Herbal Vinegars
Herbal Vinegars are a wonderful and healthy way to use all those fresh herbs growing in the garden or out in your backyard. It is said that Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, relied on two things to keep healthy: honey and apple cider vinegar! Apple Cider Vinegar on its own has many health benefits, such as enhancing metabolism; tonifying digestion; regulating the acid/alkaline balance of the body, clearing the skin and helps to build the bones. A lot of the older food type remedies which were fermented are being found to have immense nutritional and health value, such as yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha as well as vinegar.
When you add the health benefits of herbs to the vinegar you have a vibrant and full spectrum remedy. The vinegar is especially good at extracting the minerals and vitamins from plants. Susan Weed says that a tablespoon of herbal vinegar has as much calcium as a cup of milk! There is really no limit when choosing your herbs for your vinegar. Depending on whether you are making it for a specific need or just for an over all health tonic. Some popular choices are: fennel, raspberry leaves, lemon balm, dill, chives, rosemary, sage, mint, plantain, etc.
To make an herbal vinegar is easy, get yourself a glass jar, and after picking your herbs of choice, cut the leaves in to small pieces with a scissors or your hands and fill the jar to the top, then add the organic apple cider vinegar, and close with either a plastic top or with some waxed paper. The vinegar can disintegrate metal lids! After labelling your vinegar, put it in a cool dry place for 10 days. After the 10 days, filter out the plant material and store in a bottle with a cork or plastic lid, if you keep it in a cool dark place it can keep for a long time or even in the fridge.
You can take your vinegar in many ways. Some people enjoy a tablespoon with some honey and water, or splash on some kale or chard which helps you receive more benefits from your greens! Or use in place of a salad dressing. The great thing is that it is very safe for children and they seem to like the taste or people who are sensitive to alcohol.