Make Your Own Herbal Vinegar

Be sure to grow some herbs in your garden this season. Herbs smell good, are easy to grow, and add some fabulous flavors to many recipes and vinegar.

To Make Herbal Vinegar:

You will need :

A good quality vinegar of 5% or greater acidity.
Fresh cut herbs.
Clean bottles* and a cork that will fit.
Imagination.

* Any size or shape bottle will do as long as you have a cork that will fit it. Sterilize the bottles before use, cool and then stuff them with herbs.

You can devise the herbal combinations according to your own cooking needs, taste, and herbs available. Then pour the vinegar over the herbs. Do not heat the vinegar. Any vinegar may be used including:

White or Red wine vinegar
Cider vinegar
White vinegar
Rice wine vinegar

White vinegar is generally used with opal basil, bronze fennel, and chive blossoms because the vinegar will take on a pink tinge from these herbs. Cork the bottles and let stand for several weeks before using.

If the herbal vinegars are intended to be used as gifts, strain off the vinegar and discard the old herbs. If desired, replace with sprigs of new herbs for decoration and re-cork. The bottles may be sealed by dipping the cork and lip of the bottle into plain or colored paraffin.

Suggested herb combinations:

Lemon grass/thyme/garlic/orange peel
Chile peppers/garlic
Parsley/sage/rosemary/thyme
Rosemary/orange peel/cloves
Chive blossoms/salad burnet
Raspberries/mint/garlic
Oregano/thyme/parsley/basil

Do not limit yourself to these combinations (this is where your imagination comes in). They are only suggestions and should not limit the combinations that can be created.

Editor's Note: What's your favorite combination? Share your herbal vinegar ideas on our forum.

Tags: vinegar, rosemary, thyme, oregano, cork, paraffin, herbal vinegar recipes