Herbs oil are easy to make, pretty to look at, endlessly useful in cooking and make delightful gifts for adventurous cooks. The corks can be sealed with wax if you wish.

But the best oil you can - ideally extra virgin olive oil, but sunflower, safflower and peanut oils can also be used. Decant a little oil from the bottle into a jug and add your chosen herbs to the bottle. Pour back the reserved oil and seal and label the bottle. Keep the bottle in a warm place for several weeks to allow the oil to absorb the flavor of the herb. Strain the oil, return to the clean bottle, seal and store in a cool cupboard until required.

Make up your own recipes for flavoring oils using your favorite herbs. The following herbs are particularly recommended, but experiment with different conbinations.

Basil, bay, chervil, dill, fennel, lavender, lovage, marjoram, mint, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme.

You can also add peeled cloves of garlic, peppercorns of various colors, fresh chilies, allspice berries, juniper berries and strips of orange or lemon peel.

If making basil oil, pound the basil leaves in a pestle and mortar to release the flavor before adding to the oil