Homemade Blackberry Vinegar

Blackberry vinegar, blackberries, tumbler, apple, vase.

5 from 6 votes

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.

Course Beverages, Condiment

Cuisine British

Keyword blackberry shrub, blackberry vinegar, fruit vinegar

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 10

Steeping Time 10

Total Time 20

Servings tablespoons (700ml/3cups)

Calories 46kcal

Author Jo Allison

Equipment

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.

Metric - US Customary

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.

TIPS:

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.

Nutrition