Customized Vinegars

The often small selection of flavored vinegars sold in stores doesn’t hold a candle to the countless varieties you can make at home. Herbs, fruits, vegetables and spices--alone or in combination--may be used to enhance white or red wine vinegars, as well as rice, cider or balsamic varieties.

Once you get going, lots of ideas will come to mind. Try making vinegars similar to those on the market or use one of these ideas:

*A stalk of lemon grass, sprigs of lemon thyme, lemon slices and a spiral of lemon peel with a mixture of half white wine and half rice vinegar. Use for vegetable salads and fish.

*Rosemary sprigs, garlic cloves, tiny red chiles and mixed peppercorns with half cider and half white wine vinegar. Use for marinades and sauces.

*Basil, oregano, garlic and black peppercorns with red wine vinegar. Use for meat salads and sauces.

You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, so it’s important to start with a quality pasteurized vinegar that has an acetic acid level of at least 5%. Medium-priced varieties with a not-too-sharp taste are good.

Flavoring agents should be fresh and unblemished. If you grow your own herbs, pick them in the morning, as soon as any dew has dried.

Because of the vinegar’s acidity, all the equipment used in preparation must be made of nonreactive material--glass, plastic, porcelain or enamel-coated steel containers, wooden spoons and a plastic funnel. Coffee filters, cheesecloth, muslin or a nylon jelly bag may be used to strain the flavored vinegar before bottling.

Clear glass bottles let you see the flavoring ingredients, but you can put the final product in any type of container with a tight-fitting nonreactive lid, such as a cork or ceramic stopper.

Cleanliness is imperative throughout the preparation. All the equipment needs to be thoroughly washed with hot, soapy water and rinsed well in hot water. The flavoring agents must also be washed well and dried before they are steeped.

Be sure to use a generous amount of flavoring ingredients during the initial steeping process. For herbs, a cup of chopped leaves should be added to each two cups of vinegar.

Once combined, close the steeping vessel tightly and store in a cool, dark place. Shake or stir the mixture occasionally and begin tasting it after about a week. Continue until the flavor reaches the desired intensity. If after a month you still want more flavor, strain the vinegar, add new herbs and continue the steeping process.

When the taste is to your liking, the vinegar needs to be strained until clear (this may take two or more times). It’s then ready to be transferred to sterilized bottles.

Fill the clean bottles with boiling water and let them stand about 10 minutes. Pour out the water and allow the bottles to cool enough for any steam to disappear.

Next, insert a few fresh examples of the flavoring ingredients. It can take a little time and patience to arrange them attractively in the bottles.

To insert lemon slices, cut them very thin and roll into a cylinder. Garlic cloves may be threaded onto a wooden skewer. Twist lemon spirals around a stalk of lemon grass. Rosemary sprigs are dense enough to hold other things in place. The idea is to anchor some ingredients so everything doesn’t float to the top when the vinegar is added.

The acidity of the vinegar bleaches the color from some herbs faster than others. If appearance is important, you may want to experiment by placing different varieties of herbs in the vinegar solution you plan to use and letting them steep for a few hours.

The bottles must be tightly sealed. Corks are porous and need to be coated with paraffin or sealing wax.

Melt the wax in a small can placed in a pan of water over low heat. Never leave the wax unattended and remove it from the heat immediately if it begins to smoke.

To make the seal easy to open, center a 4-inch length of ribbon over the cork before dipping the bottle neck into the melted wax. Repeat the procedure, allowing the wax to cool after each dip, until it forms a thick seal. When you want to open the vinegar, simply pull up on the ribbon.

Label the bottles with the type of vinegar and the date. Decorative labels add a little style if the vinegars are to be gifts. You can also tie raffia or ribbon around the neck and attach a recipe for using the vinegar.

It’s best to store flavored vinegars in a cool, dark place. Properly stored, the vinegars should retain their quality for up to six months. Once opened, they are best used within three months. (Note: Oils may be flavored in the same way, but unlike vinegars, which are protected from bacteria by their acid content, homemade flavored oils do not keep long, up to a week at most.)

Periodically adding fresh vinegar extends the life. Keep flavorings covered with vinegar or they can mold. Discard vinegar with mold or a questionable color or flavor.