Easy Herbal Vinegars

This is going to be the quickest, easiest Herbal Vinegar recipe you have ever read!! 

In fairness, vinegar is a tricky thing to work with. Although vinegar has a very stable shelf life, and most people think it can't go bad, once you introduce anything else into it, it becomes less stable.

The other thing you will want to consider before beginning, is where you live. Super humid (like here in the Midwest) or super dry climates can also have an impact on the stability and quality of your vinegar. 

Okay, enough of the nitty gritty, let's just have some fun!! I'm going to share my process for creating this tasty Tarragon White Wine Vinegar. There are NO measurements here because the more herbs you add, the stronger the flavor. It's entirely up to you! 1 gallon of vinegar will need a LOT of fresh herbs!!

This is fresh tarragon, straight from the herb garden. It was rinsed and completely dried before adding to the vinegar. Any water/liquid will cloud the vinegar. 

Any herb in your garden will work for vinegar if it hasn't been sprayed for bugs. I love using tarragon because it is versatile in everything.

Rice Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar both pair well with tarragon. I chose the White Wine because it has a flavor that most people will like. It also easier to find in larger quantities.

I take a glass mason jar, place fresh tarragon in the jar.....

....and then just fill with vinegar to cover the herb. Place plastic wrap over the top, then screw on the metal lid. (DEFINITELY USE PLASTIC WRAP - otherwise the vinegar will react with the metal in canning jar lids. You don't want this to happen!!!)

Now, we sit and wait. And wait. And wait. The jar needs to be left in a cool, dry, semi-light space for at least one week.

 (If you want to super-speed this process, you can also use the 'sun-tea method'. Just place the herbs in the vinegar, cover, and place in the sun the same way you would to make sun-tea. At the end of the day, just move it to a dark, cool area for an additional 24 hours.) 

Now it's time to strain out the herbs. This is my Pour-Over Coffee Maker. It is perfect for this application too!! 

All bottled up, with some of the original infusing herbs, and a few fresh stems. The new fresh stems will also discolor eventually, but they add some fun! 

See, super easy!! I will do a more in-depth post in the future, but with fresh herbs abounding everywhere right now, you can at least start assembling ingredients and tools. I keep a whole shelf of assorted flavored vinegar's just for the fun it adds to any meal or dish, year round!