Looking for a unique seasonal recipe using cranberries that can also be an easy holiday kitchen gift idea? Homemade Cranberry Vinegar is the ticket! The color alone is worth making it.
As the cyberwaves are packed to the gills with Thanksgiving recipes I’m taking a step to the side to bring you something different: Homemade Cranberry Vinegar. It’s actually a vinegar infusion (though I do love making homemade vinegar from scratch too). The vinegar is very easy to make and its beautiful ruby red color makes it a star choice for holiday gifts from the kitchen!
I feel like the fall and early winter months have very distinct flavors. Pumpkin, cinnamon, cranberry and peppermint lace through the change of seasons like culinary sign posts letting us know the holidays and cooler months are upon us.
Sadly, cranberries feel to be short changed in the versatility department. It’s the Pumpkin Spice Lattes people are announcing on Facebook as soon as Starbuck’s releases them (it seemed like August this year). Pumpkin covers the gamut from soups, to pumpkin pie, smoothies, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin hot chocolate, spicy pumpkin pasta sauce and so on. I don’t recall seeing a cranberry in a pasta sauce. Ever.
Homemade Cranberry Vinegar lets the cranberry spread its wings a bit. The vinegar is an infusion with apple cider vinegar, sugar, water, cinnamon and fresh cranberries creating a tasty vinegar for the season and beyond.
How to Use Cranberry Vinegar
It would be wonderful for:
- fall and winter salads
- drizzled in soups
- in slaws
- barbecue sauce recipes
- in beans
- quick pickling
- in beef stews
- for marinating raw vegetables
- to make into a reduction to sauce other foods.
It can also be infused a second time with herbs to flavor it further for salad dressings.
Printable Gift Tags
One of my favorite things to make for the holidays are edible gifts. Maybe I’ve watched too many episodes of Hoarders but I personally like things I can use up and enjoy thinking of the maker in the process.
With the holidays afoot, I have created some simple gift tags in the event you want to make Homemade Cranberry Vinegar for your gift giving. Just print them out, cut them out and attach to the bottles or jars of vinegar!
EQUIPMENT/WHERE TO BUY:
A key piece of equipment for this recipe is a fine gauge sieve or strainer. If you don’t already own one, it is an inexpensive kitchen tool that fill the bill when straining liquids with smaller particles that might pass through a larger strainer. I use both the regular rounded style and the conical style for everything from straining tea to making ice cream!
The bottles used in this post are Limoncello bottles from World Market.
Recipe
Homemade Cranberry Vinegar
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Apple Cider Vinegar
- ¾ cup Granulated Sugar
- ¾ cup Water
- 1 3- inch Cinnamon Stick
- 12- ounces fresh Cranberries , rinsed
- Optional: Printable Gift Tags
Instructions
- Sterilize the jars or bottles which will hold the vinegar by rinsing them out with boiling water and allowing them to dry.
- Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil then lower the temperature to reduce to a simmer. Simmer until the cranberries burst, approximately 5 minutes.
- Allow to cool fully in the saucepan. Strain through a fine gauge sieve (discard the cranberries and cinnamon stick) into bottles or jars for storage; seal and store in a cool place. May be stored for up to 3 months in a cool, dark place OR for 6-8 months in the refrigerator.
Rhonda says
This sounds amazing and I would like to make it as pre-holiday gifts for a few friends but have some questions. I I live in Alaska in area with an abundance of high bush cranberries. I am picking them now but would like to wait until end of October to even midit late November to make so the shelf life will be as long as possible. Can I use the cranberries frozen later? They freeze beautifully.
Toni Dash says
We recommend making our recipes with the ingredients and method as written. The results shown are reflective of testing with these ingredients and method. If you experiment with changing it up we’d love to hear how it goes!
barbara gastright says
how and where do i print the tags
Toni Dash says
Hi Barbara. I just updated the post to make it more obvious. Scroll down until you reach the ‘Printable Gift Tags’ subtitle. Then click on the underlined ‘gift tags’ in that section.
Karlaroundtheworld | Karla says
Those bottles look classy. We’re just about to embark on a trip to a cranberry farm, how nice of this idea to coincide with our trip!
Brianne says
I’ve never thought to make these before, but what a great idea! They would make perfect hostess gifts!
Rizza Smith says
Wow this is so nice, My mom would surely love this Cranberry vinegar
Annemarie LeBlanc says
This must taste heavenly! I can’t wait to make some. My mind is already thinking of tasty salads and juicy barbeques! Great to know that with proper storage, it will last for months!
Crystal says
That sounds like a delightful gift. I always appreciate homemade gifts, and food items are the best type. I had daydreamed about making vanilla but ran short on time. This is going to be a great project instead.
Toni Dash says
What I love about this is that it’s unique. You will be the only one giving out Cranberry Vinegar!