Homemade Raspberry Vinegar

The last time I was in California visiting my sister, Nelda, she shared this easy recipe for making homemade raspberry vinegar. There's no cooking or stirring or fussing. Combine two ingredients, wait two weeks, and you'll have this beautiful vinegar ready to use in salad dressings and other recipes.

It has a long shelf life.
This vinegar will keep for a long time--at least a year. Some say it is still good after several years.

It makes a great gift.
The long shelf life makes this vinegar suitable to make up and keep on hand to use and give as gifts. In fact, you could make some raspberry vinegar now and get a headstart on holiday gifts. Wouldn't it be great to have this ready to give when December comes along? I'll share some recipes using this vinegar in upcoming posts that you could print and include with a gift bottle of this gorgeous stuff. You'll find downloadable gift tags at the end of this post, too.

It's good for you.
Raspberries are an antioxidant food, which means they help prevent damage to the body by protecting its cells and membranes. They contain several phytonutrients that give raspberries their beautiful color, and at the same time do everything from preventing bacterial growth in the intestines to preventing cancer. You can enjoy the health benefits of raspberries by eating them fresh or by preserving them in food products such as homemade raspberry vinegar.

It's versatile.
Raspberry vinegar can be used in a variety of salad dressings to add a fresh, delicious flavor. For recipes, check out my post about Two Raspberry Salad Dressings - Raspberry Vinaigrette and Raspberry Poppy Seed.

Step-by-step photos for making Raspberry Vinegar.

Step 1. Assemble white wine vinegar, fresh or frozen raspberries (make sure they're unsweetened), and a jar with a lid. In these photos, I'm making a triple batch using a 2 quart mason jar. 

Step 2. Rinse and drain the raspberries and add them to the jar. I used a canning funnel to make the task easier and tidier.

Step 3. Pour the vinegar into the jar.

Step 4. Screw on the lid and label it with the current date and the date 2 weeks away when the vinegar will be ready.

Step 5. Store the jar in a cool, dark place for 2 weeks. No need to stir or shake it. Just let it be. You don't have to do a thing for 2 whole weeks. (Told you it was easy!)

After 2 weeks, the liquid in the jar will have this gorgeous color. The raspberries will look pretty anemic, because the liquid has absorbed their color.

Step 6. Line a wire strainer with cheese cloth and place it over a bowl.

Step 7. Pour the contents of the jar into the strainer.

Done! The raspberry vinegar in the bowl is ready to transfer into bottles or jars and use or give as gifts. The "pickled" raspberries can be discarded; however, they are edible and can be stored in the fridge and added to salads. I'm not wild about them, personally; but you might want to taste one and see what you think. 

Mason jars are widely available and an easy container option. However, it's easier to pour from bottles, and they look prettier for gift giving. I got my hermetic top bottles at The Container Store. You can use any kind of bottle or jar, as long as they have an air-tight top. Cork top bottles are not recommended, because the cork is porous and will allow the liquid to slowly evaporate.

Make it a gift! Homemade gifts from the kitchen are always appreciated. Not only is this raspberry vinegar beautiful and impressive, it is also inexpensive to make. And, you can see how easy it is. Anyone can make this. You can't go wrong.

All you need is a tag and a little ribbon, and your gift is ready to give. I've designed 3 tags for you to choose from. Download, print, and you're ready to go.

To use the tags:

• Print these on card stock, punch a hole in them and hang them from a ribbon, string, or rubberband. 
• Print them on sticker paper and stick them to your gift. 

If you don't have a printer or specialty papers, you can have a store with printing services download and print them for you. 

To download and print a full sheet of tags, simply click on the image below.

I hope you enjoy this recipe and gift idea. Here are two salad dressing recipes using this raspberry vinegar. If you give this vinegar as a gift, you can print out these recipes to accompany the vinegar.

View & print Raspberry Vinaigrette recipe

View & print Raspberry Poppy Seed Salad Dressing recipe

Make it a yummy day!

Raspberry Vinegar

By Monica              Servings: makes 1-2/3 cups

Ingredients

• 2 cups (16 oz) white wine vinegar
• 1 cup fresh raspberries (or unsweetened frozen raspberries)

Directions

--Make this recipe in a mason jar, or something similar with an air-tight lid.
--Rinse and drain raspberries, removing any moldy bits; add to jar. Pour in vinegar, cover tightly. Store in cool dark place undisturbed for two weeks.
--Pour raspberries and liquid through a wire strainer that is lined with cheesecloth. Store finished raspberry vinegar in a tightly covered jars or bottles in cool, dark place (your pantry/cabinet should be fine). Keeps indefinitely; at least one year.

--MAKE A BIG BATCH. Triple the recipe using a 2-quart jar. This yields 5 cups of raspberry vinegar.
--GIFT IT. This beautiful vinegar can be divided into smaller bottles, tied with a bow, and given as gifts. Downloadable gift tags available in original post at www.theyummylife.com/blog/2011/06/202