It’s all in the title! Strawberry Top Vinegar, Vinegar infused with the tops of Strawberries! This is one of my favorite type of recipes – making something from nothing!
Two simple ingredients is all that it takes to make Strawberry Top Vinegar. It will provide you with an inexpensive flavored vinegar that has so many uses!
Hulling Strawberries
The best approach to removing the stems and leaves of Strawberries is to hull them. This means taking a small paring knife in one hand and holding the strawberry in the other hand. With the knife tip at an angle, pierce just under the green stem and run the knife blade in a circular motion to remove the green stem and pale fleshy part. Why hull Strawberries? -Hulling leaves almost all of the strawberry fruit in tack, with little to no waste.
By the way the stem, otherwise known as the calyx, is perfectly edible.
Cutting Strawberries
We live in the real world with busyness and distractions making it hard to justify the time it takes to hull strawberries. We know we should, but taking a slice off the top of the strawberry ensures the stem is removed in a timely manner. The result is a stem accompanied with some of the strawberry fruit, which will inevitably end up in the compost bin or worse – the garbage!
This recipe uses these Strawberry tops and turns them into something magical – Strawberry Vinegar.
Ingredients for Strawberry Top Vinegar
- Strawberry tops.
- White wine vinegar.
Instructions
How to make Strawberry Vinegar:
Pour the white wine vinegar into a mason jar.
Slice off the tops of the strawberries and add them to the mason jar filled with white wine vinegar.
Submerge the strawberry tops in the vinegar. Screw the lid on and leave at room temperature for 3 days.
Flexibility
Use white wine vinegar for this recipe. Any type of vinegar such as champagne vinegar, apple cider, white distilled and even white balsamic vinegar will work.
Tops from fresh strawberries are best. I chose fresh Shuksan strawberries that are native to the Pacific Northwest. They are bright red and glossy in appearance, with a medium-firm texture. Fresh local strawberries are preferable over hot house grown supermarket varieties. Locally grown strawberries will also provide the vinegar with a beautiful red hue.
Uses for Strawberry Top Vinegar
Strawberry Top Vinegar forms the base for salad dressing, and can also be used in the preparation of mayonnaise, savory sauces, marinades, pickling, dipping sauces and even homemade ketchup!
A popular way to use this Vinegar is when making Strawberry Shrub and Strawberry Vinaigrette!
Storage of Strawberry Top Vinegar
Allow 3 days for infusion to occur at room temperature. Then strain it and pour the infused vinegar into a container that can be well sealed, such as a mason jar. Store it at room temperature for up to 6 months. After that the flavor of the Strawberry will diminish. Refrigerate it for up to one year, however the longer it is refrigerated, the less pronounced the flavor will be.
Freeze Strawberry Top Vinegar for up to one year. Defrost in the refrigerator.
A Tip From Me
As Strawberry Top Vinegar has the ability to keep for a long time, (see Storage above,) consider bulk buying or better yet go to a U pick farm for their farm grown fresh Strawberries. The best time to go is during peak Strawberry season (usually June.) Bulk buying will keep the cost down and ensure you have Strawberry Top Vinegar to enjoy year round. The actual Strawberry fruit can of course be eaten, made into preserve or sauce or be frozen for future recipes.
Going to a local farm to pick your own will almost guarantee a healthier Strawberry. Most local berry producing farms in the U.S. are no spray farms, meaning they don’t spray pesticides. In contrast, hot house grown Strawberries have “higher levels and numbers of different pesticides in them than those typically grown in the open, researchers have found,” according to the Science Daily.
Got Questions?
I’ve got answers – hopefully!
Berries are the best fruit for vinegar infusion. Use the entire fruit if making raspberry, blackberry or blueberry vinegar. Consider also using stone fruit such as peaches, plums and apricots. Grapes, melon, pomegranate, apple and cherry are also suitable for making infused vinegars with.
Yes, allowing fruit scraps (such as Strawberry Tops) and overripe fruit to go through the process of Lacto Fermentation (see my post how to make Pickles for more info on what this is) will produce vinegar. Allowing the fruit scraps to naturally ferment in a jar, with a little distilled water added, for a couple of weeks, is all that is needed.
Short answer – yes! Shrub uses the entire strawberry + vinegar, and is left to macerate for a week. Then is strained. Sugar is then added to the strawberry vinegar. The Strawberry Top Vinegar uses only the tops of the strawberry, so the end result will be a slightly dilute Strawberry flavor. To intensify the flavor add some whole strawberries to the tops at the beginning of the process.
Related Recipes
Dandelion Jelly is similar to Strawberry Top Vinegar, because it is making something out of nothing!
If you like pickle / vinegary foods like Strawberry Top Vinegar, then you might enjoy Pickled Mustard Seeds.
Strawberry Top Vinegar
Ingredients
- 10 oz white wine vinegar
- 6 oz strawberry tops
Instructions
- Pour the white wine vinegar into a mason jar.
- Slice the tops of the strawberries and add them to the mason jar filled with white wine vinegar.
- Make sure the tops are submerged in the vinegar. Screw the lid on and leave at room temperature for 3 days.
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