Leda Meredith’s book, Botany, Ballet, and Dinner From Scratch, has some wonderful recipes. One was vinegar flavored with garlic chive flowers. Now I have a handful of chive flowers in my windowsill pot. While I usually just let them go to seed, because I like discovering new little seedlings in unexpected places come next spring, making vinegar from them sounded attractive.
So I took these garlic chive flowers
and did this to them:
and now have this vinegar.
Leda’s book includes recipes for making your own vinegar. You go, Leda!
Is it any good? What do you plan to use it for?
[...] Check out what Mimi did with her chive blossoms. And if you try the same thing, let me know what you think of the [...]
Hi, Fern,
I started the vinegar just yesterday, so it hasn’t reached its full flavor yet. The flowers are supposed to steep for a while before you strain them out. A sip of it already promises a nice, sharp taste of garlic chive.
I’ll use it in salad dressings mostly. I like to combine sharp vinegars with somewhat sweeter ones like malt or balsamic, and I think this one will taste good in my vinegar mixes. It occurs to me that it also might be very good in Chinese recipes that call for a little vinegar in sauces. And avocadoes are just coming into season here: a little of this chive flower vinegar, drizzled over an avocado half, strikes my fancy right now.
Mimi
Oooh, I like the idea of using it in a Chinese recipe! Thanks for the idea Mimi!