Raspberry and Thyme Vinegar

The sweet tartness of raspberries marries perfectly with the fresh taste and fragrance of thyme. This raspberry and thyme vinegar can be used on both savoury and sweet salads too. Super easy to make it’s a great addition to your larder.

Raspberry and Thyme Vinegar

Flavoured vinegars are very popular these days. The supermarket and deli shelves are full of all things flavoured. But these things come at a price, so why not make your own flavoured vinegar.

I promise you it’s really easy. And this raspberry and thyme vinegar is so useful. Just a dash in a salad or even a fruit salad and it can make the most humble of ingredients sing and your taste buds dance with pleasure.

Ingredients for this flavoured vinegar

Scottish Raspberries

Scottish raspberries are legendary, sweet and just a little tart they say summer even more than strawberries to me. I love picking them in the garden and admit to still cramming more in my mouth like a kid than I actually get into the basket.

Can you use frozen raspberries?

Yes, you can use frozen raspberries to make this raspberry and thyme vinegar. Just make sure they are completely defrosted before using them.

Thyme

Thyme is a hardy herb but with a delicate flavour. There are so many varieties of thyme including a delightful lemon thyme which would work wonderfully in this recipe if you can find it. Best still grow your own, like most herbs thyme is pretty robust and if it can survive up here on Walton’s Mountain it can survive almost anywhere.

What type of vinegar to use?

I use white wine vinegar for this raspberry and thyme vinegar recipe. As it’s a delicate flavour combo of raspberry and thyme I don’t want to overpower their flavour with a stronger vinegar.

NEVER use malt vinegar or plain white vinegar when you are making these sorts of flavoured vinegar. They are fr too strong and would kill the flavour you are so carefully adding. You can use champagne vinegar if you have it or possibly cider vinegar.

But for this recipe I would choose white wine vinegar.

A little sugar

Just to add a tiny bit of sweetness here. Don’t worry it doesn’t make this into something remotely sickly.

How to make flavoured vinegar

There are two ways of making infused vinegars, popping everything in a jar and leaving it for a week to infuse or this method which is much quicker.

Just bring everything to a boil then simmer for 10 minutes, remove from heat and let it sit in the pan to infuse overnight before decanting into sterilised bottles.

How to use this raspberry and thyme vinegar

This is a great vinegar for salad dressings where you want something light but with a kick of fruity flavour. Perfect for a simple green salad.

You can use this vinegar on a fruit salad too. You’d be amazed how the flavours in a simple fruit salad will perk up with just a few drops of this delightful raspberry and thyme vinegar.

Raspberry vinegar drink

You can even use this simple raspberry vinegar as a refreshing summer drink. Just dilute the fruit vinegar with double the amount of water and serve over ice on a hot day.

Drinking fruit vinegars, especially raspberry vinegar was very popular many years ago. They were often referred to as Shrubs.

Of course, that was before the advent of all our modern day fizzy drinks and sugar laden squashes and cordials.

How long will this infused vinegar keep?

This vinegar will keep for 6-8 months in a cool dark cupboard. The colour will darken with age. If left in sunlight the colour will fade.

This super easy recipe for raspberry and thyme vinegar is from my eBook Gourmet Gifts For Christmas.

Looking for more raspberry recipes? Then check these out;

Raspberry and white chocolate roulade

Raspberry and mint vodka

Raspberry and strawberry relish

Raspberry peach and elderflower jam

Raspberry and chocolate jam

Raspberry and blueberry jam with Scotch whisky

Finally, if you do try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment/star rating below as I just love to hear from readers. Want more Larder Love? Then follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and sign up for my newsletter too of course.