Recipe for vinegar

Pour the bottle of wine into a large glass sterilised jar.

If you can get hold of some unpasteurised vinegar from a health food shop add about 200ml to the jar, this will speed the process up dramatically.

You can also add some ‘vinegar mother’ which is a jelly-like layer that forms on the top of unpasteurised vinegar; you can buy this online.

Cover the jar with muslin cloth and leave in a cool dark place and for two weeks.

After two weeks taste it – it should be tasting acidic by now and be ready in one more week. However, as it’s a living thing the flavour will keep developing.

The following recipe is for a herb-infused vinegar which you can adapt to your liking such as chillies, wild garlic, elderflowers for example. You can use your homemade vinegar or one that’s been bought.

Herb vinegar

Ingredients

6 sprigs of fresh clean, fresh herbs (eg tarragon, chives, dill)

4 black peppercorns

500ml red or white wine vinegar

Method

1. Place all the ingredients in a sterilised glass jar with a lid and leave in a cool dark place for four weeks.

2. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve.

Fruit vinegar

Ingredients

400g fruit such as blackberries, red or blackcurrants, raspberries

250g sugar

300ml white/red wine vinegar or cider vinegar

Method

1. Place the fruit into a food processor and bland quickly to coarsely chop the fruit, alternatively mash the fruit with a potato masher.

2. Place the fruit into a bowl with the vinegar and cover and leave for one week in a cool dark place.

3. Strain the liquid from the bowl into a sauce pan, add the sugar and bring to the boil to dissolve the sugar.

4. Allow the liquid to cool and pour into a sterilised glass jar or bottle with a lid.