Second Thursday Tutorial: Herbal Vinegar

This tutorial is a bit different from most I share, since it has nothing to do with paper or fabric.  However, I suspect there are a few of you out there who grow a few herbs and might need a way to share them with friends and neighbors.

Unfortunately I had these finished before I thought to create a few step out photos.  I think I can walk you through the process regardless.

The first and probably most important thing to remember is, when working with any vinegar, is to use plastic or wooden utensils and glass jars.  Never use metal with vinegar (unless you are eco-dyeing fabric or paper, that is).   Over time, the vinegar will corrode and rust metal, which includes a cap or lid for your vinegar.  Since vinegar is so powerful, any metal will contaminate your vinegar with undesirable heavy metals.

Let's begin with the bottle.  Use what you have or get friends and neighbors to give you their old wine bottles, complete with cork.  Make sure the jar is clean and dry.  If you have a dishwasher, use it on the hottest setting when cleaning your jars.

Decide the type of vinegar you want to use.   There are many types out there, including rice, balsamic, and malt vinegar.  There are also wine vinegars, but we will be making our own later.

If you are making strictly herbal vinegar, apple cider vinegar is your vinegar of choice.  It has just enough bite that it absorbs any herb you throw at it with ease.  You may have to choose between filtered and unfiltered.  I suggest filtered because there is no sediment which makes a prettier bottle.  The vinegar you choose, should have at least 5% acidity which will be clearly indicated on the label.

Make sure to NOT use apple cider flavored distilled vinegar.  Use that for washing windows!  DO NOT use white distilled vinegar.  There is something in the distillation process that renders it un-nutritional and robs herbal vinegar of any benefits.

Now that you have your bottle and your vinegar of choice, you can choose to use several herbs, or one herb.  You can leave them in stalks like I prefer to do, or you can chop them into tiny pieces.  Be aware, chopping them requires many more herbs and you lose the beauty factor.  I suggest using ONLY fresh herbs you cut the day you make your vinegar.

If you decide to keep the herbs in stalks or leaves, you can choose from many options.  I like to use herbs I consider "savory" together and herbs I consider "sweet" together.  Choose what you prefer. There are no rules, except those I discussed above.  Be aware, some of your herbs will turn your vinegar a different color.

Savory to me means dill, rosemary, and Thai basil.  To that, I add peppercorns, mustard seed, caraway seeds, and bay leaves.  I might also include dried red peppers, caraway seeds, celery seeds, and garlic.

Sweet to me means fennel, sweet basil, cilantro, and mint.  To that I add star anise, coriander seeds, cardamon seeds, ginger, and cinnamon sticks.

I'm not suggesting you use all of these in a single bottle, but a combination of your favorite spices is a nice way to add a bit of pizzazz to your vinegar!  I get all my spices at my local spice market, where I can get as little as 1/8 oz of spice.  Be sure to start with the freshest spices available.  Don't look in your spice cabinet for old spices.  This is one time you want everything, including your chosen vinegar, to be the freshest possible.

Now it's time to gently wash all your herbs and gently pat them dry.  This removes any dust or even bugs that might have found a home on your herbs.   Once dry, assemble the ingredients into your clean glass bottle.   Place the spices in first and allow them to settle to the bottom.  Next, add your favorite herb or herbs.   You may have to cut them so they fit into the container.  Be gentle, because you don't want to crush them.

Once the herbs and spices are in place, add your favorite vinegar and allow to sit for at least two hours.  I like to leave at least an inch of space at the top of the bottle.  However, the herbs and spices may have created air bubbles or absorbed some of the vinegar, so you may need to add a bit more vinegar before sealing your bottle.  Also, before sealing, check your bottle from all sides to be sure you haven't accidentally added something you don't want (like a bug or critter).

Now it's time to seal the bottle.  Push the cork in as far as it will go, clean the top of the bottle, and dip it in some heated wax.  This can be old candle wax or paraffin (preferred), which is sold specifically for sealing food stuffs.

Either create a stick-on label showing the name of the vinegar, or add a ribbon and way to identify your creation.  For the label, you can use pre-made blank labels on which you stamp, or run labels through your printer.  Alternately, you can make booklets like I did.

To make your own wine vinegar (not the purchased kind) add equal parts of your favorite wine to equal parts rice vinegar, or other vinegar that is clear.   Remember, do NOT use distilled vinegar.

I suggest using White Zinfandel, Blush, or Chardonnay, which is red.  I seem to have cut the label off, because it was so cold.  I took about 20 photos, none of which came out except this one.  My hands were shivering too much so I was lucky to get this one.

I also included the ingredients I used in the wine vinegar and added the date I made the concoction.

Place your bottles in a cool, dark place for four to six weeks.  Regardless what some sites suggest, do NOT place them in a sunny window or heat the vinegar to speed up the process.  This is one of those gifts you must make soon (in October or early November) if you want to give it as a Christmas gift.

Once you have opened or decanted the vinegar, add more vinegar so it can absorb the herbs and spices.

Finally, let's talk about age.  You've added the year you made these to your label or booklet, so you know how old the herbal or wine vinegar is.  If vinegar is kept in a dark, cool place it will keep for years.  There is some discrepancy in the herbal literature about how long to keep herbal vinegars, but 5 to 7 years is the range generally accepted.  I suggest to use them in your cooking within two years.

Be aware, these are to be used in cooking, not for medicinal purposes, even though there appears to be some medicinal evidence of their health benefits in the herbal literature.

Thank you for joining me today as I made herbal and wine vinegars from my own herb garden.  I am also joining Art Every Day Month, or AEDM.  Once this goes live, you will find it on my Tutorials page, which is found under and to the left of Bleubeard's adorable face.