Autumn is the time of pumpkins, cinnamon and getting cozy with a cup of tea. For me it is also time to make herb vinegar. Vinegar is a great way to maintain the abundance of culinary and medicinal plants of the summer. They also help to add life to your cooking and make great holiday gifts. To finish it, they are easy to make.
Vinegar has been used as a preservative and medicine for thousands of years. Likewise, herbal vinegar has a long history of use as well as food and medicine. Dioscorides and other classic doctors have often recommended herbal vinegar for both internal and external use.
Vinegar can extract almost all components from plants, similar to alcohol. But because it’s alcohol -free, herbal vinegar are child -friendly and great for people who don’t like alcohol or can’t have alcohol. Vinegar is especially good at extracting minerals (think of the school experiment that showed that eggshells laid out in vinegar). This makes it a great way to get the benefits of some of our best food herbs during the winter.
In addition to their health benefits, herb vinegar is also a great way to bring the taste of summer to your winter kitchen. The only difference between culinary and medicinal vinegar is the amount of plant material that you add and in some cases how long you leave it. These make great gifts and are an easy way to add a kick of taste to recipes.
One of my favorite things about herbal vinegar is how versatile they are. They can be taken in therapeutic doses by the spoon or drop or you can add them to your favorite recipes instead of regular vinegar. My herbal vinegar are often the secret ingredient in some of my favorite dishes.
You can make herb vinegar from all your favorite herbs or combination of herbs. Below are some of my favorites, but feel free to experiment. This is just the beginning.
Culinary herbs that make great vinegar are among other things:
- Garlic ((Allium sativum))
- Rosemary ((Rosmarinus Officinalis))
- Basil ((Ocimum Basil))
- Oregano ((Origanum vulgare))
- Tarragon ((Artemisia Dracunculus))
- Thyme ((Thymus spp.)
- Wise ((Salvia Officinalis))
- Chili pepper (all varieties)
Here are some of my favorite medicinal herbs to make vinegar:
- Hawthorn ((Krataegus spp.)
- Rose ((Rosa spp.)
- Dandelion ((Taraxacum Officinal))
- Horsetail ((Equisetum spp.)
- White willow ((Salix spp.)
- Elderberries and older flower ((Sambucus Nigra))
- Wild oregano ((Monarda spp.)
- Schisandra ((Schisandra Chinensis))
- Tube ((Achillea Millefolium))
- Calendula ((Calendula Officinalis))
- Every digestive herb or combination of herbs, including cardamom, fennel, catnip, lemon balm, chamomile, etc.
Some great food herbs are:
- Alfalfa ((Medicago Sativa))
- Fuel ((Urtica Dioica))
- Raspberry ((Rubus Ideus))
- Dandelion ((Taraxacum Officinal))
- Oats ((Avena Sativa))
Food herbs are full of vitamins and minerals and vinegar made with these herbs are a great way to get their food properties. Most of these are mild in taste, making them easy to replace in salad dressings and other recipes.
Make your vinegar
Herbal vinegar are very easy to make. In essence, place a herb or herbs of your choice in a pot, cover vinegar and let it be steep. Below is a step -by -step process for creating your own herb vinegar. Although there are a few important things to remember (do not mix metal and vinegar), there is very little that you can do wrong. So feel free to experiment.
You need a glass jar. If you are planning to give them as a gift, you may want to get decorative glass containers. But you can also simply use an old spaghettis zaspot. Every glass container is fine.
You then want to fill your pot with your favorite herb (or combination of herbs). These can be fresh or dried. The exact amount is up to you and depends on how you intend to use it. In general, medicinal vinegar are made with much more plant material than culinary or “flavored” vinegar. I usually fill my pot at least halfway with herbs, if not anymore. For culinary vinegar it is a matter of taste. I have made strong basil vinegar that is made with so much basil when I can fit in the pot and I also made lighter vinegar that may have a branch or two rosemary in it. So play with it and see what works best for you. Again, you can’t be wrong. Keep in mind that dried herbs will give a stronger taste, so if you prefer a more delicate taste, use less.
For medicinal vinegar, many believe that only dried herbs should be used and provide a “stronger” medicine, because the water is no longer in the plant. But I don’t agree with that. I made medicinal vinegar and oxymels with both fresh and dried herbs and both work great. So really, it’s a matter of convenience and preference. Try it both sides and see which you prefer.
As soon as you have your herbs in the pot, you want to cover them with vinegar until the herbs are immersed and there is about a ¼ inch vinegar on top. You can use any type of vinegar. I tend to make mine with raw unfiltered apple cider vinegar. If you make culinary vinegar, you might want to use red wine or even balsamic vinegar. It’s up to you. I do not recommend using white distilled vinegar. If you use raw vinegar that still contains the ‘mother’, your vinegar can develop a white layer of mucus on top after storing. This is not fungus but another ‘mother’. You can remove it and throw it away and your vinegar is still in order.
It is important that all the plant material is immersed in vinegar. If it is exposed to air, there is the risk of introducing bacteria. If you use dried herbs, you must top up the vinegar in your pot in your pot for the first few days while the plant material absorbs the vinegar.
You are now ready to close your vinegar. Very important: do not use a metal lid for vinegar or at least ensure that the vinegar never touches the metal, because it will corrode the metal and ruin your vinegar. Use a plastic, glass or rubber lid. If you use a pot with a metal lid, first cover the jar with plastic wrap or parchment paper before placing the lid. This prevents the vinegar from touching the metal. For decorative containers, make sure they have non-metal lids.
Traditionally you want your vinegar to be in a dark place, or at least from direct sunlight for 4-6 weeks. However, if you make a subtly flavored vinegar, you may only want to sit for two weeks. Once your vinegar is ready, you can tension and bottle.*
If vinegar is too acidic for you, add a little honey to soften it. You can add this at the start of the process when you ‘make your vinegar (just add a little honey to your container) or as soon as you have tensioned your completed vinegar. The exact amount differs depending on the size of your container, so add to taste. Traditionally, herbalony were made with vinegar and honey called oxymels.
Enjoy!
* It’s great to let the vinegar be past this time. This is just a guideline to give the vinegar sufficient time to extract the components from the plants. If you leave it for longer, your vinegar will not harm. Some of my vinegar and oxymels that I use quickly enough that I never press them. If you choose to let the plant material inside, I recommend it to tension them as soon as the vinegar level is below the plant material.
Erin Smith has been working with plants for 25 years and is a medical herbalist and ethnobotanist. She is the maker of Plant Passionate Living, an interactive program designed to help people find more health and vitality through a deeper relationship with plants. Erin is the founder and director of the Center for Integrative Botanical Studies.
Only for educational purposes. This information has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent a disease or to sell a product.
Continue reading