Pineapple Drinking Vinegar

This method takes 1 week, start-to-finish. About 1 hour active time.

Makes approximately 3 cups.

 

   Try adding a few tablespoons of Pineapple Drinking Vinegar to a glass with ice cubes and top off with either soda or water for a really refreshing drink. To use them as a cocktail mixer, first put ice in a glass, then add a few tablespoons of Drinking Vinegar, a shot of Vodka and then top the glass with club soda and squeeze of lemon or lime. Whether you're making a mocktail or a cocktail, a sprig of fresh basil or mint are wonderful with the pineapple flavors. If you want to get really fancy, add a skewer of fresh pineapple chunks to the glass!

• 2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
• 2 cups rice vinegar (unseasoned)
• 1/2 cup sugar

• Add pineapple chunks to a clean quart jar. 

• Mash fruit in jar, using a wooden spoon, for a minute or so before adding the vinegar.

• Add vinegar to the jar and let it sit at room temperature for about a week, stirring once per day. I like to write the content of the jar on a paper napkin, paper towel or doily, along with the date, then cover the jar with the napkin and secure it with a rubber band. This keeps fruit flies or dust out and helps me keep track of what's in the jar.

• After you let the fruit infuse into the vinegar for a week, strain the liquid into a saucepan.

• Add sugar to the vinegar in the saucepan and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring until the sweetener dissolves and incorporates. 

• Filtering is optional, depending on whether you want your finished product to be clear. You can use a fine sieve, cheesecloth or coffee filters. (Choosing to filter, or even filter twice, is purely a matter of esthetics. The sediment does not affect the flavor.)

•  Once filtered and stored in the refrigerator, tightly-capped, the Pineapple Drinking Vinegar will keep practically forever.