Basil Vinegar
This summer, harvest your basil and basil flowers to make basil vinegar! Use this herbal infused vinegar in a homemade vinaigrette or with roasted vegetables.
Servings: 8 1 oz servings
Calories: 6kcal
Ingredients
- ½ cup basil leaves or basil flowers Or use a mixture of both
- 1 cup white wine vinegar OR champagne vinegar
- peel from about half an orange or lemon (preferably organic)
Instructions
- If using basil flowers: Clean the flowers by dipping them into a bowl of water, and set aside to dry.If using basil leaves: Rinse the basil and set aside to dry.Optional: Heat the vinegar until it's warm. Do not bring it to a boil.Tip: Heating the vinegar will help the blossoms infuse more quickly, but will produce a slightly less delicate flavor than room temperature vinegar.
- Add the basil or basil flowers to a clean glass jar, and muddle them with a cocktail muddler or the back of a wooden spoon.Pour the vinegar over the flowers into the jar until the jar is almost full. (The amount of vinegar listed is approximate; you may need slightly more or less.)Place the citrus peel on top of the flowers to help keep them submerged.
- Seal the jar, and place it in a cool place out of direct sunlight. Check on the vinegar daily to make sure the basil is still submerged.Allow the basil to infuse for anywhere from 3 days (if you used warm vinegar), or 3-5 weeks (for room temperature vinegar), until you like the flavor. Note that even warm vinegar infusions can be infused for 3-5 weeks. It all depends on your flavor preferences.Finally, strain out and discard (or compost) the basil and citrus peel. Store the vinegar in a sealed jar in the fridge, and use within 6-8 months.
Notes
Doubling or Tripling the Recipe:
Use the measurements as a guide, not a rule. In general, pack the basil into a jar and fill the jar with vinegar. If you use more basil your infusion will be stronger, and less basil will give you a milder infusion.
Do not double or triple the lemon peel. While it will add some flavor, its main job is to hold the flowers under the liquid. Vinegar Substitutions:
I recommend using white wine or champagne vinegar.
If all you have on hand is apple cider vinegar, it will work, but the flavor of the basil will be less distinctive (because ACV has a strong flavor).
If you use rice vinegar, you should infuse the vinegar in the fridge and expect the infusion to take slightly longer. Rice vinegar's lower acidity level makes it unsafe to infuse at room temperature.
Avoid using white distilled vinegar, because it's too astringent-tasting.
Use the measurements as a guide, not a rule. In general, pack the basil into a jar and fill the jar with vinegar. If you use more basil your infusion will be stronger, and less basil will give you a milder infusion.
Do not double or triple the lemon peel. While it will add some flavor, its main job is to hold the flowers under the liquid. Vinegar Substitutions:
I recommend using white wine or champagne vinegar.
If all you have on hand is apple cider vinegar, it will work, but the flavor of the basil will be less distinctive (because ACV has a strong flavor).
If you use rice vinegar, you should infuse the vinegar in the fridge and expect the infusion to take slightly longer. Rice vinegar's lower acidity level makes it unsafe to infuse at room temperature.
Avoid using white distilled vinegar, because it's too astringent-tasting.
Nutrition
Calories: 6kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 2mg | Potassium: 16mg | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg