If you're a fan of flavored oils and liquors, like herb-infused olive oil or a candy-infused vodka, you may have tried your hand at it with good results, but you know it can take days or weeks to really infuse the flavors properly. If you're looking to speed up the process or give those infusions as gifts for the holidays, here's a way to get it done in seconds.

The folks at CHOW and Modernist Cuisine have a great method for this, and all you need are the ingredients you'd use anyway and a whipping siphon (available for around $80 at Amazon.) You'll also need some nitrous oxide (N2O) chargers for the siphon (about $16 for 24 at Amazon) to get the job done. The siphon is designed for whipped creams and toppings, but it works great for infusions as well.

The video above shows you how it's done: just combine your herbs or spices and the oil or liquor (or even maple syrup!) in the siphon, charge it, then release the pressure. It seriously only takes a few seconds. How the process works is a bit of a debate, but the going theory is that charging the siphon dissolves the gas into the liquid, and when you release the pressure, it forces the gas back out of the infusion as bubbles, breaking up the ingredients on a microscopic scale. It's definitely a shortcut, and I'd love to compare an herb-infused oil made this way with my favorite two-week infusion. Still, if it's anywhere near as delicious, it's worth the time saved—especially as a quick holiday gift for a friend. Hit the link below for the recipes mentioned in the video.

Instant Infusions | Modernist Cuisine via CHOW