Blackberries are not only for jam making and crumbles. Have you tried making your own fruit vinegar before? This simple blackberry vinegar recipe is perfect to start your fruit vinegar journey with and perfect way for using those foraged blackberries.
Making your own fruit vinegar is super easy, mostly hands off and very rewarding although some patience is required as you allow the fruit to steep in vinegar for days at a time.
Soon you forget about it, move on to other things and in the background your fruit (in this case blackberries) will work hard to impart their flavour to vinegar. Pure magic!
Blackberry vinegar is a great way to venture outside of your usual cakes, crumbles and jams when it comes to using up these wonderfully abundant bramble berries!
If, however, you do fancy making blackberry jam as well, make sure to check out my recipe for Easy Blackberry Jam (No Pectin).
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✔️ Why should you make it?
- Perfect way of using foraged blackberries
- Easy and satisfying to make
- Versatile - drink, base for cocktails, remedy, drizzle, salad dressing, flavour enhancer etc.
- Healthy
- Cheaper than shop bought
- Slightly unusual and exciting
- Great alternative to balsamic vinegar
🥘 Ingredients and ratios
Blackberries - Delicious and nutritious bramble gems so super abundant in the autumn and packed full of nutrients too.
Vinegar - I really only use one type of vinegar in all of my cooking and baking and it is organic and unpasteurised apple cider vinegar with mother. You could also use organic wine vinegar if you wanted to. I would stay clear from distilled or malt varieties though.
My recipe is based on that by Pam Corbin (River Cottage Handbook No.2: Preserves) who recommends using 1kg (2.2 lb) fruit to 600ml (2.5 cups) vinegar. I decided to increase the amount of vinegar in my recipe as I wanted for it to mostly cover my blackberries. It worked well!
For 500g (1.1 lb) of fresh blackberries I used 350ml (1.5 cup) of vinegar.
Sugar - Any sugar of choice will work here. Personally I went for brown sugar for its almost caramel like flavour.
As for the ratio I decided to stick to Pam's suggested ratio of 450g (1 lb) of sugar per 600ml (2.5 cups) of strained vinegar (after steeping).
As I ended up with 650ml (2 ¾ cups) of strained vinegar I used roughly 485g (1.06 lb) of sugar.
🍽 Equipment
Large Bowl - You will need it to be a non-reactive one as you will be steeping your blackberries in vinegar in that very bowl for a few days. I used glass.
Large plate - Big enough to cover said bowl during steeping.
Muslin/Cheese Cloth or Jam Straining Set - I used my brand new straining set I got especially to make this recipe although I'm sure I'll make a good use out of it during my future preserving endeavours.
It's a bit wobbly so you need to be careful when you rest it on your vessel of choice but I wanted to let my blackberry infused vinegar strain nice and slow. The less you squeeze and prod the pulp the clearer the vinegar.
Funnel - For easy bottling.
Bottles/Jars - Any glass containers will do. I used couple of cute old maple syrup bottles and an old vinegar bottle too (handy as it's got its own pourer in it already).
💭 Top Tips
- Use the freshest blackberries possible, preferably foraged (although shop bought will work too) for maximum flavour.
- Give the blackberries a little prod/squash every couple of days to help them release their lovely flavour into vinegar.
- Depending on how strong you'd like your vinegar to taste of blackberries you can choose to steep them for anything between 5-10 days. I steeped mine for 10 days.
- Beware of mess when straining vinegar, especially when using straining kit. Due to the height you're likely to have fruity droplets all over the counter and possibly some on yourself too so do wear that apron!
- If you want your vinegar to be clear try and avoid the urge to squeeze the muslin or cheese cloth when straining and take some time to let it do its job without prodding it. If you're not fussed about its clarity, squeezing will yield more blackberry vinegar. I left my vinegar to strain on a straining kit for 4 hours but then I got impatient and followed with couple of squeezes.
- Store blackberry vinegar in sterilised bottles/jars to prolong its shelf life. You can check out my recipe for Elderberry Syrup for details on sterilising your glass containers.
🥡 Storing Blackberry Vinegar
The best way to store blackberry vinegar is in a dark cool place away from direct sunlight as you would do with any shop bought vinegar. It should last a long time stored this way. Some say indefinitely.
Over time you might observe change in the colour of the vinegar and of course a bit of sediment settling too but you can rest assured that these visual changes don't have negative impact on the vinegar itself.
There is no need to keep it refrigerated but you can if you want to.
I wouldn't recommend freezing vinegar as it will affect its acidity plus there is really no need due to its long shelf-life.
🍴Serving Suggestions
Blackberry Vinegar can be used in a similar way to any vinegar (especially balsamic) although this one is much sweeter so makes sure you're happy with that first.
Use in salad dressings with some good quality olive oil. I usually go for 3:1 ratio of oil to vinegar.
Add sweet acidity to your marinades, stews, sauces etc.
Drizzle over desserts for a bit of sweet acidic punch but do use sparingly!
Try making sweet caramelised onions like the ones I made to go with my Portobello Mushroom Burger with blackberry vinegar in place of balsamic, just gorgeous.
Similar to my Elderberry Syrup you can use blackberry vinegar for its medicinal properties, taking it neat (1 tablespoon) or in a cup of hot water when you're suffering with a cold or when you feel cold coming on.
(I'm not a doctor so always make sure to seek proper medical advice).
Also, it works really well diluted as a cordial (both cold and hot). You get lovely sweetness with that slight acidity at the back of your throat. Yum!
❓FAQs
Yes you can. Frozen blackberries will work as well when making blackberry vinegar. Make sure to defrost them on a sieve first as you don't want to dilute your vinegar.
No you don't. Cool dark place and most importantly away from direct sunlight will be sufficient.
Blackberry vinegar has been used as home remedy and to help cure and ward off colds, coughs and sore throats. It's full of vitamin C and antioxidants + vinegar goodness (especially if you use apple cider vinegar with mother).
Yes it is. Shrubs are pretty much concentrated fruit syrups made with fresh fruit, sugar and vinegar. They're also knows as drinking vinegars. You can treat them exactly as you would fruit cordials and drink diluted either hot or cold.
🔪 How to make blackberry vinegar?
Ingredient quantities & detailed instructions to be found in recipe card at the bottom of the post.
One: Gently wash and dry your blackberries and put them in a large, non-reactive bowl (glass or earthenware or ceramic are the best).
Two: Pour over your vinegar of choice so that it mostly covers the blackberries and squash them gently with a fork.
Three: Cover with well fitting plate and set aside at room temperature to steep for 5-10 days. Give blackberries a little squash every couple of days.
Four: After few days of steeping it is now time to strain blackberry infused vinegar and discard of pulp. You can use jam straining kit like the one below, muslin/cheese cloth, fine sieve or combination of things.
Five: Once you strained your vinegar put it in a medium pan together with sugar. Bring it to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until all the sugar has dissolved. Feel free to remove any scum that appeared on the surface.
Six: Cool and then pour into sterilised glass bottles and/or jars.
Have you made my Blackberry Vinegar?
Please consider giving it ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in recipe card below.
😋 More delicious recipes for you to try!
Homemade Elderberry Syrup
Easy Blackberry Jam (No Pectin)
Orange Marmalade (with step-by step photos)
Plum Jam with Chocolate
How to make lemon curd
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📋 Recipe
Homemade Blackberry Vinegar
Equipment
- Large Plate
- Glass bottles and jars
Ingredients
- ½ kg blackberries gently washed and dried
- 350 ml apple cider vinegar see notes
- 485 g sugar of your choice (brown, demerara, caster, golden caster etc.) You will need 450g sugar for every 600ml of strained vinegar (after steeping). I used 485g. See notes.
Instructions
- Gently wash and dry your blackberries and put them in a large, non-reactive bowl (glass or earthenware and ceramic ones are the best).
- Pour over your vinegar of choice so that it mostly covers the blackberries and give them a little squash with a fork.
- Cover the bowl with well fitting plate and set aside at room temperature to steep for 5-10 days. Give blackberries a little squash with a fork every couple of days. I steeped my blackberries in vinegar for 10 days.
- After few days of steeping it is now time to strain blackberry infused vinegar and discard of pulp. You can use jam straining kit, muslin/ cheese cloth, fine sieve or combination of things to strain your vinegar. Let it strain nice and slowly without prodding it too much to avoid excessive fruit sediment getting into the liquid.
- Once you've strained your vinegar put it in a medium pan together with sugar. Bring it to boil, lower the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until all the sugar has dissolved. Feel free to remove any scum that appeared on the surface.
- Cool and then pour into sterilised glass bottles and/or jars.
Notes
- Nutritional information is per 1 tablespoon serving based on 700ml/3 cups of vinegar prepared with 485g/1.07lb sugar and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- I would highly recommend using organic apple cider vinegar with mother but wine vinegars will work well here too. I would stay clear from distilled and malt vinegars.
- Make sure to adjust the amount of sugar depending on the amount of vinegar you get after straining all the fruit - 450g (1 lb) of sugar for every 600ml (2.5 cups)of vinegar.
- Use the freshest blackberries possible for maximum flavour.
- Give the blackberries a little prod every couple of days to help them release their lovely flavour into vinegar.
- Depending on how strong you'd like your vinegar to taste of blackberries you can choose to steep them for anything between 5-10 days. I steeped mine for 10 days.
- Beware of mess when straining vinegar, especially when using straining kit. Wear that apron!
- If you want your vinegar to be clear try and avoid the urge to squeeze the muslin or cheese cloth when straining and take some time to let it do its job without prodding it. If you're not fussed about its clarity, squeezing will yield more blackberry vinegar. I left my vinegar to strain on a straining kit for 4 hours but then I got impatient and followed with couple of squeezes.
- Store blackberry vinegar in sterilised bottles/jars to prolong their shelf life. You can check out my recipe for Elderberry Syrup for details on sterilising your glass containers.
Mary says
Oops I forgot to give the recipe a rating.. 5 star!
joskitchenlarder says
Thank you. 🙂
Mary says
Hello Jo,
Thank you for the wonderful recipe! I made the vinegar over two weeks ago and the blackberries have been steeping since then. I've had to remove a jelly-like skin from the top of them twice and plan on bottling them this weekend. Is this skin normal? It all came off in one go and the liquid underneath seems to smell ok. Thank you for your advice.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Mary,
The skin you're referring to is called scoby and is nothing to worry about here. It's simply an indication that natural yeast and bacteria are doing their job. As long as there is no sign of any mould you're fine. I had no skin on my vinegar when making it first time around and a very thin film second time. It might be related to the temperature at the time of fermenting or simply how strong wild yeast are around you. I hope you enjoy the vinegar! 🙂 x
Mike says
Very easy to follow,with a fantastic result.Dankeschön aus Deutschland
joskitchenlarder says
So great to hear! Thanks Mike! 🙂
jedagi says
Interesting, I make blackberry Shrub and also blackberry vinegar. I make blackberry vinegar by turning my blackberries and juice into vinegar. I don't add any vinegar. It's made through fermenting blackberries, distilled water, a small amount of sugar and the natural wild yeast that's in the air . It turns out around 2.9 pH. Very tasty.
joskitchenlarder says
This recipe is a bit of a shortcut yet still works well. 🙂 I do like the sound of your method though, would like to try it at some point.
Wendy Husband says
Hi I've just bottled my vinegar, it's lovely however very sweet, is it meant to be? I had 1.7ltrs of liquid and added about 1.2kg of sugar. I can hardly taste the vinegar.
Thanks
Wendy
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Wendy, Your ratio of sugar to strained liquid sounds right. It is a sweet vinegar, almost like pomegranate molasses but with some acidity. There are plenty of uses for it, take a look at https://www.joskitchenlarder.com/blackberry-vinegar/#serving-suggestions I hope that helps and you'll enjoy it!
Wendy says
Thank you, it is delicious, I will definitely try it in different ways as per your suggestions.
I made the blackberry & beetroot chutney with some of this vinegar too .. turned out really nice. I think this will be a regular autumn season treat ( I always have a glut of beets & blackberries in my garden at this time of year)
Thank you 😊
joskitchenlarder says
You're welcome and your chutney sounds really delicious too! Enjoy!
ps. If you could rate the recipe for me when you get a minute that would be fantastic! Thank you!😊
Lana says
Do you do anything with the blackberry pulp? Seems a shame to throw it away.
joskitchenlarder says
Hi Lana,
I know it seems like a bit of a waste but so far I haven't come up with a way of using up blackberry pulp I'm afraid.
Wendy says
I'm just about to bottle my vinegar and I'm going to use the blackberry pulp in a chutney with beetroot for the first time, nice combo hey?
joskitchenlarder says
Thanks for the tip Wendy, beetroot blackberry combo does sound delicious! 🙂
Victoria Holland says
Hi can I use xylitol sweetener instead of ordinary sugar in this recipe? Thanks
joskitchenlarder says
Hi, Sorry but I don't have experience with sweeteners.