Food · Advice & Questions · Oct 18

My colleague's homemade garlic oil sat on a shelf for a week. How do I tell her I won't use it?

Food

The bottle had a ribbon, a handwritten label and whole garlic cloves inside. My colleague said she'd made it last weekend and left the gifts lined up on her kitchen shelf. "Keep it by the cooker so you remember to use it."

I'd planned to bring mine to a shared lunch. Before opening it, I checked the [National Center for Home Food Preservation's garlic-in-oil guidance](https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/vegetables/freezing-garlic-in-oil/). It warns of botulism risk in mixtures stored at room temperature. Its instructions call for fresh preparation and short refrigerated storage or freezing, not a week on a shelf. I won't serve this bottle or taste it to decide whether to use it.

She's excited about making food gifts and may have given out other bottles. How can I raise the issue promptly and kindly? I don't want to quietly discard mine while she carries on believing this storage method is suitable, but I also don't want to announce that her gifts poisoned anyone when no such outcome is known.

Discussion

3 community replies

@softfocus

Speak privately and soon, with the [preservation guidance](https://nchfp.uga.edu/how/freeze/vegetables/freezing-garlic-in-oil/) open: 'I looked this up before using it, and the room-temperature storage worries me. I won't use my bottle.' Stick to what she told you about preparation and storage. There is no need to claim an illness or identify a particular toxin in her actual oil.

@AlixB

Ask whether the other bottles were prepared and stored in the same way and whether any have been given out. Those are relevant facts, not an invitation to investigate her whole kitchen. They determine whether the information needs to reach other recipients promptly.

@JulesAfterDark

The ribbon and care she put into the gift can be appreciated without serving it. Tell her you value the gesture. Avoid an elaborate excuse about not liking garlic; that would hide the very information that could change how she prepares future gifts.

My colleague's homemade garlic oil sat on a shelf for a week. How do I tell her I won't use it?

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