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Recently, flavored vinegars with fruit and herbs have become increasingly popular in the market; from vinegars with strawberries and raspberries to those with unique flowers and plants, refined bottles that add an extra touch to your table and your dishes, turning even simple salads into true gourmet creations, and they can also be a great gift idea.
In reality, preparing flavored vinegar at home is very simple, and anyone can do it quickly and immediately, without the need for special tools, customizing this precious ingredient with their favorite herbs or spices and giving that extra touch that will make it a characteristic element for all the dishes it is added to... but not only! Vinegar, rich in probiotic properties, becomes a real health elixir when enriched with medicinal herbs, so much so that we can talk about true 'medicinalized' vinegars.
Aromatic vinegars can be prepared with fresh or dried herbs, spices, flowers, and fruits, leftover flavors that we don't know how to use and that can acquire new life in vinegar thanks to how easily this element absorbs aromas. Aromatizing vinegar is actually a form of extraction and preservation of the active principles of plants and spices that are macerated in it. In fact, extraction in vinegar is much more effective than extraction in water, which results in herbal teas, as water extraction will have an alkaline pH and will be subject to bacterial attack, so it cannot be preserved for long outside or even inside the fridge.
Extraction in vinegar, on the other hand, allows for the effective extraction of the plant's active principle and its long-term preservation because the acidic pH (around 2.9) makes vinegar an ideal solvent for the diffusion of soluble active principles inside the plant material. Therefore, flavored vinegar is not only a great ingredient to prepare with the most interesting and aromatic plants, but also a way to preserve the properties of a plant over time, consuming it to enjoy its benefits for the body.
For example, you can prepare a rosemary-flavored vinegar to dress summer salads, but at the same time, you can consume it for its benefits, as it allows you to effectively enjoy the energizing and liver-cleansing properties of rosemary.
Buy Dried Aromatic Herbs on Terza Luna
Preparing flavored vinegar at home is very simple, and follows the same extraction method whether you want to enrich it with herbs, plants, spices, or other ingredients.
You will need:
The quantities can vary, as they depend on the actual aromaticity of the herbs, the infusion times, and the size of the jar used. Generally, the herbs or spices are placed in a strictly glass jar, which should be filled with vinegar to cover all the herbs. The jar should be closed and left for 3-4 weeks in a cool place away from direct light to let the herbs and flavors macerate. After this extraction time has passed, the vinegar can be strained, and we will have our flavored vinegar that can be stored at room temperature for several months. The extraction times are also indicative: it is suggested to taste the vinegar from time to time, adjusting based on your taste on when to remove the flavors.
The beauty of this preparation is the possibility to choose the preferred ingredients and create special and unusual vinegars. Regarding the base vinegar to use, you can choose an apple vinegar suitable for herbs, an artisanal wine vinegar, a more delicate rice vinegar, or even a kombucha vinegar. Whatever vinegar you choose, the important thing is to use a unpasteurized vinegar, as this will preserve the fermentation probiotics, so the flavored vinegar will not only have the active principles of the plants but also the properties of the vinegar.
As mentioned, you can choose your favorite flavors, spices, herbs, fruits, and flowers to create recipes for flavored vinegar to use for seasoning your dishes or as a base for sauces, braised dishes, and caramelizations. The vinegar extraction also allows you to preserve your garden plants when you don't know how to use them anymore and don't want to waste them. Vinegar can be flavored with:
Below, we want to offer you some recipes for flavored vinegars that are excellent not only in the kitchen but also for their therapeutic properties, drawing from the tradition of this preparation and the best herbs and spices for sale also on Terza Luna.
The fire cider is the father of flavored vinegars, a warming herb infusion popularized in the '70s that supports the immune system, great in winter to enrich dishes and support the body against colds, stimulate digestion, and tone on cold days. It is not only a great ingredient but also a simple herbal remedy to make with easily available ingredients. Let's see the recipe.
This vinegar is an excellent flavored dressing with adaptogenic plants, very important to support the body in times of stress. You can learn more about the properties of adaptogens in our article on relaxing and anti-stress plants.
In a jar, place the tulsi, ginger, and rhodiola, cover with apple cider vinegar, close the jar, and let it macerate for a month in a dry place not exposed to light. After this time, filter with a strainer or cloth. This flavored vinegar is excellent for seasoning various dishes, but it can also be consumed to enjoy its properties by mixing 3-4 teaspoons of flavored vinegar with a glass of warm or cold water, adding honey if the taste is too acidic.
This flavored vinegar with sage and jalapeño pepper is very special and can be used to enhance dishes but also to prepare cocktails and summer drinks. Let's see how to make it:
Put the sage and chili in a jar, cover with vinegar, and close the jar. Let it macerate for three days and then filter. Use the vinegar on salads for a balsamic and spicy note, or in drinks.
This flavored vinegar with flowers and herbs is ideal for refreshing and strengthening the hair, and can be used after shampooing by spraying it with a spray bottle without the need to rinse.
Put all the herbs and flowers in a jar, cover with vinegar. Let it macerate for three weeks, then filter and transfer to a spray bottle. Use it on your hair after shampoo and conditioner, massaging it in and not rinsing it out. Hair vinegars are very effective beauty products and can be prepared with different herbs.
Honey-flavored vinegars, called oxymel, are preparations similar to a syrup with a sour yet sweet taste, made with vinegar, honey, and aromatic herbs. They are excellent for enhancing dishes with a special touch, but also for improving respiratory conditions such as colds and allergies. We suggest a beneficial version for allergies, with immortelle and thyme.
Fill the jar one-third full with honey, add the herbs up to half of the jar, and then cover everything with vinegar. Mix and let it macerate, allowing the extraction to take place. Both honey and vinegar are preservatives, and therefore preserve the active principles of the plants. This immortelle and sage vinegar is excellent, for example, to combat colds and allergies and can be added to dishes or taken with a spoon dissolved in warm water in the morning when congested or cold.
