Chive Blossom Herbal Vinegar

Chives put on quite the showy display of edible purple flowers in the spring, and it’s always a joyous sight to behold! Chive blossoms taste mildly like onion, with a flavor that is more mellow and delicate than chive greens. I often snip some chives and their blossoms to enjoy fresh as a garnish in spring salads.

Are you growing chives in your garden? If not, you might want to start.

They offer some intriguing health benefits, including:

• vitamin K, which helps promote bone density, as well as vitamins A and C
• sulfur, which studies suggest can slow the growth and spread of cancerous cells
• choline and folate, which may benefit memory health and function

Because these vivacious blossoms don’t last forever, I wanted to harness their chive-y goodness before they faded. A great way to preserve the flavors of any herb is to create an herbal vinegar, which is exactly what I did!

Chive blossom vinegar is incredibly easy to make.

First, snip the healthy and robust-looking flowers off the chive plant. Any flowers that are wilting are past their prime for this project. I snipped about 2 cups worth.

Then, give the flowers a thorough soak and rinse to remove any garden critters that hitched a ride (looking at you, earwigs), and dry the blossoms. I spun them around in our salad spinner.

Next, cover your blossoms with a vinegar of your choosing. I elected to use a mix of 2 cups white wine vinegar and 1 cup regular old distilled white vinegar, as that was what I had in the pantry. Champagne vinegar would be a good choice as well.

I harvested about 2 cups of chive blossoms and used about 3 cups of vinegar to fill my quart sized mason jar. It isn’t an exact science, just make sure your blossoms are covered by the vinegar. The vinegar can rust the metal lid and rings of the jar, so I cut a small piece of parchment paper to acts a barrier between the vinegar and the metal lid and ring.

Finally, steep in a dark cupboard for 2-4 weeks, giving the jar a gentle mix whenever you say “hi” to it in the pantry. The gorgeous purple hue of the chive blossoms turns the vinegar a stunning hot pink color within a few days.

When you’re ready to use your herbal chive blossom vinegar, strain out the flowers.

Get ready to use your hot pink chive blossom herbal vinegar in your favorite salad dressing!

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Chive Blossom Vinegar

Gorgeous purple chive blossoms impart both color and flavor into this delicious herbal vinegar.

Keyword: DIY, herbal, salad, vinegar

Author: Trish

Materials

• 1 quart-sized mason jar
• 2 cups chive blossoms
• 3 cups light-colored vinegar I used a mix of white wine and distilled white vinegars

Instructions

• Harvest about 2 cups of your healthiest chive blossoms.
• Thoroughly soak and rinse to remove any bugs. Dry the blossoms. I used a salad spinner.
• Cover your chive blossoms with vinegar.
• If using a metal lid and ring, place a piece of parchment paper in between the vinegar and lid to prevent rusting.
• Keep in a dark, cool pantry for 2-4 weeks, gently mixing every few days.
• Strain flowers and enjoy your delicious herbal vinegar!

Notes

Can scale this recipe up or down, depending on the amount of blossoms you have. 

Let me know if you make this delicious herbal vinegar!