Strawberry Vinegar Recipe
Learn how to turn fresh strawberries into a homemade vinegar that can be used in the whole food kitchen.
Equipment
- 8 quart bowl
- half gallon jar
- large cotton cloth
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries
- 4-5 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon honey or sugar (optional for stronger ferment)
Instructions
- Harvest sun-ripened strawberries from your patch or from a local u-pick.
- Rinse strawberries to remove dust and bugs.
- Remove the green caps, leaving the stems attached.
- Pack whole fruit into your jar, filling it to the shoulder, leaving 3-4 inches of open space at top.
- Add chlorine-free water until your berries are just covered when you press them down.
- Fasten a lid in place and set the jar on a plate if leaving on kitchen counter.
- Break the seal daily to release any carbon dioxide that builds up.
- Let strawberries and water infuse for 6-10 days.
- Line an 8 quart bowl with a cotton cloth.
- Pour the strawberries and liquid into it.
- Gather up the 4 corners of the cloth and knot together.
- Lift berries and hang for 1-2 hours so juices can drip into the bowl below.
- Pour collected strawberry juice into a clean, wide mouth jar.
- Cover with a cloth, paper towel or coffee filter and fasten down with rubber band to keep fruit flies out.
- Let juice ferment for 6-8 weeks, until it begins to smell sour.
- Taste test. If your strawberry juice taste sour, pour 1/2 C into a small jar and cover with a tightly fastened canning lid and band.
- Return to the kitchen counter and let sit for 2-3 days.
- Break the seal. If a puff of air was released, your vinegar isn't done fermenting yet. Return to the original fermenting jar and let it sit for another 2-3 weeks.
- Continue testing, until no puff of air is released from your little jar.
- And then, it's time to bottle or jar your homemade strawberry vinegar in a food-grade container!
- Store in a kitchen cupboard or on a pantry shelf for up to 12 months.
- Use in homemade salad dressings, vinaigrettes, in shrubs or as a tonic.
