I’ve always been a salt and sour person. Lay a plate of cookies on the table, and I might eat one, but the pickle tray at Thanksgiving Dinner must be placed very near my seat. So it’s no surprise that I’ve been crazy inspired by Nourished Kitchen’s Challenge: Preserve the Bounty. Jenny, the site’s author has challenged us to put up some food without canning or freezing. There was lacto-fermentation, oil and fat and now, vinegar. I mixed up the lacto-fermentation week with doing vinegar already, but I love it so, I decided to go for a few more fun condiments. I apologize in advance for the picture heavy post, but there’s just so much to share.
First up is the fruit. I’ve always loved the pickled fruit you get with an antipasto plate in some restaurants. So I thought I’d try what’s in season: melon and stone fruit. The herbs used here are typically the same ones you find in mulling spices: cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg. I consulted my favorite farm girl recipe book 
and got to work. The house smelled pretty crazy after boiling all that vinegar, but I think in about four weeks it’ll be worth it, and hopefully aired out by then! Spiced pickled melon was the first thing I tried.
and got to work. The house smelled pretty crazy after boiling all that vinegar, but I think in about four weeks it’ll be worth it, and hopefully aired out by then! Spiced pickled melon was the first thing I tried. 
Next up were the plums. I am especially excited about these because I actually have this amazing memory from when I was in Paris by myself many moons ago. I sat down at a cafe for lunch, and before I could order I was brought a small plate of thinly shaved meat, some sliced plum, and cheese. The plum was this amazing sweet and sour delight that I have not forgotten about since. I am hoping to replicate that afternoon very soon, if only I can find someone to borrow my children (and my husband) for a few hours. I have some pictures of these, I promise and will amend the post, but my family got tired of me goofing off and decided I needed to help out. So you’ll have to use your imagination for a bit. Aren’t they pretty!
And don’t worry friends, I didn’t forget the herbs. A savory blend of rosemary, garlic and sage in white wine vinegar and a sweet treat of lemon balm in champagne vinegar with a splash of fresh strawberry juice.
For herbed vinegar, I save odd old liquor bottles. My husband likes to try different types of bourbon so we get a few interesting shaped ones now and then. These make the best displays for herbs. I use a bamboo skewer to gently place the herbs into the bottle, placing them like a flower arrangement, then pour the vinegar over them.
And since I missed posting about my fat and oil preserves, I’m just going to display them here, well because I can. I made a french baguet which is sort of like a parsley pesto without cheese, from the Terre Vivante
Finally, yes there is a finally, there is a woman at my farmer’s market who grows a Thai garden. She sells these amazing small bags of dried herbs. I picked up a baggie with lemongrass, mushrooms, and kaffir lime leaves. It makes amazing tea and soup flavors, so I thought it’d be fun to try marinating a little and see what I got. So I put half in a jar of olive oil and half in a jar of rice vinegar.
Can’t wait to see what Jenny has in store for us next week. Honestly this has been the most fun I’ve had preserving food pretty much ever. I am a little afraid of canning but for some reason, this doesn’t scare me at all. I’m really looking forward to pulling out these little treats when we’re in a pinch and just need that something extra to really make the meal.
p.s.The methods I used are in both books I mentioned, but I’m happy to share details about recipes if you’re at all interested in that sort of thing. I just ran out of time for this post.
Oh wow, I am totally captivated! Your bottles, if nothing else, look so lovely! AND your melon is making me want to go out and get some to try. I did the Peach Chutney from Nourishing Traditions, bluck! I should of known that the spices recommended would not make my pallet happy. It's just toooooo cuminy for me. But your melon looks divine.
This is so remarkably beautiful. I love it.
I stopped at the orchard today and got some more of my favorite; nectarines and some plums. I can't wait to try using the same muling spices that you used. Oh so good! I do wish you'd share more about all your ingredients…Please!
Beautiful! I haven't tried any vinegars yet, but these are so lovely I may just have to give it a go. I have both the books you mentioned and a garden full of herbs, so that's a good start. What do you use these all for? Primarily condiments, or something else?
Where do you get Champaigne vinegar? (and) How is the flavor different from white wine vinegar?
Thanks for your posts!
diane – the vinegars and oils are just what you see. for the baguet and spiced fruits, i literally used the recipes straight out of the country living and terre vivante books. i feel strange about sharing them on the internet, not wanting to give away the author's hard work and all, but will message you.
laurie: welcome! and thanks for stopping by. we use vinegars for so many wonderful things. i'll list a few here. we do use it as a condiment, but you can do so much more with them. vinegar is antibacterial and the herbs only help that. i will use the rosemary one, to wipe down my kitchen counters once in a while or to rinse a whole chicken before cooking it and diluted to wash my berries. also, i use it as a hair rinse once a week or so. i also like it for rinsing my hands after working with anything really gunky. it strips the goo better than soap. i will prob use the lemon balm one as a facial toner as well as a salad dressing. and as hard as it may seem, a teaspoon is a great cure for the hiccoughs. at least with herbs, it doesn't taste so bad! so much more probably deserves its own blog, but im sure someone already thought of that!
anon: thanks for coming over to my space! i get champagne vinegar from Whole Foods. it is sweeter than regular white wine vinegar so i like it with fruity-type flavors.
I agree that I always wanted to can, but felt it was way to hard and this has made it enjoyable. . I am also taking preserve the bounty and was so intrigued with the vinegar lesson. I am going to do this on the weekend with my herbs. I may experiment as well..I like some of the ones that you did….
Wow! What a jam-packed post! You have been incredibly busy. All of these concoctions look so intriguing and delicious.
How long do the vinegars keep and do the herbs stay fresh looking? I was thinking of these as Christmas gifts, but need to make them now while my herb garden is in bloom. Will they still look as pretty in a few months?
As far as I know they don’t expire. I’ve had vinegar for over a year and they still taste great. The more delicate herbs like catnip, basil etc do get a bit wilty after that time, but a few months they will still stay perky. The Rosemary garlic stays fresh looking for sure. I’d think they would still look great by christmas time. But if not, you’ve got a pantry full of delicious, mineral-rich medicine! Or, you could always strain out the herbs just before you gift them and buy one of those small packs of herbs from the grocery store and just put in one branch of the herb for decoration.