This recipe is from Forager Chef – my property has many opportunities for foraging wonderful stuff. A few years ago I made the most amazing jelly from wild grapes and found this complimentary recipe for the scraps (pulp, skins and stems after making the jelly). This year I decided to try it with the strawberry tops – after making strawberry jam, there are all the bits that got cut off – the little bits of strawberry around the stems, and the stems themselves. So I’m giving it a try. I had some folks over last weekend and they wanted to know what the big jar of fermenting stuff was on my counter, so this is it! There are a number of options on the Forager Chef website, but this is the one I used:
TOTAL TIME: 6 weeks (including fermenting), only about 10 min to start
Ingredients
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 900 g (2 lb) fruit scrap (in this case tops of strawberries after making jam)
- 2 Tablespoons living vinegar such as apple cider
- 2 litres (about 2 quarts) water
Directions
- Mix all ingredients, stir well to dissolve the sugar and put into a container, such as a big glass jar.
- Cover with cheesecloth, secure with twine or a rubber band, and leave out at room temperature, stirring daily (I use a wooden spoon).
- After 2 weeks, strain out the solids, then pour the mixture into a mason jar.
- Cover with cheesecloth and continue fermenting for another month or so, until the vinegar is good and strong. When it tastes sour like regular vinegar to you, screw a lid on the jar and store.