Ideas please for flavouring my homemade wine vinegar

[anorak]

I'm feeling quite pleased with myself as I'm just bottling up my very first homemade wine vinegar made with homemade wine. I made lots as I like to give homemade stuff away at Christmas. Some will be used for pickles but as for the rest, I was thinking of flavouring it with herbs and so on. Garlic, chili? Which herbs and spices can be used for this? Anybody have any favourites? Can blackberries be used?

ah now theres a subject I can bore on britain for - I've done raspberry (wonderful), blackberry, vanilla (don't bother it doesn't work) and tarragon. DH tried basil which was an alarming colour and ... ok... just not fab. garlic was similar didn't quite work for me. My stepma makes an apple vinegar thats rather good but I don't know how as she refuses to share.

have fun

How about rosemary?

Thanks for those suggestions. Ali what recipes do you use? I've looked on the internet and they seem to vary quite a bit.

Has anyone tried chili vinegar?

I LOVE chili vinegar, but only really used it on cooked spinach. Do you have favourite recipes that use herbs and wine vinegar? Maybe you could make the wine vinegar with the herbs in the recipe (or those that you know would work well) and then print out the recipe all fancy-like and give that along with the vinegar as a gift.

If you decide to use that idea, I want one!

Actually, I have a good recipe for corn salad that uses wine vingear and jalepenos! Can post it, if you'd like.

Okay! I have just strained off a few pints of lovely blackberry vinegar. Now...can anyone give me recipes for using it?

And while you're at it...I made some chili vinegar and tarragon vinegar too. Any ideas for those?

I love your idea about the recipes JJ, but I need some recipes! Preferably tried and tasted ones TIA

hey anorak - sorry I didn't see your earlier question.

I use the blackberry with red meat to marinade it with olive oil and s&p. Tarragon for dressing for salads, esp with cooked chicken and also over green beans which is fab.

Thank you alicat. Anyone else got any recipes for using these flavoured vinegars?

Dill... Tarragon, both make lovely, subtly flavoured vinegars for salad dressings in particular.

Oh thanks lipstick mum but I have already made the flavoured vinegars; blackberry, tarragon and chili. What I am looking for now is how to use them.