Homemade Herb-Infused Basil Vinegar Recipe

 

A gourmet flavored vinegar is a wonderful way to enhance your recipes. The only problem with buying some speciality brands is how high their prices can be. While that may be true, a gourmet flavored vinegar can also be easy to prepare, especially if you have a herb garden. If not, you can still make your own flavored vinegars at home like my homemade herb-infused basil vinegar and save money just by buying a few extra ingredients to prepare your own specialty vinegar blend.  My homemade herb-infused basil vinegar recipe is delicious and handy to dress up salads, marinades, main to vegetable dishes to help inspire you.

Since I am noticing more deer, ground hogs and rabbits visiting my yard every year, I have been growing more herbs than vegetables. One of my favorites is basil, which is also easy to start other basil plants just by cutting off the stem, sticking in some water and waiting for the roots starting to form. If you cut some fresh basil and do as I suggest, you can have the herb growing continuously inside all winter.

I also am fond of growing rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano. These herbs do well in my yard and are quite hearty compared to some others that I tried growing in the past. Anyway, these are the ones that I usually cook most with.

I had never tried making my own flavored vinegars until last year. However, I keep experimenting with new combinations, the more familiar I become with what I harvest. The recipe that I’m sharing with you for my homemade herb-infused basil flavored vinegar is my favorite of my attempts so far.

You will need a glass bottle that can be sealed with a cork or a tightly fitting screw-on lid or a small canning jar. Before you begin the recipe, you need to thoroughly sterilize the bottle or jar in boiling water for at least 10 minutes first.

After you retrieve that sanitized bottle or jar with thongs, turn it upside down to dry on a clean dish towel and cool slightly until it is warm and can be handled to load with your homemade flavored vinegar.

Homemade Basil Mix Flavored Infused Vinegar

 

½ cups of fresh rosemary
1/4 cup of fresh sage
1 cup fresh basil
3-1/2 cups of white wine vinegar

 

Wash and thoroughly dry the herbs before placing in a sanitized one-quart mason jar or bottle.

Next, I add the vinegar and herbs. To coax more flavor out of them, I use my wooden spoon to crush them a bit before capping. You can use a plastic wrap because this is not your final product or cap it.

Keep this infused basil vinegar in your cardboard or just a place where it is not exposed to a lot of light. Every day for a few weeks (about a month), I take this vinegar out and shake the jar. This helps the herb flavors to saturate through the vinegar more.

After that time is finished is when I strain out the herbs and transfer this vinegar to a fresh sanitized bottle.

This homemade herb-infused basil vinegar can last for a few months, but I like to use it sooner than later. In fact, I store mine in the refrigerator to better preserve it.

ENJOY!