Drinking vinegar isn’t something new. History buffs are probably aware of posca which was drunk in Ancient Greece and Rome. In Japan, Korea and Taiwan, it was used not only in cuisine but also for medical purposes for centuries until now. In feudal times, Japanese samurai warriors carried vinegar mixed with water into battle as a tonic to fight fatigue. There are also a variety of benefits claimed from stimulating appetite to beautiful skin.
Drinking vinegar probably sounds as disgusting to you. I’m not talking about the cooking vinegar. They contain half the acidity and are flavored with fruit. I’m not sure how true are the health claims. Drinking apple cider vinegar diluted with water and honey years have been my habit for years. There’s variety of fruity vinegar that have recently crept onto our Malaysian shores that had me hooked. When diluted with water and honey, the result is a crisp, fruity refreshing drink! Some lounges in the States serves fruits vinegars with soda, with flavours like rhubarb, pineapple, ginger and pomegranate, turning them into hip non-alcoholic drink.
Kellie’s Raspberry Vinegar have been on the back of my mind. When I bought a few kg of passion fruits from Tanjung Sepat farms, I tried making a small batch and was pleasantly surprised that the flavours are similar to the one I bought at RM60 for 500ml. My homemade passion fruit vinegar costs only RM15 and sweetened lightly with honey.
These are so easy to make that I’ve given away my small batch to friends and making more with different fruits this weekend as Christmas presents. How about mango vinegar and strawberry vinegar? Ohlala
Ideas For Using Your Vinegars:
Refreshing drink when diluted with water / sparkling water
Salad dressings with or without oil
Marinades (chicken, pork, fish)
drizzle over pancakes / plain cakes / vanilla ice cream
- 500g Passion Fruit Pulp (from about 1kg of Passion Fruits)
- 300ml (1 ¼ cup) Cider Vinegar or Rice Vinegar - I use Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar
- 200g Sweetener of choice (I use Raw Honey)
- Place passion fruit pulp in a bowl and lightly mash it up with a fork to release more juice from the pulp. Pour the pulp with seeds into a glass container with vinegar and leave to macerate for 5 days at room temperature. Stir once or twice.
- After 5 days, pour the fruity vinegar into a heat-sterilised cheesecloth hung over a jug. You can hang the cheese cloth over a tap or tie it to the handle of a kitchen cabinet. I hang mine using glass container cover to hold the cheesecloth. Hang it for 4 hours to drip. Try and resist squeezing the bag to speed up the process as it will make the vinegar cloudy. I couldn’t resist a gently squeeze after 4 hours; you will see that it is a tad cloudy.
- Measure the fruit vinegar and pour it into a non-reactive saucepan. I got approximately 600ml of vinegar. To this I added 200g honey. This is lightly sweetened, just the way I like it. The standard seems to be for every 600ml of vinegar to add 450 grams of sugar. This makes a thick syrup, whereas mine is a thinner one.
- Bring the vinegar slowly to a gentle boil, stirring with a wooden spoon occasionally until the sugar completely dissolves. Boil gently and steadily for ten minutes. Take off the heat. Pour into sterilised bottles. Seal and store in a cool dark place.
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