Homemade Blackberry Vinegar
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A straightforward and easy blackberry infused vinegar which only needs three ingredients and will be such a versatile ingredient in your kitchen from drizzling to adding flavour to gravies and glazes and of course making superb salad dressings.
Making homemade blackberry vinegar is so simple. Take your blackberries, crush them a little, then pour over vinegar and leave to steep for a few days. Once the vinegar has absorbed all that lovely blackberry flavour then strain it, add a little sugar and simmer until the sugar has dissolved. All that’s left is to bottle it and enjoy at your leisure.
Having a bottle of this sweet fruity vinegar to hand will pay such dividends in your everyday recipes that you’ll wonder what you did without it. From drizzling over grilled meat, adding to gravies for a fruity tangy kick and then creating simple salad dressings which pack so much flavour.
We’ll go through the best vinegar to use, how long to infuse it for, whether you can use frozen berries, how much sugar you might like to add, how to sterilise the bottles and how to use the finished vinegar.
Another Recipe Born From Leftover Blackberry Pulp
It’s a bit of a theme with my blackberry recipes. Much like my Blackberry Gin Liqueur and my Blackberry Apple Crumble Vodka this recipe came about as I was coming up with ways to use up the leftover pulp of blackberry seeds when making my annual blackberry jam and jellies. The seeds in blackberries are quite hard so I always remove them when making jam. There is often blackberry flesh still clinging to the seeds that there is still plenty of flavour and use to be garnered (just not for jam). Steeping them in vinegar is a quick and easy way to make use of them and gives you an incredible ingredient to use in so many ways.
Why You’ll Love Blackberry Vinegar
- Lovely alternative to a sweet vinegar like balsamic vinegar. It can be used whenever you might have used vinegar.
- Simple to make using fresh, frozen or foraged blackberries.
- Makes a wonderful blush pink salad dressing.
- Great for using leftover blackberry seeds (from making jam or jelly).
- If you are inundated with blackberries at this time of year then this fruity vinegar makes a lovely change of pace.
- Gorgeous foodie gift which is a bit unusual and looks stunning in the bottle.
Ingredients Needed
Blackberries. You can use fresh or frozen blackberries. If using frozen then you will need to thaw first before you can crush them – which is the first step of the recipe. Thaw in the same bowl which you will be pouring the vinegar to capture all the juice.
You can even use foraged blackberries but make sure to thoroughly check and wash and discard any damaged fruit and pick through for insects. For hidden bugs you can soak in a bowl of water for 10 minutes, and they will escape the fruit and float to the surface. Avoid using blackberries picked from the side of the road as they are not great for eating.
Vinegar. This recipes uses apple cider vinegar – the organic kind that includes the mother. The bramble flavour goes perfectly. However, you could also use white wine vinegar which also gives a well rounded result. If you use red wine vinegar the flavour is much richer and might have more limited usage but still goes nicely in gravies and sauces.
Sugar. This recipe doesn’t need a huge amount of sugar – just enough to sweeten the vinegar a little which accentuates the fruitiness and balances the acidity. Use white granulated sugar as it’s the most economical choice. A liquid sweetener like honey will alter the flavour and shorten the shelf life.
How To Make Homemade Blackberry Vinegar
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
Put the blackberries into a large mixing bowl and crush lightly with a fork. Pour over the vinegar, stirring to combine into the blackberry pulp.
Transfer to an airtight container, cover and leave to steep for three days in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally.
Place a large piece of muslin and drape on the inside of the mixing bowl so it overhangs on the edges. Pour the blackberry and vinegar mixture into the mixing bowl and tie up the corners of the muslin so the mixture is secure inside.
Suspend the bag of fruity vinegar over the bowl, using kitchen twine. Leave the vinegar mixture to strain into the bowl for a couple of hours.
Measure the liquid, pour into a saucepan and add 50g of sugar for every 500g of fruit vinegar.
Bring to a gentle simmer, on a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Remove from the heat and pour into sterilised jars and seal. Use within 6 months.
Tips & Troubleshooting
I will typically infuse the vinegar from between 3-5 days. The flavour will intensify the longer you leave it and if you forget about it in the fridge for a couple of days more then it isn’t a problem at all.
Make sure the piece of muslin or cotton straining cloth is big enough to accommodate the amount of blackberries you have. Use kitchen grade cloth, you can buy it specifically for straining.
Tie to the top of an upper kitchen unit handle or the door handle of a room that isn’t used very often. If you really don’t have anywhere to hang the bag then you can just hold it for five minutes or so. To be honest there is only a small amount of vinegar which can be acquired after the initial five minutes. Don’t worry you’ll have enough.
Try to avoid squeezing the bag out though to garner a few last drops as this can produce a cloudier vinegar. The clear claret colour is so beautiful that this is always a rule I adhere to.
Have the vinegar bag drop close to the top of the bowl to avoid it dripping and splashing over the countertop. If it does try and clean up right away – the blackberry vinegar can stain.
Drip it into a wide bowl – to catch the splash. If you have one with a spout then even better as it will be easy to pour the vinegar into the saucepan.
Measure the vinegar you achieve before you add the sugar as the amount can vary. You want to use 50g sugar for 500g vinegar – adjust the sugar amounts to match how much vinegar you have.
Use a stainless steel pan, not aluminium, to heat the vinegar with the sugar, as otherwise it will react with the vinegar. A maslin pan is excellent. For more advice on the equipment you might need then visit my Complete Equipment Guide For Preserving.
Use sterilised bottles for decanting the vinegar into which helps to prolong its shelf life. Glass bottles can be sterilised in the oven; wash them thoroughly then heated in an oven pre-heated to 160°C / 140°C fan assisted / gas mark 3 / 320°F for 20 minutes. Lids and funnels can be sterilised in boiling water for 10 minutes. I have a detailed guide on How To Sterilise Bottles For Preserves which is useful to look at if you need advice.
What To Use Blackberry Vinegar For
The most frequent use of blackberry vinegar in my kitchen is to make this easy everyday salad dressing which works very well dressed with bitter greens like rocket, radicchio, chicory or fennel.
Easy Blackberry Vinegar Salad Dressing
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon blackberry vinegar
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- Black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Whisk the mustard in a small bowl or jar with the blackberry vinegar, salt and pepper until smooth. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking all the while, until the dressing has thickened and emulsified to combine completely.
More Uses
Drizzle. I have drizzled this vinegar happily over my chips when I’m enjoying fish and chips. The colour is interesting but the taste is simply lovely.
The flavour of the blackberry vinegar goes particularly well with strong flavoured rich foods. Think goats cheese or roasted vegetables.
You can also drizzle this vinegar over pan fried duck breast – the fruity vinegar is a great flavour compliment and cuts through the rich meat.
Try this vinegar in lieu of the apple cider vinegar in the dressing for this Roast Pork Belly, Apple and Caramelised Walnut Salad. It works very well.
Blackberry Vinegar Cordial. This kind of drink is often called a ‘shrub’ and can be quite refreshing splashed into a glass of sparkling water. You can add more sugar to the recipe if you want to specifically make a blackberry shrub. I’ve got a lovely recipe for Citrus Shrub if you like these kind of cordials.
Gravies / casseroles. I use a good splash of vinegar in my gravy recipe. This is particularly lovely with a beef or lamb gravy.
Chocolate Pots. It sounds crazy but a little blackberry vinegar drizzled over these rich chocolate pots (just a wee splash) livens up this easy dessert and makes it seem restauranty – a little sea salt as well doesn’t go amiss here.
FAQs
You can use frozen blackberries, you will need to thaw first before you can crush them – which is the first step of the recipe.
Provided you are storing your blackberry vinegar in properly sealed sterilised bottles kept in a cool dark place then this vinegar can last up to 6 months. However, you should refrigerate after opening. Discard the vinegar if there is any visible mould or it smells off.
The vinegar will be cloudy if you pushed your fruit through the muslin bag during the straining. However, it can also become a little cloudy if it’s been sitting in the larder for a while which can just be fruit sediment.
You can make this recipe without the sugar but I find it does need something to balance the acidity of the vinegar and enhance the fruitiness.
I also make this vinegar regularly with raspberries which is a great alternative. It’s a straight swap from blackberries to raspberries.
More Blackberry Preserves You’ll Love
An easy seedless blackberry jam, spiked with lime to create a sweet tangy preserve. Quick to make and stores well for up to 12 months. Delicious on hot buttered toast, swirled through porridge or layered into cakes.
This homemade apple and blackberry infused vodka makes marvellous use of the abundance of apples and blackberries in late summer. Muddled through with the spices of your favourite crumble, we nestle this fruit into a bottle of vodka to steep for a few weeks before enjoying in autumnal cocktails.
This Blackberry Hoisin Sauce is beautifully sweet and tangy with so many layers of flavour and gluten-free to boot.
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Blackberry Vinegar
Ingredients
- 500 g blackberries
- 500 g apple cider vinegar
- 50 g white sugar - approx.
Instructions
- Put the blackberries into a large mixing bowl and crush lightly with a fork.
- Pour over the vinegar, stirring to combine into the blackberry pulp.
- Transfer to an airtight container, cover and leave to steep for three days in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally.
- Place a large piece of muslin, double the size of a large mixing bowl (with a spout if possible as it will make life easier later) and drape on the inside of the mixing bowl so it overhangs on the edges.
- Pour the blackberry and vinegar mixture into the mixing bowl and tie up the corners of the muslin so the mixture is secure inside.
- Suspend the bag of fruity vinegar over the bowl, using kitchen twine. Hang it from the handle of an upper kitchen unit perhaps.
- Leave the vinegar mixture to strain into the bowl for a couple of hours.
- Measure the liquid, pour into a saucepan and add 50g of sugar for every 500g of fruit vinegar.
- Bring to a gentle simmer, on a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
- Remove from the heat and pour into sterilised jars and seal. Use within 6 months.
Notes
- Makes 2 x 250g bottles of vinegar.
- This recipe is easy to adapt for however many blackberries you have.
You can add more sugar if you prefer it to be quite sweet. But this ratio is perfect for well-balanced salad dressings and drizzles.
