Making Herb Vinegars

Herbal vinegars are one of the great ways to use and enjoy many easily grown herbs. Not only are they useful, but have few calories and can make great gifts. There are many different flavor combinations, but the fundamental steps are all the same. To begin think about what type of flavor do you want? Using white wine or apple cider vinegar is most often used and makes the best base, but regular white vinegar is strong for delicate and mellow flavoring that herbs impart.

Vinegar is used as a preservative so it is relatively safe to keep and store at room temperature. Make sure though that any additions to the base vinegar be as clean as possible, and that each addition has been washed and dried before adding to the vinegar. A favorite way is to pick the herbs early in the day, rinse in a container of water, then dry on paper towels. Pick off any bad leaves and remove thick stems. Then bruise the herbs by chopping the herbs and then place in a stainless steel container. The amount should be about 1 cup of fresh herbs to 1 gallon of vinegar. Then heat the container just to boiling, but DO NOT BOIL. Pour contents into a glass jar and cover it with plastic wrap then with a lid. Store in a cool, dark place for about 10 days making it ready to be bottled and used.

Possible combinations for vinegar using herbs that are easy to grow:

Basil & Garlic

Burnet & Tarragon

Lemon herbs: Lemon Verbena, Lemon Thyme, Lemon Basil, and Lemon Balm. Garlic can be added to these

Oregano, Mexican Mint Marigold and Garlic

A mixture of the following herbs: Thyme, Tarragon, Burnet, Chives, Oregano, Sage, Dill and Savory. As a general rule Rosemary and Fennel should be used with care because of their very strong distinctive flavor. They are great meat marinades. Fennel is especially good for fish.

After the Vinegar has aged for a time it is time to bottle. Clear or light green jars and bottles make the best containers. Look in hobby store for decorative bottles, but wine, salad dressing or any type of bottle with a narrow neck will be fine. The corks also can be found at hobby or grocery stores. A small funnel is a must with clean pieces of cheesecloth needed to strain. To add to the flavor and appearance of the vinegar add to the bottle, stems, leaves, garlic cloves, small red peppers and herb flowers. To do this a long handled wooden spoon and a skewer are helpful to place the herbs in your bottle. Pick only perfect herbs, then wash and dry them well before you are ready to bottle the vinegar.

Strain the vinegar from the large jar through the mesh sieve into a measuring cup or small pitcher that pours easily. Place the herbs, garlic, flowers etc… into the bottle. Line the funnel with the cheesecloth and strain the vinegar through it. Use tight fitting corks and store in a cool, dim place. Be sure herbs in the bottle are completely covered with the vinegar solution. Although it is tempting to use these decorative bottles full of vinegar in the windowsill, only do so if the vinegar will be used often because the bright light will fade the color and it will lose flavor.