Who knew making homemade herbal vinegar dressing was that easy. You would be suprside too by the lovely flavors and intensity of the fresh herbs, infused, for a lovely herbal vinegar.
Learn how to make the DIY herbal vinegar step by step from scratch and learn about the herb & health benefits further below.
A punch of sweet aromas is dominating the room, it smells so wonderful of garden herbs, even though I haven’t crushed them yet. It is certain I am smashing the heck out of the wonderful organic herbs, so to release a cascade of what seems to be a medicinal fragrance, but which will be used in a interesting culinary manner.
There are uncountable amounts of different herb types, all own different amazing aromas and all have their own purpose. Humans have been using plants for ages in their cooking but more as to season and flavor, compared to vegetables, who add substance to a dish . Early on, the nutritional benefits were discovered and so the health benefits as well, but apart from that some herbs are also considered holy in different cultures across the globe. How different would be our cooking without herbs? It’s unimaginable, at least for a full on herb fan like I am. Just imagine, no mint tea, no basil on the pizza, no tarragon in the home made gherkin pickle, seems to me more like a horror film!
In my homemade herbal vinegar I have added 6 exclusive, flavorful culinary herbs from our home garden. As mentioned before, each herb contains a unique flavor to mesmerize your senses and some yet will benefit your health greatly! The 6 herbs are…
Savory is a sunny warm weather herb related to thyme and rosemary. There are 2 main savory groups the winter and summer savory and about a 30 different species. The herb is used a lot’s in Italian cooking, in middle Europe it is mostly added to pork dishes as flavor.
Marjoram and Oregano are close related, but the first is more common and popular in middle Europe compared to Oregano which has found great favor in America. Marjoram is much sweeter and less tangy then the later one. The herb is dried and excessively used in dishes such as Ratatouille and others, sometimes it is even used instead of Oregano!
Oregano reminds us of the warm dry Mediterranean sea and yum Italian, Greek and Turkish cuisine. In fact the herb itself contains aromatic, warming flavors and that’s why it has become a staple herb in many western kitchens. A dash is used on pizzas, pasta sauces, kebabs and even salads. Oregano is known to be an excellent antiseptic too, curing stomach ailments and sore throats, further it is much used as antioxidants
Thyme is known for 100 of years to give purifying aromatic flavors to cheese and liqueurs, apart of that it was much used in the peoples believes as incense or sometimes even given as protection against evil. Thyme is an essential herb in the french cuisine, the herb mix “Herb de Provence” contains thyme too. Oil of thyme is used in antiseptic and anti fungal treatments, a tea infused with the herb may help to treat a bronchial infection.
Sage has a huge amount of essential oils, apart from that it is a must have herb in the European cuisine. Especially the British have great favor for this unique tasting herb type from the mint family. Modern medicine shows possible uses of Sage as an anti sweating , antibiotic, anti fungal, astringent, antispasmodic, estrogen, hypoglycemic and tonic agent.
Tarragon also known as dragon herb, is one of the 4 fines french herb, a must in some of the typical french dishes such as Sauce Bearnaise or as mentioned earlier above vinegar pickled gherkins. In Azerbaijan, Armenia and other countries, Tarragon is used to flavor a popular soft drink. Many garden pests dislike tarragon odor and that’s why it is a useful plant to keep next to other herbs as protection.
While making this exceptional vinegar dressing, you have to work with fresh herbs and some good apple vinegar. Smash them well with the Mortar so that the room is filled with the pleasant fragrance of nature’s gifts. After filling the glass jar with the herbs, shallots and vinegar, keep it in the sun for 2 weeks, shaking the content every day once in a while. It’s pretty quick and easy to prepare your own home made Salad dressing and then too a healthy, refreshing one too, such as a herbal Vinegar! Follow the step by step instructions to guide you in the making and don’t forget to have fun while doing so! 😉
- 16 grams Savory
- 3 grams Marjoram
- 3 grams Oregano
- 5 grams Thyme
- 3 grams Sage
- 13 grams Estragon
- 2 small shallots
- 450 ml Apple Vinegar
- Glass jar with vacuum seal
- Mortar
- Funnel
- Strainer
- Glass bottle
- Collect the fresh herbs. Weigh them to the required amount. In a mortar smash one batch at a time. That will help to release the herbs aroma oil. Keep in a clean glass jar
- Roughly cut the 2 shallots and add the bits as well to the herbs in the glass jar.
- Pour Apple Vinegar over the herbs and shallots till it is all covered, to the top.
- Keep the closed jar for 2 weeks in a sunny place and shake it every day at least ones.
- After 2 weeks, strain the herbal vinegar well into a prepared clean glass bottle. Store in a cool place. Ready to be used!
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I love making my own vinegars, but have never had a recipe for a combination one. Must remember to plant some savoury early in spring, the others have a permanent place in my herb garden 🙂 ! Am filing the ‘lesson’ also, so a big ‘thank you’ for all!
What a delightful and informative post! I love the look of that vinaigrette and can just imagine the flavor after steeping in those fresh herbs!!
Beautiful! Love all these herbs & I am sure they will make a beautiful vinegar 🙂
Well done, I can’t wait to make this, I have a ton of herbs growing right now!
You make the best stuff! Lovely to see you. This herbal vinegar dressing looks amazing.
I do make salad dressings but this is something new for me. Its like infusing all the good flavors of herbs in vinegar and cooking in sun as I do for my lemon pickle.