Medicinal Vinegars

Medicinal Vinegars…

I’ve been making medicinal vinegars for some years now, mainly Apple Cider & Four Thieves Vinegars. But this year I took it to the next level and started to make all sorts of weird & wonderful vinegars.

Once I started, I just could not stop, everywhere I looked I saw something I could turn into a vinegar… it / I got a little out of control!

It’s been a truly awesome vinegary adventure.  My usual Kraut & Kimchi fermenting stations filled one after the other with beautiful bottles of colourful vinegars fermenting their probiotics instead.

There has been something very primal, natural, nourishing and stimulating on so many levels to forage, ferment & make medicine from these plants, fruits, herbs, trees and flowers in this way.

All it takes to make your own vinegar is a flavouring (fruit/herb/tree/etc), spring water, a sugar (sugar/honey/maple) and a vinegar scoby &/or some raw vinegar from a previous batch.

Here is a basic raw vinegar recipe:

• 600g of fruit/herb/veg
• 120g of some sort of sugar (white/honey/maple)
• 1L of filtered or spring water
• Vinegar scoby &/or 150ml of raw vinegar

Directions:

• Put all items into a large jar (leaving a few inches at the top) empty and put some muslin or cotton over the top with an elastic band.
• Stir everything a couple of times a day to make sure everything is always covered and does not go mouldy.
• After two weeks strain and put back into the same jar with muslin/cotton over the top again.
• Leave for at least another 4 weeks, during which time a new scoby will form on top.
• Strain again, bottle and keep somewhere cool to keep for along time.