How to Make Herbal Vinegars

         It’s Easy with a Little

            Advance Planning

The guideline outlined below follows the steps developed at Meadowsweet Herb Farm in Vermont where we produced more than 20,000 hand-crafted herbal vinegars over the years. By following these steps, and with a little advance planning, you will be able to make a few or a lot of herbal vinegars at one time with ease and success. Herbal vinegars are both decorative and versatile in the kitchen and give a fresh herb taste year-round to your salad dressings, vinaigrettes, sauces, marinades, soups, and more. They are an easy way to preserve the season’s herb harvest for winter enjoyment and they make wonderful gifts for family and friends. Kids also enjoy making herbal vinegars as gifts for their teachers.

VINEGAR: The first step is to choose the right vinegar from the wide variety available and one that enhances the flavors of the herbs. White wine and champagne vinegars are popular choices for their delicate and smooth flavors. The stronger red wine vinegar is best with robust herbs (rosemary, thyme, savory, oregano) with hearty flavors. Wine vinegars are not alcoholic despite their names as the process for making the vinegar removes the alcohol. Apple cider vinegar is another good choice for most herbs. Rice vinegar and sherry vinegar have a mild and sweet flavor. Any vinegar that has at least 5% acidity is suitable. Commercial distilled white vinegar has a harsh taste and is really for pickles and household chores.

To find wine vinegars in gallons visit your large discount grocery/box stores and wholesale distributors. Roland and Regina wine vinegars are good brands to find. Gallons of apple cider are easily found in the supermarket. The standard 12 oz bottles of vinegars found in supermarkets are convenient if you wish to make a few bottles or enlarge your recycled collection although you will need to soak and scrape off the labels. Plan on one bottle almost filling two empty bottles of the same size.

Below are online links to Regina wine vinegars in gallons:

https://mybrands.com/Brands/Regina/Regina-Vinegar-Wine-White-Champagne-1-gal

https://mybrands.com/Brands/Regina/Regina-Vinegar-Red-Wine-1-gal

BOTTLES. Using my methods you create each herbal vinegar separately in its own bottle. You do not need to steep herbs in containers, heat vinegar or strain anything. Clear glass bottles can be new or recycled and are available in all sorts of sizes and shapes. Choose bottles with an opening large enough for inserting larger sprigs of herbs (rosemary) and also one that pours easily. Look for these bottle shapes: wine, sauce, cider, cruet, maple syrup. All bottles, plastic caps and corks must be clean/sterilized and dry before you begin. Soak the bottles in warm water to scrape off the labels. The dishwasher can be a useful assistant here. And you will probably need some Goo-Be-Gone to finish the job.

Before choosing a bottle for your herbal vinegars you need to estimate how many fresh herbs you will have on hand. The general rule of thumb is that you need a generous cup of fresh herbs to two cups of vinegar. Dried herbs are never used. The peak season for making herbal vinegars is the summertime when your herb garden and containers are overflowing. Other bountiful sources for fresh herbs are local farmer markets and CSA farms. Fresh herbs are sold by the bunch or pound at wholesale groceries who are usually friendly to herb buyers.

If you wish to make a larger batch of herbal vinegars, it is much easier to work with only one bottle shape rather than an assortment. Below are some reliable bottle suppliers online. Be sure your order includes plastic caps with a seal.

https://www.sks-bottle.com/340c/fin12d.htm

250 ml (8 oz) square bottle

https://www.sunburstbottle.com/clear-glass-bottle/p/COMB/

250 ml (8 oz) small wine bottle

https://www.sunburstbottle.com/clear-glass-bottle/p/COM2B/

375 ml (12oz) medium wine bottle

TOOLS:  wood chopsticks or bamboo skewers (long and short), plastic funnel, cutting board, plastic measuring spoons, paper towels. Never use metal utensils when working with vinegar.

FINISHING TOUCHES: The finishing touches can be fun to develop. Use your creativity to decorate the finished herbal vinegars with labels, fabric squares or colorful wine heat shrink capsules, jute or raffia twine, and a simple recipe card. Below are some suggestions to get your creativity juices flowing:

https://www.winemakersdepot.com/CapsulesShrink-C57.aspx

heat shrink capsules (using heat gun/hairdryer)

https://www.onlinelabels.com/wine-bottle-labels.aspx

small wine bottle labels you can customize

https://www.amazon.com/Avery-8253-Matte-White-Labels/dp/B00094GL1Y

2×4 matte white ink jet labels fit most bottles

https://www.amazon.com/Moda-French-General-Esprit-Squares/dp/B00BYESJTA/ref=sr_1_4?s=arts-   crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1375903822&sr=1-4

various assortments of 5” fabric squares

With this advance planning behind us, I look forward to sharing my recipes for making herbal vinegars such as Italian, Basil/Garlic, Rosemary/Lemon/Garlic, French Tarragon, Lemon Dill, Chile Pepper and others as well as recipes for using herbal vinegars with you next….

Please be sure to ask any questions you may have. All questions are welcome!

Corona del Mar. On a recent visit to California, I visited the Savory Spice Shop where enticing fragrances welcomed me as I stepped inside this handsome emporium of herbs and spices. You will find here over 400 individual herbs and spices from the traditional to the exotic. You will also find more than 140 herbal/spice blends to make your job in the kitchen a bit easier and certainly more flavorful.  The quality and freshness of the fragrant herbs are superb. The spices are ground weekly so that they are as fresh as possible for you.

If you’re accustomed to little tins of grocery spices, you can’t imagine how aromatic and flavorful fresh spices will be. I added their Pumpkin Pie Spice blend to my holiday pumpkin pie, and my family clamored for more demanding the spicy recipe. I admit I used more than recommended as I’ve a generous hand with spices in my kitchen. I’ve been baking the Libby’s pie recipe for years, but this time I used their spices. That was the only difference. And what an incredible difference it was!

Here is the owner Laura Shute in her store in Corona del Mar, CA. Laura and her friendly staff are very knowledgeable and eager to answer all your questions. They offer various recipes for inspiration and guidance. You will also find lots of recipes online: https://savoryspiceshop.com/recipes.html

The herbs and spices are packaged in both small ziplock bags and spice jars. A variety of sizes is available online at the Savory Spice Shop Store. And the prices are very affordable! Here’s the link: https://savoryspiceshop.com/shopsavory.html   You will also find wonderful items and unusual gift boxes for your family and friends for any occasion.

The Savory Spice Shop is headquartered in Denver and new stores are opening up around the country. Check here to see if there is one nearby: https://savoryspiceshop.com/aboutus/where.html  Do make a point to visit one.  While I’ve only visited Laura’s beautiful store, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Please remember that if your stored spices or herbs are more than one year old, it’s time to replace them. It’s best to store them in a cool cupboard away from sunlight.