Chive-infused vinegar is easy to make and is a wonderful addition to the cook's pantry. Use it just as you would any vinegar. Especially good in vinaigrettes and marinades and tossed with French fries and roasted vegetables.
Course
Condiment
Keyword
chives, homemade chive vinegar
My Island Bistro KitchenMy Island Bistro Kitchen
Ingredients
Apx. 80-100 chive blossoms, including a few buds
1½cupswhite wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
Instructions
Snip blossoms from chive plants, just beneath the blossom heads. If desired, leave about 1” stem on a few of the blossoms for extra flavor. Wash blossoms in large bowl of cold water and spin dry in salad spinner. Transfer blossoms to tea towel to air dry for about an hour or so.
Use a meat pounder mallet to lightly crush the blossoms and buds to release their flavor.
Transfer blossoms and buds to a 2-cup glass jar. Fill with vinegar. Using the end of a wooden spoon, push down and redistribute the blossoms to make room for the vinegar.
Cover the jar with plastic wrap secured with a rubber band. Do not use a metal lid which can react with the vinegar. Place the jar in a dark, cool location and let it steep for 2 weeks to allow the flavor and color of the chive vinegar to develop. Over the two weeks, periodically give the bottle a gentle shake or two to redistribute contents.
Strain the steeped vinegar through a wet cheesecloth-lined fine wire mesh sieve (or line the sieve with a paper coffee filter). Discard the old blossoms and buds. Decant the vinegar into a sterilized bottle that has a non-metallic lid such as a rubber stopper or cork.