Good Chives Only
If you’ve grown chives, you know how wonderful they look when blossoming. The blossoms are edible and make a salad pop with color. Unfortunately, once the blossoms are spent, the show comes to an end and you’re back to using just the greens. If you want to take advantage of their wonderful flavor and color a little longer, you can make Chive Blossom Vinegar. It’s a great way preserve the unique flavor long after the blooms are gone.
These flowers have a wonderfully subtle but savory flavor that blends well with the acidity of vinegar. Best part? The color of the blossoms transforms the the vinegar, into a magical magenta.
There are sooooooo many recipes floating around the internet for Chive Blossom Vinegar. I’ve seen some that take six weeks and have more steps than a lighthouse in New England! Who has time for that? I want quick, easy, and tasty. You can get all that by following my easy peasy steps.
Step 1. Snip blossoms into a mason jar, pressing them periodically and filling to the top.
Step 2: Pour in your choice of vinegar. You can use white, apple cider, champagne, rice, white wine, you name it. Just fill it to the top covering the blossoms.
Step 3: Cover and leave it somewhere out of the light for 2 weeks and forget about it.
Step 4: Strain with a cheese cloth into another mason jar.
Bam! You’re done!
Now, I will say that I am assuming you got your blossoms from your own garden and haven’t sprayed any bad stuff on them. You know your garden, and you know if they’re clean or not. If not, rinse them and dry thoroughly before using. You will also see recipes that say you HAVE to wash them first because you need to remove any bugs that may be hiding in them. By all means, wash them if this is a deal breaker for you. You do you, my friend. Personally, I feel like there ain’t no bug gonna survive being submerged in vinegar for two weeks, and if by chance they do, well, I’ll be straining them out any way. So, for me, it’s just one more step to eliminate. If it gives you another excuse to use that nifty salad spinner, have at it. Rinse away. There is no right or wrong. Plus, salad spinners are kinda fun.
There’s many things you can make with your beautiful pinkish purple vinegar. Salad dressing, of course is an obvious choice. You can make any kind of dressing that calls for vinegar using your chive concoction. Here’s a basic vinaigrette to get you started.
Basic Vinaigrette with Chive Blossom Vinegar
1/4 cup chive blossom vinegar
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced
1&1/4 Tsp Salt and fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
*optional: Tbsp honey if you like it sweet
Most recipes will tell you to whisk all of the ingredients except the oil, then slowly drizzle in the oil, whisking continuously until blended.... but in all honesty, you can just put all the ingredients into a mason jar and shake, shake, shake.... shake your...booty. Er, I mean dressing. Hey, I’m all about easy, and have been known to dance while cooking, so there you have it.
OK, so what else can you use chive blossom vinegar for? Glad you asked! (Wink)...
Use it in any dish you need to add a little acidity to kick it up a notch and brighten the flavors. Use it in marinades, toss some greens in it, use it in coleslaw or potato salad, relishes, pickles, barbecue sauce, or spritzed on roasted veggies. You can also cut a few and place in a bud vase. Their gorgeous color will add a bright pop of color to your kitchen.
I hope you enjoy making chive blossom vinegar and experiment by using it in various dishes. If you’re daring, feel free to add other herbs to the infusion!
Until next time…
Dream Big, Plant Love, and Grow Where You’re Planted
XOXO - Laurie