Homesteading With katlupe

Making Herbal Vinegar Today!

I am making a herbal vinegar today. I collect jars of various sizes and use plastic lids for them. For vinegar you would not want to be using metal lids as the vinegar will affect the lid and corrode it. So stick to plastic in this case. I never use plastic containers if I can help it. Glass. My best friend taught me that and she was right about that. Smell that plastic container!

Apple cider vinegar is my choice for my health. It was used by the father of medicine, Hippocrates. He only used honey and vinegar as remedies. With good reason too! Apple cider vinegar aides your digestion, reduces cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, useful in preventing as well as aiding in treatment of Osteoporosis, useful in bringing thyroid and metabolic to normal levels, reducing cancer risks as well as making wrinkles and grey hair less noticeable (that will probably get everyone using it immediately!).

You can purchase organic online or in your local health food store, but I just use the pasturized one right off the shelf of my grocery store. Wide mouth jars are easier to work with as you will be removing the herb when you are done. Fill your jar with fresh-cut fragrant herbs including the stalks, fruits, roots and even nuts. Fill the jar really well, all the way to the top with the herb. Be sure to chop your herbs finely. Best results and highest mineral content will come from a jar full of herbs! Really fill the jar. This will take far more herb or root than you would think. Then put your room temperature vinegar in the jar to the top. Cover and date and put it in the back of a cupboard away from direct sunlight, but it does not have to be dark. Don't forget about it. Leave it for six weeks.

Herbal vinegars taste good and are good for you. So use them often as they boost the nutrient level of your diet with hardly any effort and at harly any cost at all. Some easy ways to incorporate them into your every day diet:

Add a spoonful or two in your bean and grain dishes for flavor.

Of course, use them in your homemade salad dressing.

Add them to cooked greens.

Add them to your stir-frys.

Make soups that welcome vinegar like a borscht.

Always use your herbal vinegar in recipes that call for vinegar.

A spoonful in a glass of water sweetened with blackstrap molasses will give you a mineral jolt. Use this as a coffee substitute as it prevents and also relieves the discomfort of arthritic pain.

Plants That Make A Tasty & Nutritional Herbal Vinegar:

Apple mint (Mentha sp.) leaves, stalks
Bee balm (Monarda didyma) flowers, leaves, stalks
Bergamot (Monarda sp.) flowers, leaves, stalks
Burdock (Arctium lappa) roots
Catnip (Nepeta cataria) leaves, stalks
Chicory (Cichorium intybus) leaves, roots
Chives and especially chive blossoms
Dandelion (Taraxacum off.) flower buds, leaves, roots
Dill (Anethum graveolens) herb, seeds
Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) herb, seeds
Garlic (Allium sativum) bulbs, greens, flowers
Garlic mustard (Alliaria officinalis) leaves and roots
Goldenrod (Solidago sp.) flowers
Ginger (Zingiber off.) and Wild ginger (Asarum canadensis) roots
Lavender (Lavendula sp.) flowers, leaves
Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris) new growth leaves and roots
Orange mint (Mentha sp.) leaves, stalks
Orange peel, organic only
Peppermint (Mentha piperata and etc.) leaves, stalks
Perilla (Shiso) (Agastache) leaves, stalks
Rosemary (Rosmarinus off.) leaves, stalks
Spearmint (Mentha spicata) leaves, stalks
Thyme (Thymus sp.) leaves, stalks
White pine (Pinus strobus) needles
Yarrow (Achilllea millifolium) flowers and leaves

So what could be easier? Just one new idea to add some nutrients to your diet today.

katlupe