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Fruit & Berry Vinegars

 
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Gareth



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 85
Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK

PostPosted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 8:26 pm    Post subject: Fruit & Berry Vinegars Reply with quote

Blackberry vinegar is my number one favourite, and it began as an end of summer holiday family ritual as when I was growing up. For us Blackberry picking always began on the last Sunday of the annual school summer holiday. The resulting Blackberry harvest provided our family for several months to come with; jams, pies, syrups, cordials and vinegars, etc. It was a tradition that I continued with my children, becoming a much looked forward to, end of summer ritual.

My Mother and Grandmother both swore by Blackberry vinegar as a cure all for coughs, colds, sore throats and the flu. No doubt this is because of the amounts of vinegar and Blackberries used; I have read somewhere that Blackberries are one of the few fruits that do not experience the destruction of vitamin C when they are cooked.

You can use virtually any soft fruit or berries to make a fruit vinegar, and other favourites of mine are; Blackcurrant, Blueberry, Logan Berry, Raspberry and Strawberry. Although in the past I have also used Apples, Pears, Peaches, Damsons and Plums.

Normally I would pick the berries when they are in season, but as most of you are aware I have only recently moved into “My own place,” and I now have full unrestricted access to a kitchen for the first time in a little over three years. This year promises to be an exciting one, as there are loads of other recipes that I would like to try. However, this thread is about making fruit vinegars, and new vinegar recipes that I intend to try during the coming seasons will include; Apricot, Black and Green Grapes, Rose Hips, Haws, Gooseberry, and Rhubarb.

However, it is the end of January and so I have had to cheat a little, by purchasing 1 Kg of frozen Black Forest fruits from one of the major supermarkets. This fruit and Berry mix consists of; Blackberries, Raspberries, Blackcurrants, Black Cherries, Black Grapes and Strawberries.

The other ingredients for this fruit vinegar are; 2 litres of Malt vinegar, and 2 Kg of white granulated sugar. Note; if you pay attention you will notice that I was not fully prepared, and only had a little over 1.5 kg of sugar available and so I was reduced to ad-libbing, by utilising 425g of clear honey (keep your eyes on the sugar jar behind the kettle in the photos). You can make a fruit vinegar with Honey, but that is usually in a 50-50 ratio with the sugar. I have made this batch of fruit vinegar in the ratio of 3 parts sugar, and 1 part Honey.

Normally I would make fruit vinegar with the base ingridients in the ratio of; 1 kg fruit, 1 kg Sugar, and 1 Litre of Vinegar. I prefer to use a Malt vinegar, but plain and unflavoured wine and cider vinegars can also be used. Here in england, I am lucky because of the many small to medium sized Cider producers, who often also produce their own Cider Vinegars. Different varities of appples and techniques ensures many interesting base cider vinegars for me to work with. I hope to find a Perry (Pear) Vinegar producer this year, and try that as a base for one of my batches fruit vineger making.

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First let the pack of fruit thaw out. Obviously if you have picked the fruit and berries yourself, you will not have to go through this stage.

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Then place the fruits into a large mixing bowl, and zap them with a blender on the lower speed.

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When you have the fruits and berries coarsely zapped with the blender, add half of the malt vinegar. Then zap the mix again, but on the higher speed.


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Pour in the rest of the Malt vinegar and continue zapping it with blender on the high speed. When you are satisfied, cover the bowl, and stand it in the fridge overnight.


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The following morning, stand the bowl on the work top and allow the contents to gradually return to room temperature.


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Then strain it all through a sieve into a large pan. This is going to take some time; this batch took slightly over 4 hours to fully drain through my sieve. So putting it through a coarse sieve first would help.



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Turn on the heat and bring it steadily up to the boil. Turn the heat down, and gently simmer for 5-10 minutes whilst occasionally stirring. This will give you the opportunity to start weighing out the sugar.


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As the fruit and the vinegar is gently simmering, steadily add the sugar, constantly stirring.


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As explained earlier, I did not have sufficient sugar available, and so I added 425 g of clear Honey.



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Continue with a gentle simmer for about 90 minutes or until the mix has reduced by about a quarter of its volume. If you require a thicker, more syrupy end product, continue simmering until the mixture has reduced by a third. When I was a child, my mother often reduced her Blackberry Vinegar by half, ending up with something with the viscosity of Tate & Lyle Golden Syrup.



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Stand the bottles in a pan of cold water, and slowly bring to the boil. The bottles have already been sterilised and this step is to prevent heat shock during the transfer shattering the glass bottles. I am using an empty 2 litre glass Cider jug and a 1 litre glass Cordial bottle because they are what I had immediately to hand. Usually I would prefer to use 250-500ml glass bottles for my vinegars.



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Skim all of the scum from the surface of the simmering mix.


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Make sure that your funnel is to hand and place it into the neck of the first bottle ready for the transfer.


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With the bottle still standing in the pan of hot water, steadily pour the hot fruit vinegar into it. Be extremely careful when pouring, the syrup is still close to boiling point. WARNING: Scalds from hot syrups are usually very serious. So take very good care!



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Here I have approximately 2.5 litres of hot volume fruit vinegar now bottled and ready to cool. Place a porous cloth held in place by an elastic band over the neck of the bottle. CAUTION: Do not place the cap on the bottle before it has fully cooled. As the fruit vinegar cools, the volume will reduce noticeably. If you cap at this stage the bottle could implode as it cools. Possibly causing injury, and definitely causing a sticky mess.



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It is now 24 hours later and my Black Forest fruit vinegar has cooled. Note; as the vinegar has cooled, the level in the 2 litre Cider jug has reduced by about the volume of a wine glass.


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There you go, I just couldn’t resist making myself some hot, almost crispy, golden brown pancakes and drizzling them with some newly made Black Forest fruits vinegar, a dessert or a light snack, which is worthy of an Emperor.

These fruit vinegars are a lot like a good wine, improving with age. So if the opportunity allows, let them mature for a few months or even a year or two.

There are many ways to use fruit vinegar and I will list a few my tried and trusted favourite methods.

Coughs and sore throats: Take 2 teaspoons of neat Blackberry or Raspberry vinegar as you would an expectorant cough mixture, as and when required.

Colds, Flu, and Fevers: Fill a tumbler half full of Blackberry or Raspberry vinegar, top off with boiling water and drink.

As a marinade: Pour about 2-3 mm of Fruit vinegar into a flat bottomed dish and marinade Pork chops, Lamb chops, Chicken and Turkey breasts, Prawns or White fish Fillets; Cod, Coley, Haddock, Sea Bass and Whiting, etc. Turn over after a couple of hours and marinade the other side, then grill or BBQ for a wonderfully fruity, sweet and sour flavour. I can certainly confirm how tasty Reindeer steaks marinated in Arctic Blueberry Vinegar are.

On a roast: Pour over the Sunday Joint before popping it into the oven. Goes extremely well upon Lamb, Pork, Chicken and Turkey, but it is absolutely fabulous on roast Duck, Pheasant, and Rabbit. The resulting gravy is divine.

Brush a little fruit vinegar into the cavity of a Trout, Artic Char, or a Mackerel, or on to a Salmon, Tuna, Swordfish or Marlin Steak or fillet before grilling. Oily and Pelagic fish do not seem to marinade well in fruit vinegar, but it does work extremely well when they are only lightly coated using a brush.

As a Drizzle: Now this is where I will start all of the controversy, drizzle it on to; pancakes (a Shrove Tuesday family tradition), leftover Yorkshire pudding, Ice cream, Quiche, Baked Alaska, Sponge, Cheese cake, on toasted nuts and roasted Chestnuts, or enjoy it warmed over a spirit burner as a dip with a cheese board, the list is endless.

Well, that is how I make fruit Vinegars, and some of the ways that I enjoy the fruits of my labour. I trust that you have enjoyed this article, and will be encouraged to make and use your own fruit Vinegars.
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Gareth



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 85
Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 1:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Here you go;

Last night's evening meal, a Pork chop and a belly slice marinading in the Black forest fruit vinegar.

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45 minutes in a gas oven at Mk 5, and served with a dollop of Friday's leftover Cheese & tater Pie.

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YoKitty



Joined: 18 Nov 2007
Posts: 14

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

That sounds wonderful! Just a few questions:

How do you store the finished vinegar? Refrigerated, or room temperature? Do you seal the bottles if you're planning to let it age?
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Gareth



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 85
Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK

PostPosted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I store my bottles of Fruit vinegar at the back of a cupboard, and have found that they will keep for 3 years and longer. So the rule would be, storage in a dark, cool place.

I always use screw cap bottles, and do nothing special to improve the integrity of the seal. But I assume that adhesive tape could be used, or the neck and cap of the bottle could be dipped into molten sealing or candle wax.

I have used screw top glass bottles for many years, and have also used screw cap plastic bottles, empty 350 ml Lucozade brand, bottles being a favourite. Mainly because I like the wide neck when filling the bottles. I also use these bottles exclusively when posting my fruit vinegars around the UK to family and friends. These are sealed with a couple of turns of adhesive tape.

This year, In my own kitchen, I have also used the hinged, wired down, flip top glass bottles, like the Grolsch beer bottle. But only because they are so convenient to use.
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Gareth



Joined: 29 Jun 2007
Posts: 85
Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK

PostPosted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 11:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Damson Vinegar; Alternative method.


I have tried a new method of fruit vinegar making today, and it has been a resounding success.


Ingredients

2 Kgs ripe Damsons

2 litres Vinegar (I have used Malt vinegar, but you could use; Wine. Cider, Rice vinegars, etc.)

2 Kgs Demerara sugar

850 grams clear Honey.


Method.

Soak the Damsons in the vinegar for about 24 hours. Saving the vinegar base, drain the damsons and place in a large pan. Measure out 250 ml of the saved vinegar, and pour over the Damsons. Turn on the heat, bring up to the boil and reduce the Damsons; this may take up to 15 minutes or so on the boil. Strain the Damson skins and stones from the liquor, and throw them away. Return the liquor to the heat, bring to the boil, and stir in the remaining Vinegar, Honey and Sugar, bring to the boil, turn down down to a rolling boil and reduce by about 1/3. Bottle into sterlised glass bottles and cap.

This has turned out to be a full bodied, rich tasting vinegar with a bit of a smack; it's well worth doing, and I am certain that it will be a fantastic marinade for both Pork and Chicken meals, and as dressing for salads, etc.

The Damsons soaking in the Malt Vinegar:

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The Sugar and the Honey:

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Everything weighed out and ready to go;

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Reducing 2 kgs of Damsons in 250 ml of the base Vinegar on a high heat:

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This what it looks like after about 15 minutes on the boil:

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I found that one of the pans from my vegetable steamer, fitted perfectly on top of my strainer; giving me a coarse and medium straining of the fruit liquor:

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Straining the Damson skins, coarse pulp and stones from the liquor:

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Bring the liquor back to the boil ready for adding the remaining Vinegar, Honey and Sugar:

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The liquor reduced by about 1/3 and ready for bottling:

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Lois and I recently found a new way to enjoy home-made Fruit Vinegars: Pickled Eggs.


Here is our very first attempt at Pickling Eggs in some of my home-made Blackberry Vinegar. When we sampled a couple of the eggs last weekend, they where outstandingly tasty, and were definitly worth the albeit minimal effort involved in the whole and worthwhile process.

Here is Lois' and my recent attempt at Bantam eggs pickled in Home-made Blackberry Vinegar:

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Easy, Innit!
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