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Homemade currant vinegar is a useful product that has received recognition from good housewives. Even the most ordinary dish in the form of familiar dumplings or cutlets will be appreciated by guests if you add a couple of drops of homemade vinegar.
The benefits and harms of currant vinegar
Both berries and currant leaves contain a lot of vitamins and microelements, enzymes and natural antioxidants. Vinegar made from currants at home is healthier than regular synthetic vinegar, since it retains all the beneficial properties of the berries and leaves.
Benefit:
- strengthens the body and immunity;
- removes urea;
- strengthens gums;
- helps fight viral and respiratory infections;
- prevents oncology and facilitates oncological rehabilitation;
- stimulates digestion;
- stimulates appetite.
Harm:
- increased gastric secretion;
- irritation of the gastric mucosa due to ulcers and gastritis;
- allergic predisposition;
- liver pathologies;
- thrombophlebitis;
- pregnancy and breastfeeding - with caution.
Homemade currant vinegar recipes
There is an opinion that vinegar is prepared only from black currant berries. However, it is not. There are a huge number of homemade recipes from currants of any variety, as well as currant leaves and twigs. If desired, currants are also supplemented with other berries and sour fruits.
Blackcurrant vinegar recipe
The classic recipe for homemade vinegar is made from black currants. The incredible aroma, beautiful shade and pleasant pronounced taste have made this recipe the most popular.
To prepare you will need:
- young twigs – 500 g;
- granulated sugar – 1.5 cups;
- black currant berries – 1 cup;
- water passed through a filter – 2.5 liters;
- raisins - several berries.
Cooking method:
- The shoots should be crushed and poured into a three-liter jar, filling it one third full. Send berries and raisins there, add sugar and add water. Shake everything thoroughly several times to dissolve the sugar.
- The neck is covered with gauze in two or three layers and tied. The container is placed in a dark place and kept for a month. The pulp is stirred daily.
- After the specified period, the liquid is strained through gauze, poured back and placed in the same way for another two months.
- Finally, after two months, the surface is cleared of accumulated mass and the contents are filtered. The clean finished product is poured into small bottles, placed in the refrigerator and used for food.
Blackcurrant vinegar perfectly complements vegetable summer salads, goes well with meat appetizers and sauces, goulash and hot dishes.
Sometimes mold forms during the fermentation process.This can happen if the proportions of the products were distorted or sanitary and hygienic requirements were violated (poorly washed berries, dirty dishes, unboiled water). Mold in small quantities can be removed, but the taste and quality of the product, naturally, will not be the same.
If mold has covered a large area of the container, you will have to throw away the entire contents.
Red currant vinegar recipe
Red currant vinegar has a pleasant sweet and sour taste, a beautiful red color and a lot of useful properties. Instead of red currants, you can take white ones, or mix these two types together. The rest of the recipe does not change, the proportions are the same.
To prepare you will need:
- red currant berries without branches – 500 g;
- sugar – 2 large glasses;
- purified water – 2 liters.
Cooking method:
- The basis for making redcurrant vinegar is syrup. You need to add two liters of water to the sugar and boil it. Cool, then start preparing the vinegar.
- The currants are mashed with a wooden masher, placed in a large jar and filled with the resulting syrup.
- The neck is covered with a gauze napkin and tied. Place in the dark, and stir the pulp daily for two months.
- Everything is filtered, drained and sealed. After this, the product is ready.
Vinegar from berries and currant leaves
To prepare you will need:
- fresh blackcurrant leaves – 500 g;
- boiled water – 1 liter;
- sugar – 1 glass;
- black currant berries – 1 cup.
Cooking method:
- Fresh leaves are washed, placed in a three-liter jar with half the volume and filled with a cooled liter of boiled water.
- Add a glass of sugar and pure black currants.
- The container is tied at the top with a cloth and placed in a closet to ferment. Everything is stirred periodically, and after two months they are taken out.
- Leaves and pulp are removed, the liquid is filtered through cheesecloth or a fine colander.
- The vinegar is poured into bottles and placed in the refrigerator.
Vinegar from currants and cherry leaves
Redcurrant vinegar with cherry leaves is much more aromatic. It is indispensable for preparing marinades, soaking meat and goulash, as well as various sauces for meat and fish dishes.
To prepare you will need:
- red currants (berries and shoots) –500 g;
- cherry leaves – 30 pcs.;
- sugar – 2 cups;
- water – 2 liters.
Cooking method:
- Crush the washed berries with a wooden masher and release the juice.
- Place the crushed mass in a three-liter bowl, alternating layers with washed cherry leaves.
- Dissolve sugar in cooled boiled water and pour over leaves and berries.
- Stir everything, tie it with cloth and put it in the closet. Stir everything daily for the first week, and then for another 50 days just monitor the fermentation so that the liquid does not spill out. If the liquid tries to escape, the accumulated gas must be released. The fabric is opened slightly and then tied again.
- After the expiration date, the product will stop fermenting and can be filtered. The finished vinegar is poured into small bottles and stored in the cold.
Homemade apple cider vinegar with currant leaves
Vinegar made from sour apples and blackcurrant leaves is especially aromatic and healthy. This natural product is indispensable when preparing sauces for meat and delicate baked goods.
To prepare you will need:
- sour green apples – 500 g;
- black currant leaves – 500 g;
- sugar –2 cups;
- clean water - 2 liters.
Cooking method:
- Wash the apples, cut into neat cubes, removing the core and seeds. Wash the currant leaves as well.
- Boil syrup from water and sand, then cool it.
- After that, put the leaves mixed with apple cubes in layers in a large jar, pour syrup over everything.
- Tie the neck of the jar with a breathable cloth and secure with an elastic band.
- Place the container in a dark place for about two months. It all depends on the variety of apples: the more sour they are, the more intense the fermentation and the faster the vinegar ripens. You need to keep an eye on the liquid every day to make sure it doesn’t escape.
- After the expiration date, strain the liquid, pour into bottles and put in the refrigerator.
Terms and conditions of storage
Homemade vinegar will keep in the refrigerator for about two years, and then it will become acidic. The taste and quality of the product deteriorates; it no longer brings benefit, but harm.
If the product suddenly becomes moldy before the specified period, it is thrown away. Mold poisoning is considered one of the most severe.
Conclusion
Making currant vinegar at home is quite easy. By spending just a couple of hours, you can get a natural, environmentally friendly and healthy product and delight your loved ones and guests with new culinary masterpieces.
