Making flavored vinegar is quick and easy

Show your creativity while having fun and saving money

Making flavored vinegar, both for your own use and as herbal vinegar gifts will give great satisfaction both to you and the recipient of the gift. What's so special about flavored and herbal vinegars? Anything that can be prepared with vinegar, will taste better without adding fat, salt, or calories. In this health conscious and with so many of us concerned about our weight, what more could we ask for from a product?

Go into any specialty cooking store and you will find a large array of flavored vinegar. They are beautifully bottled and lovely to look at. If you look closely, you will see there is nothing there you cannot do at home.

Flavoring vinegar is about the easiest of home cooking crafts. The combinations are limited only by your imagination. Put some vinegar, some herbs into a decorative bottle and cork it. Add decorative ribbon with a sprig of herb and voila! you have just finished making flavored vinegar.

Steps to Making Flavored Vinegar

• Choose Your Bottles
  Vinegar can be made in any type of bottle. Wine bottles, liquor bottles, vinegar bottles are all easy to come by. For gift giving, keep an eye out for attractive bottles that come your way. Flea markets and craft stores are a great source for decorative bottles.

  Make sure to use a bottle with a cork or a ceramic or plastic top when you are making flavored vinegar. Metal tops react with the vinegar and should not be used. If you absolutely insist on using a particular bottle with a metal top, use plastic wrap between the bottle and the cap to avoid an unpleasant reaction.

• Sterilize Your Bottles
  Sterilize your bottles by running them through the dishwasher. If you don't have a dishwasher, wash your bottles thoroughly, pour in some boiling water. Leave the hot water in the bottles for 10 minutes. pour it out and invert the bottle on paper towels. If you do not remove all of the water, the vinegar will eventually become cloudy. When they are thoroughly dry, they are ready to use.
• Insert Your Spices
  When making flavored vinegar, spices should be dropped in first. Use only whole spices. Powdered spices will turn your vinegar cloudy. If you are using garlic, this should be inserted after the whole spices. Garlic should be washed, peeled and dried with paper towels before using.
• Insert the Herbs
  Fresh herbs should be gently washed and patted dry with a paper towel. Treat any fruits (raspberries, citrus peels, etc.) the same. One teaspoon of dried herbs can be substituted for one tablespoon of fresh herbs for flavor.

  Dried herbs should be added first. When inserting fresh herbs, do not use metal utensils. Bamboo skewers are ideal for arranging the sprigs of herbs in a pleasing manner.

Choose Your Vinegar

When making flavored vinegar, it is important to choose a vinegar that is compatible with the taste trying to achieve. Here is a small list of the many vinegars available commercially.

• Balsamic Vinegar
  Brown in color with a sweet-sour taste. This vinegar has an intense fruity aroma. This is the most celebrated of all vinegars
• Champagne Vinegar
  This vinegar is made from dry white wine made from grapes usually used to make champagne. This is a soft, smooth, delicate vinegar. This is an excellent vinegar for flavoring with milder herbs and fruits. If you can't find Champagne vinegar in your area, you can substitute white wine vinegar.
• Red Wine Vinegar
  This vinegar is attractive to the eye and has a mild, gusty taste. This is the preferred vinegar to use when making raspberry flavored vinegar.
• White Wine Vinegar
  Off-white in color, delicate in taste. Great for showing off herbs and spices used in flavoring vinegar.
• Sherry Vinegar
  This vinegar is rich, smooth, and mellow. It has a slight nutty flavor with a sweet aftertaste. This vinegar is made in Spain. It can be flavored with the medium to stronger herbs and seasonings.
• Rice Vinegar
  Made by the Chinese, this is made from rice wine or sake. There is also a milder, sweeter version of rice vinegar made by the Japanese that is more mellow than the Chinese version.
• Cider Vinegar
  Light brown in color with strong flavor of apples. Easily available. Best used with medium or strong flavored herbs and spices.
• White Distilled Vinegar
  Most commonly available vinegar. Colorless and very acidic. Best used for pickling and limited to household cleaning chores

Bottle Your Vinegar

Fill the bottle to within 1/2 inch to the top of the container and cork. Let sit 24 hours. Refill the bottle as the herbs and spices will absorb some of the vinegar. Use a bamboo skewer to re-arrange the herbs for a pleasant arrangement.Cork and the vinegar is now ready to use.

As you use the vinegar, be sure to refill the bottle as the herbs should always be covered. The flavor will become stronger as it sits. If you do not wish to have more flavor, remove the herbs and spices.

Most vinegar will last 6-8 months. Do not store in a sunny window as vinegar will eventually become clouded. If you wish to have a decorative window treatment using herbal vinegars, make some especially for this purpose and replace as vinegar no longer looks attractive.