How to Make Chive Vinegar

At the popular blog Food in Jars, Marisa McClellan has some interesting information about making chive  vinegar. Years ago, I was lucky enough to read her post when a corner of my flowerbed was a riot of delicate chive blossoms, so I gave her chive vinegar recipe a try.

A day in, my mixture looked beautiful and smelled even better. I didn't follow the directions exactly (I never do). This is my variation. (Please visit Food in Jars for Marisa's original post, and take a look around. Ostensibly her little corner of cyberspace it's about canning, but there are so many wonderful asides and fun ideas it's worth a bookmark, even if you aren't a handy canner -- yet.)

Here's my own chive vinegar recipe. I make vinegars often and just included a few extra ingredients I think add something. 

Chive Blossom Vinegar Recipe

• 2-1/2 cups chive blossoms
• 2-1/4 White vinegar 
• 2 Bay leaves (smallish)
• 2 allspice berries
• 10 whole peppercorns

Chive Vinegar Directions

1. Chive flowers can harbor tiny beetles and other pests you definitely don't want to pickle for posterity. Harvest the blossoms and give them a cold water bath for ten minutes or so. Then drain them. Repeat the process a couple of times to make sure any freeloaders have exited down the drain. Chive flower heads are dense, so it may be hard to see insects hiding inside. 
2. After a good soaking, removed as much excess water as possible from the flowers in a salad spinner.  You'll be surprised at how much water you will be able to expel with a little centrifugal force.
3. Fill an empty jar with the flowers and herbs, and then completely cover the flowers with vinegar and seal the jar. I keep my chive flowers pretty tightly packed, using a wooden skewer to make sure the vinegar soaks everything and dislodges air pockets.
4. Give the jar a couple of shakes.
5. Place the mixture in a warm, dark spot for a couple of weeks to cure. 
6. Shake it every few days or so. It will turn a beautiful rose color. I started to see the vinegar change color pretty quickly.
7. Strain the mixture with two layers of cheesecloth.

Uses for chive vinegar

Use chive flower vinegar in:

• Mustard making
• Marinades
• Salad dressings
• Three bean salad
• Buffalo wing sauce
• Pickle making

Oh, and don't use all your chive flowers for vinegar. Save some for seed, and keep some to add to salad and to use as a fun garnish. As edible flowers go, chives blossoms are aromatic and make a wonderful display when used with citrus, like lemon wedges and orange slices.