Herb infused vinegar

An easy way to make deeply flavorful salad dressing this summer.

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We all remember the chive vinegar craze. The second I saw the neon pink vinegar on Instagram I sprinted to my garden and jammed a jar full of blossoms, topped it off and stashed it in my fridge. I remember tasting it–the intensely chive-y, onion-y vinegar–it was punchy, but felt like one note to me. I yearned for something more layered and dynamic, a balance of flavors that a chive blossom alone cannot give you.

A dear friend of mine has gotten me deep into creating my own herbal teas. I love having a giant glass jar propped up in the sun filled with dried florals, herbs and grasses, trying new combinations weekly to up my sun tea game. The depth of flavor you can get in herbal teas is truly remarkable, and got me thinking - what if I did this with vinegars?

The morning this dawned on me, I grabbed my tiny Weck jar and did a mad dash out to the garden, plucking this and that and filling my little jar to the brim. The end result was truly special. I use a mix of chive blossoms, lemon verbena, Japanese parsley, and thyme to create a slightly lemon-y, herb-y, onion-y vinegar, perfect on its own or in the world’s simplest dressing (See recipe below).

Herb Infused Vinegar

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1/4L. Weck Juice Jar

10 to 12 Chive Blossoms

3 or 4 sprigs Lemon Verbena

1 to 2 sprigs Japanese Parsley or Italian Parsley

1 to 2 sprigs Thyme

White Vinegar

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1. Fill your Weck jar with chive blossoms, lemon verbena, parsley, and thyme in that order. No need to pack them in, gently layer them together in the jar.

2. Pour white vinegar over the herbs until the jar is full. Let the jar sit in the sun for the day. The vinegar will be lightly infused at this point, feel free to use it for the simple dressing recipe below.

3. After using some of the herb infused vinegar, top it off with more vinegar and place it in the fridge.

4. The flavor will continue to get stronger over time. Each time you use it, top it off with more vinegar. Use the jar within 4-6 months.

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Ok, let me tell you about this dressing. It is two ingredients, with salt and pepper to taste–that is it. I love drizzling it over garden greens, it would be lovely on a grilled chicken, or drizzled over crispy new potatoes. It is also a simple enough base that you could tweak what you add to it–try adding fresh chopped dill, or a teaspoon of mustard, maybe go spicy with some Aleppo. It’s essentially a garden ranch, so keep it simple or dress it up to your hearts content. The recipe below is a base structure, you can increase the amount of vinegar or mayo/sour cream depending on number of guests.

Salad Dressing

Serves 2-3

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Herb infused vinegar

Kewpie mayonnaise or sour cream or a combination of both

salt and pepper

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1. Start with 2 Tbs. herb infused vinegar and 1-2 Tbs. of mayo or sour cream in a 1/4L. Weck jar.

2. Secure the lid and shake well. Add more vinegar or mayo and shake again until you get the consistency of dressing you enjoy.

3. Season with salt and pepper and taste, adjust by balancing with vinegar, salt and pepper.

4. Use within one week of mixing.

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