Herbal Vinegar Infusions

By Sophie Cassel, herbalist, gardener, educator and RWP employee. 

Of all the ways of preserving herbs, I think that vinegar infusions really capture the essence of summer in a way that lasts all year. At its foundation, a vinegar infusion is super simple: Chop up flavorful herbs, pack them into a jar, and cover with apple cider vinegar. Let the herbs infuse into the vinegar for a couple weeks, then strain for a punchy liquid that is versatile, healthful, and pretty tasty. 

Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is the vinegar of choice, but other vin aigre (translated to “sour wine”) like red wine, white or balsamic are also viable options, depending on what your final product will be. Vinegars are a natural product of the fermentation and winemaking process, and have been used across cultures and generations to preserve and flavor food and beverages. In the northeastern US, apples were originally grown to produce cider and apple jack, and so cider vinegar has been our locally abundant source of acetic acid, the chemical responsible for that puckery tang that is so indispensable to our salads and pickles. 

Many folks are familiar with infusing vinegars for salad dressings- adding a couple sprigs of rosemary and thyme and a few cloves of garlic into the vinegar bottle can add complexity to a simple oil-and-vinegar dressing. But did you know that infused vinegars also lend themselves to sweet concoctions?

The first time I fell in love with an herbal vinegar was when a friend, faced with a glut of tulsi flowers from her garden and uninterested in drying the lot, shoved the herb bunches into a jar with apple cider vinegar and let them sit on her kitchen counter until she almost forgot about them. Weeks later, she gave me a sample of the strained liquid. The vinegar had absorbed and preserved all the delicate floral flavors of the tulsi, and it tasted just like we were back in the heat of July. 

Since then, I’ve been getting creative with different herb combinations, and adding honey or molasses to amp up the sweetness of my “elixirs”. When made in small batches, infused vinegars are a fun way to let your inner flavor wizard come through, and delicious local vinegar is inexpensive and easy to come by. Let yourself be guided by the bounty in your garden and your tastebuds, and you’re sure to come up with some successful combinations of your own. Below are a few traditional styles of vinegar infusions, with some ideas for herbs and spices to use. 

• Switchel: Also known as “haymaker’s punch”, this is a classic beverage drunk by northern farm workers while working through the heat of the day. Switchel usually includes ACV, honey or maple syrup, and water, with herbs steeped in for flavor. It functions much like a home-made sports drink, with the vinegar and sweetener providing much-needed electrolytes and salt. Try infusing a jar of vinegar with ginger, thyme and lemon, and keeping it on your counter, ready to add to your sweetener and water for a refreshing beverage that can be drunk throughout the day, even if you’re not making hay. 

• Shrub: These vinegars are infused with seasonal fruit and honey to make a luscious syrup. Added to cocktails or sparkling water, shrubs are tart, sweet, and deeply refreshing on a hot summer’s day. Added to a bit of hot water in the winter, it brings to mind the flavors of summer. Try a combination of strawberries and thai basil, or blackberries and raspberries with anise hyssop. The color of the berries will seep into the vinegar, adding a visual element to any beverage.

• Fire Cider: This spicy concoction has been a staple of the kitchen medicine community for generations, receiving added attention in past years as the fight to prevent the trademarking of the name went national. Kitchen staples like onion, garlic, horseradish, cayenne and black pepper are chopped and added to vinegar and honey, then strained when the brew is nicely potent. Taken by the spoonful or added to a hot toddy, Fire Cider is sure to clear the cobwebs from your immune system and provide some internal warmth in the depths of winter. If you’re excited about Fire Cider, a new book compiled by Rosemary Gladstar dedicated to the topic will give you ample recipe ideas and inspiration.

Infusing herbs in vinegar is so quick and simple, you’ll soon find yourself making a new batch every week, capturing the seasonal shifts of your garden. Make sure to label every jar with the date you made it and the herbs you added in. Infused vinegars are safe for everyone when diluted, and make an excellent offering to kiddos or folks who aren’t drinking alcohol. They also can help jump start digestion before a meal. The possibilities are as varied and abundant as your garden!

Further resources:

Folk Medicine: A Vermont Country Doctor’s Guide to Good Health. Dr. D.C. Jarvis. 1950’s book, makes some wild claims but is a fun read and a portal back in time. His office is preserved at the Shelburne Museum!

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat. Samin Nosrat, 2017. Specifically the chapter on acid, but this entire book is a treasure trove.

Fire Cider! 101 Zesty Recipes for Health-Boosting Remedies Made with Apple Cider Vinegar. Rosemary Gladstar, 2019. The “godmother of Western herbalism” and the originator of Fire Cider, Rosemary is an enormous resource to the beginning herbalist.

Tulsi (aka Holy Basil)

This is the first installment in our medicinal herb series by Sophie Cassel, Red Wagon Plants employee and Burlington herbalist. Please check our events calendar for her medicinal herb workshops this year.

Tulsi (aka Holy Basil), Ocimum tenuiflorum Ocimum sanctum, Lamiaceae

While you won’t find Tulsi- also known as Holy Basil and Tulasi- in any classic English herb gardens or older western herb books, it has risen to prominence over the years both for its medicinal benefits and relative ease of growth, even while our northern climate is far removed from its native habitat on the Indian subcontinent. There, pots of perennially-blooming Tulsi bless the doorways of houses, where the plant is considered sacred by many. What a gift, then, that those of us far away in the western hemisphere can experience the joy of growing and using this plant!

Tulsi basil is in the same genus as our culinary basils, and within the umbrella of Ocimum tenuiflorum there are multiple subtypes and varieties, including Rama, Vana, and Kapoor Tulsi. While all three can theoretically be grown in Vermont, I have found that Kapoor Tulsi is consistently the easiest and most rewarding to grow, and that is the variety we grow and sell at Red Wagon Plants. Since I began growing Kapoor Tulsi in my gardens in 2015, I have become completely, utterly hooked on this plant. From watching its little paw-print shaped leaves evolve as seedlings, to inhaling its heady perfume as the flowers open, to sipping the tea of its dried leaves in the winter, I keep Tulsi close at hand all year long.

From a medicinal perspective, Tulsi is compelling as one of the easier “adaptogenic” plants to grow- adaptogen referring to plants that have been used to regulate and support our nervous systems and have a wide range of positive actions on our body, mind and spirit. While the uses and impacts of adaptogens are too complex to dive into here (although I like Jim McDonald’s credit card analogy), it’s worth noting that Tulsi can be helpful to both calm an overactive system, as well as provide some energy to a burnt-out one. It’s packed with antioxidants and is strongly anti-inflammatory. Plus, it tastes amazing- I often hear folks liken the flavor to an herbaceous bubblegum, and its sweetness makes it palatable to basically everyone, picky kiddos included. The Indian medical system known as Ayurveda considers Holy Basil a “rasayana”, translated as “to lengthen the lifespan” in Sanskrit. Most of what we in the West know about its uses stems from what Ayurveda has taught us from a 3000 year history of use and reverence. 

Growing Holy Basil is quite similar to growing other types of culinary basils- it prefers fertile garden soil with decent moisture and full sun, although it’s not as moisture-dependent as the Italian basils. It’s important to wait for the ground to fully warm up before planting Tulsi, so start seeds indoors or purchase plants to give yourself a leg up. Once established, you can get up to three or four big harvests over the season- once the plant has started to set flowers, cut down to about a foot and watch it spring back, bushier than before. However, its important to leave plenty of flowers for the bees, who go absolutely bananas for this plant. I have spent delightful stretches of time lying belly-down on the warm summer ground, watching the insect cacophony surround my row of Tulsi plants. If you’re really lucky and observant, a blissed-out bee will leave you a little red pollen sac on one of the leaves- a tiny treat! Left to drop seed, Tulsi may actually volunteer back into your garden, but don’t expect to see seedlings until early July when it’s finally warm enough to resemble the plant’s natural growing conditions.

The real question with Tulsi is what to do with your bounty once it’s been harvested. The high water content makes it a little finicky to dry. I’ve had the best luck in a dehydrator on low heat, but it can also be hung in small bunches in a warm, well ventilated area until the leaves can be stripped from the stems, which take much longer to dry. 

The easiest way to enjoy Tulsi is to use the fresh leaves and flowers. Fresh Tulsi sun tea is a transcendent experience on a hot summer afternoon. Simply place a handful of bruised leaves in a mason jar, cover with cool water, and leave in a sunny spot for a few hours (with the lid on to keep in all those aromatic oils!) It also makes a stellar vinegar infusion:

Tulsi Vinegar

• 4-5 big handfuls of Tulsi leaves and flowers, chopped

• Apple cider vinegar

• Honey (optional)

Pack leaves and flowers into a jar, then cover with apple cider vinegar and steep for 2-3 weeks. Strain, add honey to taste, and bottle. Use this sweet, floral vinegar in salads, or mix with seltzer water for a summer-infused sparkling beverage. This will keep for at least 3-4 months, indefinitely in the refrigerator. 

Let Tulsi into your garden, and you’ll reap its blessings and benefits all year long!

Resources:

De la Foret, Rosalee. Health Benefits of Tulsi. https://www.herbalremediesadvice.org/health-benefits-of-tulsi.html