Four thieves vinegar

The story behind this vinegar is that during the Black Death, four men were ransacking houses that had been left empty, their occupants lost to the plague. The men remained healthy and appeared immune even through their punishment, which was to collect and bury the dead. They claimed this vinegar mixture was their secret potion, and they were forced to make the recipe public.

Credit: Hardie Grant Books / Mark Roper

• makes

  1 litre

• prep

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

This can be used as you would any culinary vinegar, and also works for your home – spray it around the house to rid it of ‘negative energy’, spritz it on your face and body as a skin tonic (dilute 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water) or use it as a household cleaner (dilute 1 part vinegar to 1 part water). You may also like to take a teaspoonful as a tonic for good health. This is a useful elixir to decant into small bottles to give to friends, particularly when there is something going around.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp each of fresh lavender, sage, rosemary, mint, marjoram, thyme
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 tbsp each of anise hyssop, pink peppercorns, juniper berries (all dried)
• 1 litre (4 cups) white wine vinegar, apple scrap vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Infusion time: 10 days

Instructions

1. Roughly chop the herbs and place in a 2 litre jar with the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add lid and let infuse for 10 days, agitating now and then.
3. Strain, then bottle.

 

Recipe from Wild Drinks: The New Old World of Small-Batch Brews, Ferments and Infusions by Sharon Flynn (Hardie Grant Books, $39.99), available in-stores nationally.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

This can be used as you would any culinary vinegar, and also works for your home – spray it around the house to rid it of ‘negative energy’, spritz it on your face and body as a skin tonic (dilute 1 part vinegar to 2 parts water) or use it as a household cleaner (dilute 1 part vinegar to 1 part water). You may also like to take a teaspoonful as a tonic for good health. This is a useful elixir to decant into small bottles to give to friends, particularly when there is something going around.