Flavored vinegars are a tasty method to use herbs and flowers from your garden and farm. Herbal vinegars are inexpensive, easy to make, preserve the flavors of summer in your favorite recipes, and make great gifts.
Vinegar Types
Choose a vinegar type that is pleasing to the taste, but does not overpower the delicate herbs and spices.
Cider vinegar is from apple cider aged at least 6 months in wooden barrels, and is best for medium or strong flavored herbs. Malt vinegar is barley and grain mash heated and fermented similar to beer and combined with wood shavings, with a hearty taste for pickles, relish, catsup, and mustard. Rice vinegar is from rice wine and its mild sweet taste is well suited for flavoring with delicate herbs.
Wine vinegars are from white, red, and rose wines. The white wines are best with lighter herbs, and red wines are suitable with more robust flavors.
Distilled vinegar is from fermented grain or wood pulp and diluted to 5% acidity. It has a harsh flavor and is best suited to cleaning or other household chores. It is not suitable for herbal flavoring.
Equipment
Use wide mouth glass, porcelain, or enamel-coated steel containers with lids for steeping ingredients from 1 week to 1 month. If using jars with metal lids, put plastic wrap or wax paper between the lids and the vinegar to prevent rust. Use stainless steel pots to heat or store the vinegars, but not aluminum, cast iron, or uncoated steel. Use a second group of glass or ceramic bottles or jars with plastic or cork tops to tightly seal the contents and store the finished product. Use wax to seal if desired.
Steeping
A good rule of thumb for most recipes is 1 cup of fresh herb leaves or ½ cup of dried leaves for every 2 cups of vinegar. Place the herbs in sterile jars. Tightly cap the jars and steep in a dark place at room temperature for a week. Shake the jars occasionally. If the flavor is not strong enough after 1 week, wait another week and taste again. If necessary, steep again with fresh herbs to increase the flavor even more.
Bottling
When the flavor is to your taste, strain the vinegar into sterilized finishing bottles. Use a funnel and a triple layer of cheesecloth, muslin, or coffee filter. Cap tightly or seal with a cork and wax. Place a fresh sample of the herbs in the finished bottles for decoration before filling. Store jars and bottles in a cool, dark place.