see back into the container for you to pour off into the bottle.

"Repeat the above process, with the infused oil, if necessary. Then add several drops of benzoin EO as a preservative and a fixative (it helps prevent the scent from fading with time). For this reason I usually add benzoin oil or tincture of bezoin resin. When looking for benzoil oil, however, it will be unscented; although, by contrast, styrax EO (which is commonly confused for bezoin due to the common and botanical names) smells rich and vanilla-like. It is for this reason that I mention styrax at all in this posting.

"Store the infusion in a tightly stoppered bottle, and use it as you see fit!

"Mmmm...my Orange Oil infusion smells delicious and nummy (it shouldn't smell citric!). I think I will add some cinnemon powder or sticks to whatever remains this September, as well as some frankincense resin for a delicious Mabon Oil. ;o)

"Enjoy the summer, and I hope you all make plenty of herbal infusions! This is a process that everyone in my Potion-Crafting class learns, first-hand, during the summer months of my nine-month long course. Just don't waste the fruit, if you make a peeling-based infusion; bake with it some how!

"Also, when making fresh herbal-infusions, be sure to scrub any fruit you use with cold water and a small amount of soap, then allow it to dry (this is especially important if you plan on using an infusion in food!); while you only need to quickly wash any dirt off of any fresh herbal matter before you infuse it. Now, depending upon the nbatural color of the carier oil that you make, your finished infusion may be of a quite different color! Because safflower oil is so clear and absolutely non-colored (when compared to common cooking oils, such as corn oil), when infused with herbs, such as orange peel, for example, it took on a deep, cloudy, golden orange-yellow hue. How beautiful! (I've never made an orange oil infusion before, because I always had orange EO on hand at the time; so, I thought of using orange as a bae in a Sumemr Solstice ritual oil this year, but didn't feel like buying any.)

"Do not use heavily scented/flavored oils to yield infusions, such as olive oil. I know this may seem like "common sense", but I've seen folks whom did not know any better, make this mistake when making their first infusions only to encounter unsavory results!

"However, one of THE most interesting herbs to infuse is St. John's Wort, which will color your base-oil a crimson red color, due to a certain phyto-chemical that the carrier-oil leaches from the fresh flowers through performations in the petals. According to Germanic folk-lore these perforations were marks placed there by the Devil"

Best of luck, Sarah! Oh, and you don't want to actually "simmer" the oil, because at that point you're actually cooking the oil and the herb, will make it smell like cooked oil, which just doesn't smell good, IMHO.

Try drying the flowers then putting the dried petals in olive oil (or whatever oil you are using). This sometimes takes a few weeks to get to a good strong smell. I have mine in a dark bottle in a cupboard.