Nina's Nib

A ancient way to preserve and fortify our food

A lovely and easy way to add the flavours and benefits of herbs to your food by making your own vinegars.

You can make your own vinegar or use store bought versions. For these vinegars I used my homemade apple cider vinegar and a purchased white wine vinegar.

The recipe is simple. Prepare your herbs, make sure they are cleaned before use. Clean your vessel. Add 375ml of vinegar to around 60g of herbs. If you are using a delicate tasting herb, add a little more. Cover and set in a cool, dark cupboard for one to three weeks. Strain the herbs and store cool.

The three vinegars in this image are:

Apple Cider Vinegar/ Mugwort – this is a strong herb, so don’t let it saturate for too long. The flavour is slightly “medicinal” and it is very potent. Use together with stronger flavours.

White Wine Vinegar/ Nasturtium – I love the peppery taste of nasturtiums. And the colour is so uplifting. For this reason I use white wine vinegar, to really bring out the colours as well as the flavour.

Apple Cider Vinegar/ Dandelion – I could go on about how dandelion has impressed me but I’ll keep this short. The benefits are plenty and they give such joy too. Delicate flavour and easy to use.

Vinegar is so versatile and can be used together with so many foods such as, salads, rice dishes, soups and stews.