Herb Flavored Vinegar Hostess Gifts
Herb-infused vinegars you brew yourself are wonderful for your own recipes and also to give as hostess gifts. You can also make flavored vinegars to present as holiday or housewarming gifts. I made a lovely lavender chive blossom vinegar for my daughter on her birthday this year.
Get creative and bottle your flavored vinegars in wine bottles from your recycling bin (use a fresh, clean cork) or put them up in flip top canning jars with rubber gaskets. Add your own home made labels or tags plus a recipe or two for your favorite marinade or dressing and you've got a unique present anyone on your gift list will appreciate.
If you enjoy making these flavored vinegars you might also like to try your hand at making gourmet flavored olive oils - herb-infused flavored oils are just as easy to make as herbal vinegars!
How to Make Herb Flavored Vinegars at Honme
If you grow your own herbs or can buy organic herb at your market, you've already got a head start on making your own gourmet vinegars. Herb flavored vinegars are wonderful for making marinades, dressings or to serve straight from the bottle to sprinkle on salads or chips.
You'll love the taste of these delicious herb flavored vinegars. Use your favorite vinegar and add whatever herbs you like to infuse delightful flavor into the base.
NOTE: Always use non-metalic utensils, bowls and pans to prepare vinegars. Vinegar acids are slightly corrosive and will react unfavorably with metal spoons, bowls, funnels, pans or strainers and ruin the flavor of your vinegar. Use wooden, glass or plastic utensils and strain your vinegars using food-grade unbleached cheesecloth or coffee filter papers.
Equipment Needed
Stainless steel or ceramic pans
Unbleached cheesecloth or coffee filters
Glass mixing bowl
Wooden or plastic spoons
Plastic Funnel
Glass bottles with non-metallic covers or stoppers
Flavored Vinegar Base Recipe
1 small bunch of organic parsley
1 tsp whole peppercorns
1/8 tsp salt
1 clove organic garlic, peeled
1 quart vinegar: use your favorite variety (cider, Balsamic, distilled white, rice
wine, white wine, red wine)
Fresh herbs: Use 1 cup fresh herbs per 2 cups vinegar. My rule of thumb for making chive blossom vinegar is to cover the flowers and then add about 1/3 more vinegar. You can experiment to find the right amount. After you age the vinegar you can add a few sprigs of fresh herbs that match your vinegar flavor to add to the bottle just before adding your home brewed delight.
Place parsley, garlic, salt and pepper in a 2-quart ceramic
or heat proof glass bowl.
Herb Vinegar Method 1 Bring vinegar to a boil in a Corning ware dish. Pour hot vinegar over the herb
mixture in the bowl. Cover and let the vinegar and herbs mixture stand for two days in a cool dark place.
Strain mixture and decant into a sterilized bottle.
Herb Vinegar Method 2 Combine herbs and unheated vinegar without additional spices in a glass container. Cover and let stand for about a week. Strain out herbs using cheesecloth or a coffee filter and decant into a fresh sterilized bottle.
Add one to three fresh sprigs of the herbs of your choice (to match the flavor of your vinegar) to your final bottles. Seal the bottles
with clean corks or corrosion proof lids. Let stand for two more weeks before using.
Herb Vinegar Flavor Combinations
- Tarragon and lemon, white wine, Balsamic or distilled vinegar
- Chives, basil, and parsley, white wine or distilled vinegar
- Oregano, rosemary and thyme in red wine vinegar
- Lemon and dill in cider vinegar
- Garlic, chives, tarragon in Balsamic or red wine vinegar
- Cilantro, jalapeño pepper and lime in white distilled
vinegar
- Lavender blossoms in cider vinegar
- Chive blossoms in white wine vinegar
- Ginger root and cilantro in rice wine vinegar
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