Leaves From Fresh Herbs Create Wonderful Vinegars

Leaves from fresh herbs can create wonderful vinegars. This article will give you some simple tips and techniques for making fresh herb vinegars using some fresh herb sprigs.

You might be surprised how many different tasty and colorful vinegars you can make using a variety of herbs.

You can also use fresh garlic, along with small peppers and lemons. These vinegars add a great flavor in so many different dishes. Here are a few materials you will need.

• Two cup measuring cup, funnel, long metal skewer, pot for the stove, clear long bottle, and cork.



• White Distilled Vinegar, fresh herb leaves, lemon, fresh garlic, small cayenne, garden salsa, or super chili red pepper.

Now let's take it step by step and you will see how quick and simple the process is...

1. Decide what herbs you want to use.



2. Cut the fresh leaves from the plant, or buy the leaves at grocery or specialty stores.



3. Wash the leaves in cold water and gently pat them dry with a paper towel. Let them dry for about five minutes.



4. For the first couple of times pour your cold vinegar into your bottle using the funnel. When bottle is full pour into your measuring cup. This will tell you how much vinegar you will need per bottle. Pour the full bottle of vinegar into your pot on the stove. Once you do this a few times you will know how much vinegar it takes for one bottle.



5. Heat your vinegar to almost a boil, but don't let it boil. Turn the stove down and the vinegar will stay hot.
6. Garlic is optional but adds a lot of flavor. Peel garlic and use about three or four cloves per bottle.
7. Add your favorite small pepper. You can use as many as you want. I put some in the bottom of the bottle, and some throughout the herbs.





8. Use whole leaves of herbs and take the skewer and gently push the herbs down in the bottle. You can fill the bottle as full as you like it to be. Some people want only a few herbs, and others like their bottle full of color. You can do a couple and see what you prefer.



9. Fill you herbs right to the top of the bottle.
   
   Take your funnel and put it in the top of the bottle. Pour the hot vinegar all the way to the top. Don't secure the cork yet, as the herbs and vinegar will settle some.
   
   Wait about fifteen to twenty minutes and see if you will have to add a little more herbs or vinegar. You will want the the vinegar right to the top before you push the cork on tight. See how easy it is to make herb vinegars.

Keeping the Harvest: Preserving Your Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs (Down-to-Earth Book) is a great resource book for you.

Nancy Chioffi and Gretchen Mead go into wonderful details on preserving, canning, and storing your harvest. Great gift idea as well.

Leaves for Drying your herbs to preserve is another option for fresh herbs. The shelf life is about 6 months if you are using it for cooking.

Even if your not interested in cooking with herb vinegars, the bottle makes a great decoration on your counter top in your kitchen.

Here are two recipes I use for different food dishes.



This recipe I use in beef and pork dishes, along with many green vegetables. Three or four sprigs of rosemary, three to four cloves of garlic, four to six leaves of Italian leaf basil, four to six long stems of garlic chives, five to seven red peppers, and a hand full of thyme and oregano. This will make one to two bottles.

I like to use this vinegar for fresh fish, and chicken baked or grilled out in aluminum foil. Try it on any dish, if you like lemons.

Three to four garlic cloves, six to eight sprigs of dill, four to five pieces of fresh lemon cut up. Two to three sprigs of rosemary and four to six long stems of garlic chives.

I sometimes add a little fresh sprigs of sage to bring a different flavor. This will also make one to two bottles.

Play around with any combination of fresh herbs and you can create a great flavor herb vinegar.