It suddenly seems like Autumn, which means tons of blackberries in the hedges – I managed to get a small harvest from our neighbours’ bush that hangs over into our garden (shh!), but nowhere near enough to make a pie or jam. Luckily, 200g was the perfect amount to experiment with making blackberry vinegar. On my unpleasantly long commute last week I spent a lot of time listening to the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme (I seem to never switch off from food!) and one of the episodes dealt with vinegars. I’d love to taste really good Balsamic that has matured for 24 years and costs £3 per drop! Obviously I can’t be making Balsamic, but I thought I’d try a traditional English fruit-infused vinegar, after all Big S loves the tangy, vinegary taste, maybe it could make her love blackberries too.
Blackberry Vinegar (dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free, soya-free, sesame-free, gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan)
makes 1 small bottle
- 200g freshly picked and washed blackberries
- 200ml organic cider vinegar
- 200g caster sugar
– Place the blackberries in a glass jar and squish with a wooden spoon.
– Pour over the vinegar and leave to steep for up to 3 days
– Slowly strain the vinegar/blackberry mix through a muslin bag (or a fresh kitchen cloth), repeat a couple of times.
– Pour into a saucepan and add the sugar.
– Heat to dissolve and then bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, until slightly syrupy. Skim off any froth that forms on top.
– Pour into a sterilised bottle
– Enjoy on salads, puddings, veg dishes or 1tsp mixed with hot water to sooth a cold.
11 Responses
What a lovely idea! I also noticed the brambles are almost ripe up here too and they seem to be in real abundance this year. They are one of the best things about Autumn – that and the bilberries on the hills, lovely.
When they arrive there are so so many! I’ve never tried a bilberry – what are they like?
they are like a small tartish blueberry with an intense flavour – absolutely gorgeous! The hills are covered in them up North late Sept/early October – yum!
mmm, they sound delish
This looks so good and EASY! I have to try it!
Any idea how long this vinegar lasts, and does it need to be refrigerated? It would make great gifts.
I reckon it would keep for absolutely ages…. As long as the bottles are sterilised. Not sure about keeping it in the fridge…. Don’t think it would need it, but then it wouldn’t harm! Great idea about making early Xmas presses x
You are always teaching me amazing new things. Love it!
Blogging is such a fab way to try out new recipes and concepts all the time (and find lovely new friends :-))
MMMMMMMM,…I can use home grown blackberries in this tasty recipe! YOU can also use this vinegar in so many ways.
And when those blackberries come in they’ll be a huge glut – perfect for making blackberry vinegar 🙂 x