Homemade Herb Vinegar
2 cup white vinegar
1 cup fresh herbs: basil, mint, dill, rosemary, chives or oregano (choose one)
Decide which herb you’d like to flavor your vinegar. Place the vinegar in a glass jar or bottle. Add herbs, seal and let steep for 2-4 weeks. The longer you let it steep, the stronger the vinegar. Remove herbs and put in 2 or 3 sprigs of the herb for decoration. Seal bottle with cork and then pour melted paraffin around the top and tie with a ribbon for gift giving. Makes 2 cups.
For more easy homemade gift recipes and scratch cooking recipes like this herb vinegar recipe, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.
Photo By:B.D.’s world
I love the iedas of having homemade mixes on hand so i can pop a meal in the oven. I also just got my turbocooker out again. You can bake a yummy cholate cherry coke cake in. It is a special dessert I make when the kids don’t feel like leftovers but can be “bribed with aspecial dessert”
I do this in summer with rosemary and thyme. Makes a delicious seasoned vinegar. If you don’t want to do the paraffin wax, you can also purchase these wax-looking caps, that fit right over the cork.
It’s important to not let the vinegar come in contact with metal, so use a plastic funnel when pouring the vinegar into the bottles.
I notice you use white vingegar in most of your recipes. My mother only used white vinegar when she made pickles or for household cleaning. For cooking we used apple cider vinegar. There is a taste difference, so I am curious as to why you use the white vs. apple.
Mostly for the taste. If you like Apple Cider instead then go ahead and use it if you would prefer.
I use white vinegar for herbed or flavoured vinegar because it is a neutral base.
With the apple cider malt and other types you are having to match the herbs to the vinegar.
White wine vinegar is also good but it is a bit more expensive.
Rice wine vinegar is also a pretty neutral vinegar that takes on flavours.
Malt vinegar for fish and chips.
Apple cider vinegar for dishes with fruit or with coleslaw to thin out the mayo.
Rice and white vinegar for most other things.
Balsamic vinegar for wine sauce for steaks and roasts. Just discovered this one last week and it is wonderful. Trying to cut the carbs so this sauce takes the place of gravy.
One year we made herbed vinegar,homemade croutons, and bread cloths put them in a basket and gave them out at Christmas to our friends. It was a great family fun time and an inexpensive gift.
A couple weeks ago I made mint vinegar with what was said to be the traditional british type.
It called for malt vinegar and it is so good. But next time I will follow the recipe and chop the mint leaves really fine. The big leaves don’t look so nice or professional but it sure is tasty.
Went to the dollar store and bought vinegar bottles with the tops already to go. Got 2 might go back next time we are there and get some more to give more as gifts.
I know you said pick the herb but could you give an idea of some. I have sage and not sure that would do well but I do have the others like tarragon rosemary thyme basil and lots of mint. 2 different types as well as spearmint.
New to gardening and everything is doing so well it scares me to find the energy on pain free days to get it all saved properly.
There are many combinations but here a few
chive, tarragon, basil
sage, rosemary,thyme. basil
basil, thyme, oregano
basil, garlic
sage, caraway
mint, rosemary
tarragon, garlic
Lemon thyme, sage
crushed berries (like raspberries), mint – use 1 cup berries to 2 cups vinegar
lemon basil, peppercorns
thanks Jill. have a lot of those growing and doing well.
wouldn’t have thought of sage in vinegar though. But since my 5 plants are doing great will give it a try.
would basil and pepper corns work. didn’t plant lemon this year and my tai and cinnamon are not doing so well. at least not yet.
We are still not unbearably hot yet. supposed to start next week after a few more thunder storms.
thanks for your help.
Yes you can use basil and pepper corns. Kind of think about the flavors you like in your cooking or in your salad dressings and mix those. For example if you like Italian food chances are pretty good you will like basil and oregano in some things. You do have to experiment a little to get the flavors you really like so these are just general ideas.
I am trying to think of things others will like as most of these things I am making from my garden will be cheer up gifts and christmas gifts this year.
I just see someone I know looking down and next time I see them I give them a small gift. Just to let them know they are not forgotten.
One person in particular has a husband who is slowly dieing and she is still working full time. So she gets a few things once a month or so.
Since my tastes are apparently strange I thought it a good idea to get some ideas from others.
I have made mint vinegar and find it great for chicken or pork sandwiches and on fish. So that one will go on the gift file as I have quite a few mint plants growing really well.
Anyway that is why I needed the suggestions. So thanks for being here so others can pick the brains of you and your readers.
Hi Grandma,
You are so sweet to do this for others!
I have a vinegar suggestion that I’ve found to be well-received — blueberry vinegar. It makes a lovely vinaigrette, or can be used to drizzle over chicken breasts, just before popping into the oven.
thanks, since blueberry season starts in about a month I will certainly keep it in mind.
do you have the proportions or is it just what I want it to be?
Also do you crush the berries or leave them whole or a bit of both.?
Hi Grandma,
It’s a cooked vinegar. About 2 cups of blueberries, 2 cups of vinegar, 1/4 cup of sugar. Put blueberries in a stainless saucepan with 3/4 cup of the vinegar and all of the sugar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Cool, then add remaining vinegar. Pour into a 1 quart jar, and allow to stand, refrigerated, for 6-8 weeks. Strain out berries and decant into individual bottles, and include a recipe for gifting.
Here’s the vinaigrette recipe I use with it: 6 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons blueberry vinegar, pinch sugar, pinch salt, dash pepper.
thanks for these.
now if the bugs don’t carry me away and the bears don’t eat me.
I will definitely make this one.
Last year blueberries were $25 for a 2 quart basket.
So hopefully the price won’t be much higher. Unfortunately blueberries do not grow on bushes or trees and it is truly a pain in the back to pick them. Don walks around with his rifle to make sure we are not disturbed by a momma bear and her babies.
Anyway thanks again for the recipe I found a couple using balsamic vinegar which also sounded good.
My friend makes a raspberry vinegar for us every year and that is great to marinate chicken in. I will make the blueberry vinegar for her this year. It is just coming into blueberry season here and I bought the first ones at the farmers’ market last Saturday. Can’t wait for quart boxes to be available so I can freeze some. Our vendor used to sell 4 qts tubs for $20 but found she could make more money by selling 1 pt containers for $5 each so she is doing that now. They are so plump and juicy that I don’t mind spending the extra money for them. I think one container will be just perfect for the recipe shown here.
Give us some ideas using oil and herbs.
Shirley I already have on the web site “Herb Ideas” and in our book Dining on a Dime.
I started a batch of chive blossom vinegar last week. It is already turning pink! Pretty pink vinegar….YAAAAAAAAAY! Can’t wait to see how it tastes. I used white wine vinegar that was purchased specifically for the purpose of making herbed vinegar. We are big fans of tarragon vinegar as well so that will be the next batch we make. Thanks for all of the ideas on different mixes!
To add an extra touch to the bottles for gifts, add cinnamon to the melted wax before dipping the tops of the bottles–you get a lovely color and a slight cinnamon scent.