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Tasteful
Gifts
Flavored oils
and vinegars make elegant presents
Add some locally raised food to your holiday feast to support local farmers and save fuel.
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Photo by Brian Mccord
Flavored vinegars and oils add an extra kick to marinades, sauces and dressings – and they happen to make great holiday gifts if prepared carefully. Useful, inexpensive and elegant, they can be dressed up with decorative bottles and a simple bow.
Here we share recipes for raspberry and strawberry vinegars, which pair beautifully with salads and can be used as light, flavorful meat marinades.
Our recipe for vanilla-infused oil goes well with a salad of arugula leaves and oranges, and our curry-ginger oil gives sautéed shrimp, scallops or vegetables a subtle curry flavor.
Just remember to use caution. Oils and vinegars flavored with garlic, herbs, dried tomatoes or a combination of these must be kept refrigerated and used within a month.
FLAVORED VINEGARS
Raspberry Vinegar
You will need:
2 cups raspberries
2 cups white wine vinegar
Wash fresh raspberries in clean water. Bruise berries slightly and place in sterilized quart jar. Heat the vinegar to just below boiling (190? F). Pour hot vinegar over raspberries in jar and screw cap on tightly. Allow to stand for two to three weeks in a cool, dark place. Strain vinegar through fine sieve and discard fruit. Pour vinegar into a clean, sterilized jar. Seal tightly and store in the refrigerator. Use within six months.
Makes one quart.
Strawberry Vinegar
You will need:
2 cups fresh strawberries
3 cups cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
Clean strawberries, removing stems. Halve berries. Set 1/4
cup aside. Place remaining strawberries in large bowl and pour vinegar over berries. Cover and set aside for one hour. Transfer vinegar and strawberries to a large sauce pot. Add sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Strain strawberry mixture, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Pour vinegar into a clean, sterilized quart jar.
Add reserved berries, cover tightly, and store in the refrigerator for up to six months.
FLAVORED OILS
Vanilla-Infused Oil
You will need:
3 whole vanilla beans, split in half
4 cups light olive oil
Place vanilla beans in small saucepan and cover with oil. Slowly heat until hot and vanilla is aromatic. Cool, strain
and store refrigerated for up to one month.
This oil is delicious mixed 3 to 1 with white wine vinegar
and used on salad of washed arugula leaves, thinly sliced
red onion and 1 orange, sectioned.
Makes 4 servings
Curry-Ginger Oil
You will need:
1 qt. canola oil
1/2 cup peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 cup Madras curry powder
In large, heavy saucepan, combine the oil with the ginger and heat over medium heat until the oil is fragrant and the ginger just begins to color (about 8 minutes). Remove from heat and cool completely (about 20 minutes). Place large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat. Add the curry powder to the dry skillet and toast, stirring,
until the curry powder smokes slightly (8-10 minutes). Whisk in
the ginger and oil, remove from the stove, and cool completely (30-40 minutes). Transfer the oil and spice to a sterilized glass jar, scraping the pan well. Allow the mixture to stand until the oil and curry powder have completely cooled (about 4 hours or overnight). Store in the refrigerator for up to a month.
Makes 1 quart
Some ideas for using flavored oils:
•Toss cooked rice with flavored oil and mix with cooked vegetables.
•Roll potato wedges in flavored oil before roasting.
•Paint pizza dough or soft tortilla shells with flavored oil before adding toppings or fillings.
•Brush French bread slices with garlic-flavored oil and toast in the oven.
•Saute onions or mushrooms in flavored oil.
•Drizzle flavored oil over cooked vegetables or before roasting or grilling.
Related Artilces - More Flavored Oil and Vinegar Recipes
Story by Kelly Price
