How to Make Rasin and Berry Vinegars

I have been making vinegar of all kinds for several years and am always experimenting with new fruits, herbs, and blends.

Though vinegar is incredibly easy to make, the easiest one is raisin - which also happens to be my favorite because it seems the most versatile. Its smooth, rich flavor and aroma makes it go so well in sautes, salad dressings, making vinegar based extracts, adding to homemade breads, and much more.

Newly started batch and a completed batch of raisin vinegar

All you need to get started is just three ingredients: 
*Water - filtered rain, spring, or well water, NOT city tap

*Fruit (whole berries or raisins, sliced fruits, or even just the scraps like peels, cores, and pits from apples, peaches, pears, et cetera)
*Organic cane sugar or honey (not needed with fruits that have a high sugar content like raisins).

When making vinegar with berries or raisins, start with a half gallon jar and fill the bottom up to at least 1"-2" inch deep when using raisins and 2" -3" deep when using fresh berries. Add 1/4 cup organic cane sugar or honey to your berries but you can omit this if using raisins.  Adding sugar the raisins will likely make a stronger vinegar but will also take longer to finish. As you can see in the photo above, I used just over a cup of my home grown blueberries I had frozen from a couple of years ago.

Fill your jar about half full of water and stir with a wooden spoon or chop stick to blend in the sugar and help get it dissolving. I do not worry about it all dissolving, it will in time anyway, mostly just make sure it is mixed well.

One can add a bit of mother from other vinegars if they choose but aside from a recent experiment with a one of my batches of floral vinegar, this is something I never do and I still end up with great vinegar. With the experiment I tried by adding a bit of mother, there was no difference in time or the finished product.

Top off the jar the rest of the way with water. You can choose to use a grape leaf or some kind of weight to hold the fruits down under the water but I never bother with this as they always seem to do just fine with out it. If at some point you do develop mold at the top, just leave it until the process is finished and them carefully lift the top layer out before straining. The molds that develop are nothing to be afraid of and any that may end up in the product will be killed by the vinegar.

Cover your jar with a cloth and hold in place with a rubber band. This is to keep out bugs and dust while still allowing the gases to escape during the process.

Set your jar in a warm place. I prefer on top of my fridge as it is not only out of the way, but stays warm there. Leave there for the next thirty days and just forget about it during that time. After thirty days, check to see if it is tart. If it is bubbly, it is not quite done and may need another week or so. The amount of sugar and the fruit used may extend this time another whole month.

Once it is finished, strain out the fruits and give to your chickens if you have them (they will love them and they are very healthy for them) or throw in your compost.
 Completed batch of peach vinegar made from fruit scraps:

I have also made vinegars from cedar branches, flowers, and various herbs.  I like to use these ones for cleaning counter tops, floors, carpet, windows, and washing my hair with. 

Here is a video I did this past summer on how to make a floral vinegar:

Completed batch of blackberry vinegar:

Hope you enjoyed this post and that you will give that vinegar making a try! ~Heidi

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