Hawthorn Autumnberry and Sumac Vinegar!

No reason to fret about Braggs selling out and changing their formula. Just make your own natural vinegar from any fruit!

Pulled some autumnberries (Eleagnus umbellata) from the freezer to make autumnberry Hawthorn sumac vinegar. With mother! This vinegar is fruity and refreshing and makes great cocktails or Switchel. And as healthy as fresh squeezed lemonade! Just add a tablespoon to a big glass of water to replenish your system, the way sports drinks are ‘supposed’ to do. And without all the chemicals! Kids love vinegar-and-honey drinks (Switchel). Recipe below.

And fresh vinegar is not only for drinks. Drizzle a little on a stirfry to bring out flavor.

Add a dollop to bones for bone broth.

Drizzle over cooked greens.

Make fruit syrups and add a little vinegar for a kick. So good over oatmeal, cheesecake, or yogurt.

Makes a great sweet and sour dipping sauce for chicken tenders or fries!

Don’t have apple trees planted on your homestead yet? Why not? You can control the fertilizers, sprays, fungicide and pesticides for your own harvests. It’s a little work but so worth the flavor and healthy benefits!

Even if you don’t have apples, any fruit can be made into vinegar.

Instructions are easy.

Add fresh, clean fruit to a jar. Cover with water.

1/2 lb to 1 lb fruit for a half gallon jar. Adjust amounts for smaller jars if you don’t need that much vinegar.

About a teaspoon of sugar can help start the process but not necessary.

Add about 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar with the mother, or other natural vinegar with mother to the jar.

Cover with fresh filtered water.

Cover jar with a dish towel and rubber band.

Stir every day for three days to a week. You’ll see bubbles forming by the end of the week.

Strain out the solids and return the liquid to the jar. Cover with clean dishtowel and rubber band. Let sit for a few weeks to a month. Taste to check for vinegar flavor. It might take two months to get where you want it to be. You can jumpstart the process by adding a few tablespoons of real juice, not bottled or concentrated juice, at about the one-month mark. If you dont have a juicer, blend half an apple in half a cup of water, let sit for twenty minutes. Strain and add the liquid to the vinegar jar. You’ll begin to see mother forming in the bottom of the jar. Sometimes it’s on the top.

When the vinegar is nice and tart, bottle and close the lids. Glass jars are best.

Vinegar can be aged for more flavor. Balsamic vinegar is aged two years minimum, and the longer it is aged, the more expensive it is! Don’t be afraid to let your vinegar sit in a cool dark place for a year.

I always make a big jar of elderberry vinegar. Autumn olive vinegar. Muscadine vinegar. Raspberry vinegar!!

Wait, who needs apple cider??