Making Herbal Vinegars
© Leda Meredith
Herbs have been my buddies in the kitchen since I was tall enough to reach the spice rack, and long before I was old enough to cook. I used to take down the little glass jars, fascinated by each one's signature scent. I loved the sharp points of the whole cloves, the papery husks of the cardamom pods, the fluffiness of crumbled sage leaves. To me, each jar had its own personality, and I used to make up stories about them. Vanilla beans were decidedly female and in love with Sir Cinnamon. Oregano was a wild gypsy, and Allspice was a woodland elf.
I've never lost my fascination with all those mysterious jars in the spice rack. Fresh herbs find their way into dinner all through the gardening season, but I love finding ways to capture their flavors and scents for use throughout the year. Deciding what to cook often begins by staring dreamily at my collection of seasonings and waiting for one to capture my imagination. I love the many shapes and clear colors of the bottles of herbal vinegar on the kitchen counter, the tins of homemade herbal tea blends in the cabinet. Oh, and I need a new spice rack: I long ago ran out of room for all the jars.
Below are two basic recipes for making your own herbal vinegar. Any blend of herbs that makes a delicious vinegar will also be good as a dry seasoning blend. Be forewarned: this could be the start of a lifelong fascination with herbal cookery. Soon you will find yourself collecting interesting bottles for herbal combinations you haven't created yet. You will have so much fun making them that you will start giving away your extras as gifts. You will forget what it was like to make a salad dressing with plain old oil and vinegar. You will need to find room in the garden for just one more herb...and another, and another. You will need a bigger spice rack.
You can use fresh or dried herbs to make herbal vinegar, but I strongly recommend choosing dried herbs with care. Best of all would be herbs that you've dried yourself. They should be bright shades of green, have a strong flavor and a scent that cannot be mistaken for any other herb. Forget the bargain plastic jars of generic gray-green, "herby" smelling herbs. If your oregano smells like your thyme, throw them both out and spend an extra dollar for better quality herbs.
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