Old Fashioned Raspberry Vinegar Tutorial

Learn how to make raspberry vinegar from scratch! In this old fashioned raspberry vinegar tutorial, I’ll show you how to transform not just raspberries, but any type of soft berry in a delicious, homemade vinegar. This technique is traditional and doesn’t require any special equipment on your part (which I love). 

When I first decided to try making homemade raspberry vinegar, tutorials were hard to come by. Oh, there was plenty online about soaking berries in store-bought vinegar. But I wanted to make the real, old fashioned stuff!

So I researched old cook books, gathered up the limited information I could find and finally, made my first batch. I fell head over heels in love with the tangy, bold flavor! Not only was it a fermented food product I could add to our whole food diet, but it was actually quite simple to make.

And because I know you’re interested in creating your own, I’m going to show you how to make raspberry vinegar from scratch!

Tools You’ll Need to Make Old Fashioned Raspberry Vinegar 

As I previously mentioned, you won’t need unique or special equipment to make raspberry vinegar from scratch. Here’s a quick list of necessary items, provided you use the technique I outline for you here. And good news is? You probably have these things on hand already! 

1. Enough ripe, red raspberries to fill your jar
2. Jar for holding the ferment 
3. Lid for jar (I use these HERE)
4. Cotton straining cloth (I use these HERE). 

And really, folks? That’s it! 

How to Make Raspberry Vinegar from Scratch

If you’ve never made traditionally fermented fruit vinegar before, you’re probably curious about how the process works! To make vinegar with raspberries, you’re going to through a few key steps. So let me give you a brief overview before I give you more detailed directions. 

1. The first step is to collect fully ripe berries. 
2. Next, you’re going to extract the juice from the fruit (there’s several ways to do this). 
3. Once collected, juice is poured into a jar and left to ferment with a breathable cover. 
4. In the first phase, airborne natural yeasts will begin consuming the juice’s sugar, converting it to alcohol. 
5. And in the second phase, airborne acetic acid bacteria will transform the alcohol content to (you guessed it) acetic acid. 
6. When this happens, you’ll have an old fashioned raspberry vinegar! 

Old Fashioned Raspberry Vinegar Recipe

Old fashioned raspberry vinegar is the result of a slow fermenting process. It is simple to make and requires very little of your time and attention. In this written tutorial, I’m going to walk you through the process step by step. I also made a free printable which you can access at the bottom of this blog post.

All good? Let’s move on!

Step 1: Harvest Your Raspberries

Harvest raspberries when they are ripe and juicy. Fully ripened berries contain the highest concentrates of natural sugar and make a very bold, flavorful vinegar.

Don’t have your own berry patch? Try sourcing freshly picked berries at a local farmer’s market or fruit stand. And if that isn’t an option? You can absolutely use frozen raspberries to make your own vinegar!

Should you be interested in growing some of your own fruit, I highly recommend planting some raspberry canes in your back yard. Raspberries are easy to grown in colder, northern climates. My friend Annie has a great post that will show you how to care for raspberries. There’s nothing like having your own!

Step 2: Prepare Your Raspberries

Because ripe raspberries are soft and fragile, don’t rinse them under running water. Instead, spread them out on a tray and pick over the fruits with your fingers. Remove any leaves, twigs or bugs. And then, you can prepare the juice.

Step 3: Extract the Raspberry Juice

While there are several ways you can extract juice from fresh raspberries, I usually like to use a water infusion. It’s simple and gives you great results. Here’s how it works. 

1. Place your raspberries in a glass jar, filling it (roughly) 4/5 of the way. 
2. Add chlorine-free water until the top of your raspberries are covered by about 1 inch of water.
3. At this point, you’ll just cover the jar with a lid. Be sure to fasten it down so fruit flies can’t get in! 
4. Let the berries and water infuse at the back of your kitchen counter for about 3 days, watching as the color deepens.
5. On day 3 or 4, line a bowl with a cotton cloth. 
6. Pour the jar’s contents into it and gather up the cloth, letting the juices drip through. 
7. Discard the berries and hold onto the liquid. 
8. At this point you can leave it ferment, but I usually like to run the liquid through another batch fo fresh berries, just to strengthen the flavor of the finished raspberry vinegar. 
9. Do to this, repeat steps 1-6 using a fresh batch of berries, only this time cover with the 1x infused liquid, instead of fresh water. 
10. Once the berries have been strained out a 2nd time, you’ll have beautiful, aromatic raspberry juice, ready for fermenting into vinegar!

Step 4: Pour the Juice Into a Food Safe Fermenting Container

Because your berry juice is going to become more acidic as it sits, make sure you use a food grade container for the fermenting process! Glass jars or stoneware crocks are my preferred choice.

Pour your raspberry juice into a food grade container and cover the mouth with a cloth, paper towel or coffee filter. Remember! For the fermenting process to take place, airflow needs to be able to carry the right yeasts and bacteria to the surface of your juice!

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Step 5: Leave Your Juice to Ferment in Proper Temperatures

There are many different airborne organisms in your home. The ones you want working on your juice actually need a particular temperature range to thrive and multiply.

If the room temperature is too low, the organism’s action will be very slow. And if the room is too warm? Spoiler yeasts may take hold and ruin the entire batch. But don’t worry! Most homes do hold to the proper temperature range.

You don’t want your juice to get colder than 60F (16C) or warmer than 80F (26C). This is the perfect window.

If you live in an area where your home is very warm during the summer? Just freeze the juice (or berries) and make your vinegar after temperatures have reached the proper range.

Step 6: The First Phase of Fermentation

In the first phase, airborne yeasts are caught on the surface of your juice. Slowly, they will start to consume the natural raspberry sugars. As they feed, they convert the sugars to alcohol.

How can you tell if natural yeasts are in action? You’ll see tiny bubbles (CO2) on the sides of your container and on the surface of your juice. Eventually, you’ll notice a light, alcohol-like aroma wafting up from your ferment.

A pink, bubbly foam may also develop on the surface of your liquid at this time. If it appears, skim it off. It’s not mold, but it may eventually give mold opportunity to grow. And you don’t want that!

Step 7: The Second Phase of Fermentation

After a few weeks, the yeasts will start to die off for lack of sugar. At this point a second, airborne organism will begin to work on your juice.

Only this time, it’s a group of bacteria called acetobactors (acetic acid bacteria). This bacteria takes the alcohol content and converts it to acetic acid. The process is slow and the conversion happens 3-6x slower than the first phase. But when it’s finished, you’ll have a robust, raspberry flavored vinegar quite unlike anything you’ll find at the grocery store!

Step 8: How to Tell When Your Vinegar Is Finished

It isn’t always easy to tell when your vinegar has finished moving through the fermenting phases. It will smell (and taste) sour several weeks before it is fully finished. Here’s the test I use to determine whether or not my vinegar has finished releasing C02 and is safe for bottling.

Set 1-2 C aside in jar or bottle. Cover with a tight fitting lid or cork and leave the vinegar to sit at the back of your kitchen counter for several days.

Break the seal. Was there a release of carbon dioxide? If so, it isn’t safe for bottling. Return to the original container and let it sit for another 2-3 weeks. Test as needed, until there is no release of C02.

And then? It’s ready to be bottled in a food grade container!

Step 9: Store Your Old Fashioned Raspberry Vinegar

Always use food-grade containers for storing your vinegar. Jars, glass bottles and jugs are my favorites! Whatever you choose to use, make sure you seal things up (to stop evaporation) and that you also avoid using tin or metal lids.

If you’re storing vinegar in glass jars, grab a pack of these white, wide mouth plastic lids. I use them for many things in my home and particularly, for my vinegar jars. Old tin canning lids just don’t hold up to the acidity of vinegar!

Once it’s bottled, you can store your vinegar wherever you please. It is shelf stable and will last for 1-2 years. Over time, the flavor and acidity will mellow out. But it’s so good, you probably won’t be able to keep it around for long!

What is Raspberry Vinegar Good For? 

There are many different ways you can use raspberry vinegar in the home. My personal favorites?

1. Create a delicious, homemade raspberry vinaigrette for green salads
2. Use raspberry vinegar to create a refreshing shrub or switchel drink after spending a hot day in the garden
3. Add it to homemade mayonnaise for a unique and special “tang” in flavor

If you need some ideas, be sure to check out MY BOOK on How to Make Fruit Vinegar for Beginners. Not only do I teach you how to turn all kinds of fruit into vinegar, but I dedicated an entire section to vinegar-based recipes, so you’ll know how to use it in your home. 

If you have any questions, please feel free to leave them in the comments below and I’ll get back to you!