2-Ingredient Chive Blossom Vinegar
Infusing your own chive blossom vinegar at home is a great way to add flavor to your cooking while also enjoying the benefits of chives. Chive blossoms are packed with nutrients and antioxidants, making them a great addition to any diet. By infusing them into vinegar, you’ll create a tangy and flavorful condiment that’s perfect for dressing salads, marinating meats, and adding to sauces. Toss some fresh chive blooms onto your plate and enjoy this treat for your eyes!
Making chive blossom vinegar at home is easy and cost-effective, and requires just two simple ingredients: white vinegar and chive blossoms. It’s also a great way to use up any leftover chive blossoms from your garden or farmer’s market haul.
With two simple ingredients and a little bit of patience, you can have chive blossom vinegar that is perfect for adding a flavor blast to any dish.
All About Chives
Chives are versatile perennial herbs (USDA Growing Zone 3-10) that can thrive in almost any garden or indoor setting. They’re incredibly nutritious, packed with high levels of vitamins C and K, as well as antioxidants known to promote good digestion. Chives require well-draining soil with a pH range of 6.0 to 7.0 and take around 80 days to reach maturity. They need full sun or partial shade and regular watering for optimal growth.
Perennial chives, along with rhubarb, are one of the first crops to pop up in my zone 3 garden in the spring. Chive flowers are similar to other edible vegetable tops, perfect for beautifying and adding flavor to any dish. My kids love to raid my chive blossoms– early in spring before there is much life in the garden– and pop them into their mouths! With a little care and attention, growing perennial chives and chive blossoms is an easy way to add flavor and nutrition to your cooking while enjoying the beauty of this lovely herb.
Onion Chives Vs. garlic Chives
Onion chives (Allium schoenoprasum) and garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are two different types of herbs that belong to the same Allium family and share similar growing habits. However, onion chives have a more subtle flavor with a mild onion taste, while garlic chives have a bolder flavor with a garlicky taste. Another difference is that onion chives have round, hollow stems, while garlic chives have flat leaves. Unlike the mild purple blossoms from onion chives, garlic chives have white flowers that are stronger in flavor than the stems themselves. Both are edible and can be used to infuse vinegar.
Chive Blossom Vinegar Highlights
What does chive blossom vinegar taste like? This infused vinegar has a delicate onion-like flavor and a beautiful purple-pink hue.
The longer you leave the chive blossoms infuse in the vinegar, the stronger and darker your vinegar will get… up to about 3 weeks.
Harvesting chive blossoms means less waste and a more efficient harvest of the whole plant! Check out this post on harvesting chives for the best
Tips + Tricks
- When harvesting chives, it’s best to snip or cut the leaves from the base of the plant, allowing the flowers to bloom, as they’re both equally edible and flavorful.
- Add fruit such as raspberries or other herbs to kick this chive blossom infused vinegar up a notch.
- Store chive blossom vinegar in a cool, dark place to keep it tasting fresh for longer.
- Choose bright, fresh flowers for optimal flavor.
- To speed up the recipe, bring your vinegar to a simmer before adding to the jar. It will be ready in around 48 hours.
Key Ingredients
Chive Blossoms: Fresh is best! Choose brightly colored chive blossoms that are fully open and haven’t started to fade or go to seed. Chive blossoms are ready for harvest in late spring/early summer.
Vinegar: You have several options when choosing a vinegar to infuse your chive blossoms into. The stand out choice for chive blossom vinegar is white distilled vinegar. White vinegar is mild in flavor and allows the chive blossom flavor to shine through. Other vinegar options for infusing chive blossoms include red wine vinegar, white win vinegar, apple cider vinegar and coconut vinegar.
Exactly How To Make Chive Blossom Vinegar
Step 1. Harvest your chive blossoms.
Step 2. Snip the chive blossoms as close to the flower as possible. Remove the brown, papery bud wrapping along the bottom of the flower. Get rid of any brown flowers or blemished flowers that are past the fresh stage.
Step 3. Swirl in a cold water bath to remove any tiny critters or debris that may have hitched a ride! Dry them on a clean kitchen cloth or a few pieces of paper towel.
Step 4. Fill a pint sized jar or other well sealing container with two cups of chive blossoms.
Step 5. Carefully “tamp” down the blossoms with a spoon or muddler to allow some of the oils (frangrance and flavor) to release into the vinegar.
Step 6. Pour vinegar into the jar until the blossoms are fully submerged (as close to two cups as possible).
Step 7. Screw the lid of your jar on tightly and store the chive blossom vinegar in a dark, cool location for around 14 days.
Step 8. After the infusion time, strain the chive blossoms out of the vinegar with a sieve or a coffee filter. Transfer to a clean jar, replace the lid, and store for around 6 months in the refrigerator. Use in all kinds of marinades, dressings, and cooked dishes!
Batch Size + Long Term Storage
Batch: This particular recipe calls for equal parts of chives to distilled white vinegar. In reality, you can loosely fill your jar with fresh chive blossoms, lightly crush, and top with vinegar. So EASY!! Expect to yield the same amount of vinegar as at the start of the recipe, in this case, two cups.
Storage: Store chive blossom vinegar in a clean, airtight container. Keep it in the fridge or in a dark, cool space for 8-12 months. Aim to consume the vinegar within six months for optimal flavor retention!
Serving Suggestions
Chive blossom vinegar can be thrown into your favorite recipes to level up the flavor and in some cases, appearance. Check out these recipes for inspiration!
Basic Vinaigrette Recipe
Check out this basic vinaigrette recipe or make your own using chive blossom vinegar as the star of the show.
Smoked Venison Tenderloin Recipe
Add chive blossom vinegar to venison tenderloin marinade or your other favorite marinade recipe.
Chive blossom vinegar will add complex tang to any dish, including smoked baked beans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Chive blossoms can be eaten raw, fried, pickled, battered and deep fried and used as garnish. Combine them with smoked beets, garden greens and goat cheese for an unreal summer salad.
Cider vinegar can be used for fruit and herbal infusions includiing chive blossom vinegar… some people prefer it! It has a more mild flavor, less sharp than white distilled vinegar.
Leave your chive blossoms in the vinegar for 2-3 weeks for optimal flavor!
2-Ingredient Chive Blossom Vinegar
Infusing your own chive blossom vinegar at home is a great way to add flavor to your cooking while also enjoying the benefits of chives. By infusing them into vinegar, you’ll create a tangy and flavorful condiment that’s perfect for dressing salads, marinating meats, and adding to sauces.
Ingredients
- 2 cups white distilled vinegar or cider vinegar
- 2 cups chive blossoms (loosely packed)
Instructions
- Harvest your chive blossoms.
- Snip the chive blossoms as close to the flower as possible. Remove the brown, papery bud wrapping along the bottom of the flower. Get rid of any brown flowers or blemished flowers that are past the fresh stage.
- Swirl in a cold water bath to remove any tiny critters or debris that may have hitched a ride! Dry them on a clean kitchen cloth or a few pieces of paper towel.
- Fill a pint sized jar or other well sealing container with two cups of chive blossoms.
- Carefully "tamp" down the blossoms with a spoon or muddler to allow some of the oils (frangrance and flavor) to release into the vinegar.
- Pour vinegar into the jar until the blossoms are fully submerged (as close to two cups as possible).
- Screw the lid of your jar on tightly and store the chive blossom vinegar in a dark, cool location for around 14 days.
- After the infusion time, strain the chive blossoms out of the vinegar with a sieve or a coffee filter. Transfer to a clean jar, replace the lid, and store for around 6 months in the refrigerator. Use in all kinds of marinades, dressings, and cooked dishes!
Notes
*It is best to use non reactive lids when storing vinegar because the vinegar will corrode the lid. Plastic or glass lids with rubber seals are the best. I used an old glass Gem jar with a glass lid and rubber gasket for the initial infusion and then transferred the vinegar to a cute flip top jar that I up-cycled.
*For quicker infusion times, wash the chive blossoms and prepare them as per the recipe. Heat the vinegar to a simmer and pour the hot vinegar overtop of your chive blossoms. Taste the vinegar after 48 hours, strain when ready.
