Blood Orange Vinegar

Blood oranges are still in season - just.  Though you can use pretty much any fruit or berry (or herb) you fancy to make this.  It's a very simple concoction, where you soak fruit in vinegar for a week or so, then strain and bottle.  I was inspired to make this when I saw an ad for a French passionfruit vinegar.  I can't buy it here, so it came to me that I could make it myself, but use blood oranges instead.

Blood orange season is short and sweet, so I've been using them while they're available.  I've also made raspberry vinegar in the past; such a glorious colour, as is this!  I was also inspired by a couple of recent blog posts with similar recipes - one from Angie's Recipes blog, and another by ...  Sorry, I can't remember whose blog, but I think it was for blueberry vinegar.  If it was you, please remind me, friends.   

so pretty, tangy and fruity

ingredients:

350 mL/12 oz vinegar - use a good quality white wine vinegar

4 blood oranges - use the peel of 3 blood oranges, and zest of 1

flesh of 2-3 blood oranges

the juice from 1-2 of the oranges

2-3 Tbs caster sugar

Method:

First scrub the fruit with a potato brush, then pat dry, and peel and zest away

Pour the vinegar into a small saucepan, and heat gently till just about boiled - when you see a bubble or two on the side, take it off the heat

Place all the fruity bits and pieces into a glass jar, pour over the hot vinegar, stir in the sugar, seal the jar and place in a dark spot for a week or even two

Shake every second day, till you're ready to finish it off

Then strain out the bits by tipping the mix into a sieve/strainer lined with a piece of muslin (don't squish the fruit through the muslin as it will go cloudy)

Leave it for an hour or two to finish straining, then pour/ladle into a sterilised jar or bottle

Best placed in the fridge where it will keep for up to six months

Use in vinaigrettes, or maybe even with sparkling water like a shrub drink 

Notes:

I've read recipes for this where they say to use room temperature vinegar, but you may then need to leave it to infuse for 2 weeks rather than one in order to get the full flavour out of the fruit

You can double the recipe if you feel the need for lots of the fruity stuff

ingredients gathered

start peeling and zesting

chopping up the flesh, and into the jar

ready for the hot vinegar

vinegar and fruit ready for steeping for a week

and a week later - ready for filtering

a muslin-lined sieve/strainer sitting over a large bowl

pour the vinegar into a jug, then decant into bottles

and end up with pretty bottles

love that colour!

C. Sherry M.