Cooking With Essential Oils

Cooking With Essential Oils

Essential oils are known for their part in natural remedies and natural body products. However, the topic of ingesting the essential oils comes with controversy. Which oils, if any, can be ingested and how can it be done safely? The truth is, cooking with essential oils isn’t new. Essential oils have been used to flavor food for years, and using them safely is easier than you may think. At Sweet Grass Farm, we feature essential oils in our natural body products to provide healing and a light, refreshing scent. In this blog, we’ll dive deeper into the topic of cooking with essential oils, and how to do it safely.


The first step in cooking with essential oils is to educate yourself about the oil that you’re wanting to cook with. Sometimes the oil has too much of a certain component, which makes it less than ideal in high quantities. Some oils are even unsafe if ingested in high quantities. However, there are many oils that are safe, and easy to incorporate into cooking. When using an oil, make sure you know that it’s safe to be used in cooking.


When you cook with essential oils, there are three basic steps:


    1. Measure - Don’t forget that essential oils are concentrated portions of their original source. This means that the oil should be used much more sparingly than the whole substance. A general rule of thumb is that a drop of oil replaces a teaspoon. You really don’t need any more than one or two drops for a full recipe.
  • Dilute - When you cook with essential oils, you want to make sure that they are diluted into a lipid first. This makes sure that we are safe in using the oil, and makes sure the oil is dispersed throughout the whole dish. For savory recipes, dilute the oil into either olive or coconut oil. Stir the mixture, and then add it to the recipe. For sweet recipes, use a syrup or honey. This only works with non-liquid dishes. Neither one are sufficient to keep the essential oil safely dispersed in water, tea, etc.
  • Wait - When you’re cooking with essential oils, be sure to wait until the end of the cooking process before adding the essential oil. They are fragile, and will dissipate quickly in high heat. For stovetop recipes, after you’re finished cooking make sure you stir your diluted essential oil into the dish. For baking, you’ll expect to lose a bit of the properties in the process. Dilution throughout the recipe will help, and you’ll still be able to enjoy the flavor.

    • Some essential oil flavors that are perfect for cooking:


    • Lavender - Lavender is great to start with when learning how to cook with essential oils. Its light and floral flavor make a nice pairing with a variety of dishes. Lavender works well with dessert recipes like scones or savory dishes like fish dishes.

    • Peppermint - Peppermint is another oil that is great to start out with. It has a light flavor that blends well with many different flavors to give the dish or beverage a stimulating jump start.

    • Citrus - Citrus is one of the most common essential oils used in cooking. That is because citrus flavors are delicious on their own, or in bringing out the flavors of another component of the dish. The sky’s the limit with citrus.

    • Cinnamon - Cinnamon is a stronger flavor, so it’s more important with this oil to dilute it and only use a drop or two. It works wonderfully as a complement for sweet dishes, like French toast, or even as a boost to a dish with red meat.

    • Ginger - Ginger is great for cooking because of its unique flavor and properties that protect the stomach and aid the digestive process. Ginger can be added to sweet treats like ginger snaps, ginger bread, and spiced drinks. However, it also works for savory dishes like stir fries or marinades for meat.

    Essential oils are also great in lotions and other natural body products, enhancing the product’s healing properties and giving them a refreshing scent. Sweet Grass Farm is dedicated to producing natural body products with essential oils to give you natural benefits and healing! Shop our collection of lotions and soaps today.

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