Last berry season, my Aunty Pat picked a load of fresh raspberries and made a batch of raspberry vinegar. She was kind enough to share a bottle of this elixir with me; I became an instant fan.
Fresh raspberries macerating in white wine vinegar for three weeks in a cool dark place (not the window sill as this photo'd have you believe :)
Raspberry vinegar turns out to be such versatile stuff:
- great to deglaze a pan after cooking meat to make a simple and tasty jus
- diluted with soda water for a refreshing summer drink
- a tasty substitute for the usual acidic additions to a vinaigrette
- a surprising drizzle on ice cream and more berries.
So this season, I'm making my own. A couple of weeks ago I bought a few kilos of raspberries from the Pio Pio Orchard. The macerated for three weeks in white vinegar in the cool, dark basement. Today I strained, drained, and heated them ready to be bottled - as well as adding some sugar to half the batch to create a sweet, thick syrup for future ice-cream treats.
It was super easy. The hardest part was getting my hands on fresh raspberries - though the guy at the berry farm said you could use frozen - so remember that.
Storing in a cool dark place will keep the vinegar good for a year - though it tastes so good you'll use it much sooner than that.