Let me tell you how to make herb-infused vinegar. On my windowsill, I grow several aromatic herbs in pots. This season, I tried growing basil for the first time, and the harvest turned out excellent. It’s a pity, however, that it blooms so quickly because during the flowering period, the taste and aroma of basil leaves resemble a heavy, cologne-like scent—sharp and overly intense! While the leaves were still exuding a delicate aroma, I added basil to every vegetable salad. But as soon as it started blooming, it was no longer suitable for salads.
I decided to make herb-infused vinegar with basil. Ingredients:
basil, peppers, oregano, thyme, and fenugreek
- 500 ml of 9% vinegar
- a few peppercorns of various types
- sprigs of thyme
- sprigs of oregano
- sprigs of fenugreek
- A handful of basil leaves.
Place the herbs into a glass bottle, then pour in the vinegar. The fenugreek in my case is more for decorative purposes than for flavor. Let it infuse for at least two weeks. Later, I added a bit more basil as the initial amount didn’t seem quite enough. These infusions are generally recommended to be strained, but it’s not required.
herb-infused vinegar
basil-infused vinegar
I didn’t have dill at hand, and it would’ve complemented such a fragrant infusion wonderfully.
Once you make one bottle of aromatic vinegar, you’ll be tempted to experiment again and again… For a family that doesn’t drink, however, sourcing enough glass bottles for all planned vinegar varieties can be quite a challenge!
These kinds of infusions can be made with the most unimaginable ingredients and combinations—examples include cherry + garlic, cranberry + chili… The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. You can create single-flavor sauces and later mix them together.
I suggest you try mushroom-infused butter .
