DIY In The Garden: Making Fruit Vinegar
I am always looking for new ways to make things from what I grow in my garden.
Fruit vinegar is an easy and fun way to use the fruit you may have growing in the garden.
What can you use fruit vinegar for? I use them to create vinaigrettes, marinades, and glazes, which add delicious and unexpected flavor.
Making fruit vinegar is simple to do – all you need is the fruit of your choice (chopped) and white wine vinegar. Fruits that can be used include apples, berries, peaches, pears, plums, and strawberries.
I recently made some strawberry vinegar that is so good, my husband has been making his own salads – it tastes that good.
The process is the same for whatever type of fruit you choose. Are you ready?
1. Dice fruit into 1-inch size pieces.
2. Fill a glass jar 1/3 of the way full of chopped fruit and then pour white wine vinegar until it reaches the top.
3. Store your fruit/vinegar jar in a cool, dark place such as a pantry for 4 weeks.
4. Once a week, shake the jars, to help mix up the contents.
After a month has passed, your fruit will have taken on a colorless appearance while the vinegar will have beautiful, color, which means lots of delicious flavors.
5. Place a strainer over a bowl and put a paper towel inside. Pour out the contents of the jars.
6. Pour the strained liquid into a clean jar. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.
Congratulations! You now have a jar filled with delicious fruit vinegar ready to use to flavor your favorite dishes.
You may wonder how I used my latest batch of strawberry vinegar. Well, I have a top-secret family recipe for salad dressing that my kids and husband love.
It’s from my grandma, who coincidentally, was NOT a great cook – but she certainly made a delicious salad dressing.
I’m sure that she would be tickled pink to know that I am sharing it with all of you – just click the link below for the recipe.
I hope you decide to make some fruit vinegar too! In addition to strawberry vinegar, I also like to make it from peaches from our fruit trees – you can see how I made this earlier, here.
How about you? What fruit would you choose to make vinegar from?
Noelle Johnson, aka, 'AZ Plant Lady' is a author, horticulturist, and landscape consultant who helps people learn how to create, grow, and maintain beautiful desert gardens that thrive in a hot, dry climate. She does this through her consulting services, her online class Desert Gardening 101, and her monthly membership club, Through the Garden Gate. As she likes to tell desert-dwellers, "Gardening in the desert isn't hard, but it is different."
Oh what a fun way to use fruit from the garden! I don't put dressing on my salads, and my husband wouldn't eat anything with a fruit glaze, sadly, but these would be beautiful gifts!