by Katrina Hall
Member since:
January 19, 2006

Make Your Own Red Hot Chili Vinegar!

September 26, 2009 09:58 AM EDT
views: 144 | rating: 10/10 (6 votes) | comments: 44

Right now, even in New Hampshire the hot peppers in the garden are ripening.  This is a great time to make this hot pepper vinegar, not just for yourself, but for Christmas presents.

Here's how to make it:

 

Several recycled, clean, light green wine bottles

New corks from the hardware store to fit the bottles

White vinegar

Cider vinegar

several long sprigs of oregano- enough to fill half the bottle

several nice looking hot peppers

 

Simply place one or two hot peppers in each bottle.  Fill the bottle with half white vinegar, half cider vinegar.  Using a chopstick, nudge the oregano sprigs around until you're pleased with the way the bottle looks.  Cork and place bottle in a cupboard.  Every week or so gently shake it, then put it back.  In about three weeks, the vinegar will develop a "bite".

As you use the vinegar, you can replenish the bottle with a little fresh vinegar - which also keeps the heat down.

You can also dip the tops of the bottles in melted paraffin if you're travelling  - it will ensure the bottles don't leak.

And that's it!

 

 

 
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Comments: 44

j - Frugal Mom - r. Sep 26, 2009, 10:27am EDT
It sounds so simple. The peppers look beautiful!
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 11:13am EDT
Thanks, j r!
Marianne M. Sep 26, 2009, 11:36am EDT
What a wonderful idea, Katrina! My uncle used to do this years ago ...
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 1:39pm EDT
Isn't it easy, Marianne? I think you'll really enjoy this vinegar!
Marianne R. Sep 26, 2009, 11:57am EDT
Yikes no hot stuff for me. Love the colorful photo of the chili peppers tho.
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 1:39pm EDT
Glad you enjoyed the photo, Marianne!
Faith H. Sep 26, 2009, 12:49pm EDT
I made some hot pepper vinegar this year, a co-worker's father has a fabulous garden and shared some of those tiny green ones. It is a ubiquitous item on the tables of "mom and pop" cafes in the south. I used a found recipe that called for the cider vinegar to be heated. It tastes great on any kind of greens. I use it on salads. Love that hot stuff!
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 1:38pm EDT
I love homemade hot pepper vinegar, Faith! Actually, every other one of my herb vinegars go through two steepings: one in a large glass jar set in the sun, then strained, then filled again. I found this vinegar just didn't need that extra step. (and I do remember those hot pepper bottles in the little cafes when I lived in the south!)
Madame Donna C. Sep 26, 2009, 1:11pm EDT
Beautiful as a condiment and equally as a gift! Perfect timing for the pre-holiday season, Katrina! I love that hot and spicy stuff!
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 1:35pm EDT
I like some spicy, but when I see commercial bottles with forty peppers in them, it makes me wonder. A little goes a long way, don't you think, Mme. D? Glad you enjoyed!
Sonia M. Sep 26, 2009, 1:38pm EDT
In Hawaii we have tiny, red hot 'Hawaiian Chiles'....I like to make 'hot sauce' using a bunch of them, some garlic, Hawaiian sea salt and water and give it a whirl in the blender...... You find a bottle of this 'pepper water' in almost every home table here....I have made it using vinegar in the past.... I don't care for a high 'decibel' of heat, but a little bit of this excites any dish!
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 1:49pm EDT
Sounds wonderful, Sonia! But doesn't the sauce have to be processed in some way?
Sonia M. Sep 26, 2009, 2:44pm EDT
If it does need to be processed, I don't know of anyone who does, Kat....
;-)
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 4:26pm EDT
Nothing would dare try to grow in a hot pepper sauce, would it?
Sonia M. Sep 26, 2009, 4:41pm EDT
;-) I wouldn't think so!
Duckie 1 Sep 26, 2009, 1:42pm EDT

I am bookmarking this recipe so I can find it again... Thanks Katrina!
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 1:48pm EDT
Great, Duckie! I'm sure your palate loves that spicy stuff!
Duckie 1 Sep 26, 2009, 2:23pm EDT

Actually, I am a wuss when it comes to spicy food. I was raised in the Northern part of the Philippines where the regional cuisine is not as spicy as that found in the southern islands. However, the one unifying trait for all regions is the use of Siling Labuyo in Vinegar, a spicy additive and addictive sauce everyone loved to use on everything. Siling Labuyo is HOT!
So what kind of dishes would you use the spicy vinegear for?
Love your peppers~
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 4:58pm EDT
Once again, I posted an answer to you down below:) sorry....
Linda B. Sep 26, 2009, 4:55pm EDT
In the Deep South (where I am) it's used on just about everything...though the most common usage I've seen is on turnip greens. (It's the only way I can choke them down--and if there's not cast-iron skillet-baked yellow cornbread available, just plain forget it.)

It's not just Mom and Pop cafes...unless you call Shoney's a Mom and Pop.

Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 4:59pm EDT
Yup, I'm with you on turnips & greens, but this is great on slow cooked collards with fatback.
Linda B. Sep 26, 2009, 5:29pm EDT
I do like kale and chard but collards are just marginally better than turnip greens, in my book. And I don't like cooked savoy cabbage except in the coleslaw blends that I use to make the filling for my homemade eggrolls. Something about them tastes bitter to me.
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 7:04pm EDT
Well, I'm with you on the wonderfulness of chard and kale - though I do love collards, as long as they're cooked a long time.
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 4:57pm EDT
Oh gosh, Priscilla, let's see. Swirled into the end of sauteeing chicken tenders w/herbs and butter, in gingerbread, salad dressing, drizzled on sauteed greens, chicken mustard sauce, meats/BBQ sauces. and honestly - I have a T. a day if I'm getting a cold - swear it works! Nice to experiment with, it should only have a slight trace of warmth after you've eaten something where it's been used. I bet it would be great with shrimp, too.
Thanks for the info Katrina!
Katrina Hall Sep 26, 2009, 7:03pm EDT
My pleasure, Priscilla!
Madame Donna C. Sep 26, 2009, 10:09pm EDT
Kat, absolutely good on all those things above including Brussels sprouts! And I used to give the kids things like that for colds too! Glad to see you use it for the medicinal properties too!
Katrina Hall Sep 27, 2009, 7:11am EDT
Hummm, there's an idea, though I do love my Brussels sprouts steamed and sauteed in butter. Thanks, Mam!
Linda B. Sep 26, 2009, 8:29pm EDT
Speaking of vinegars....try marinating chicken in dill pickle juice before sauteing or battering and deep frying. It is WONDERFUL and is how Chik-Fil-A prepares their chicken. someone told me that several years ago and I didn't believe it; now I do it routinely. I haven't tried marinating it in hot pepper vinegar but hey! I'll try most anything in the kitchen at least once...as long as it doesn't involve liver. (LOL!!!)
Madame Donna C. Sep 26, 2009, 10:10pm EDT
Might actually even improve liver. (tongue in cheek)
Linda B. Sep 26, 2009, 11:11pm EDT
Nope. Not possible. There is no way to improve liver to the point that I will willingly eat it or even stay around the house when it is cooking. (Retches at the very thought.)
Katrina Hall Sep 27, 2009, 7:13am EDT
Interesting - and now I'll have to make some dill pickles, methinks! Linda, have you tried sauteed chicken livers with green apples? It's an old Martha Stewart recipe for an easy pate, and it really is good.
Linda B. Sep 27, 2009, 2:29pm EDT
Katrina, liver (of all types) tastes very bitter to me, to the point of making me nauseous just to smell it cooking. Apparently I'm one of those people with a really strong sensitivity to bitter flavors--I don't like most of the cruciferous vegetables either, though I will eat broccoli as long as 1) it's not overcooked and 2) the dish involves melted cheese or other strong flavoring--like lemon pepper.

I have a really good understanding about the need for a varied diet, from a nutritional standpoint--and there are very few foods I will completely draw the line at eating--but liver is at the top of the list. I'm not missing out on anything--there's no way any recipe can make it palatable to me--and all the nutrients supplied by liver can be found in other foods, without the accompanying cholesterol.

I don't feel the least bit deprived, but I thank you for the suggestion. ; )
Katrina Hall Sep 27, 2009, 5:13pm EDT
Linda, I wouldn't dream of pushing you ( or anyone else) to eat a food they don't care for! I loathe okra, for instance, and any overcooked-to-death vegetable. I don't eat beef liver, but I do love lightly cooked chicken liver with Granny Smith apple.
Sonia M. Sep 28, 2009, 12:16pm EDT
Kat, I love pickled okra or crispy fried..... I don't like it slimy....speaking of...we went to a potluck yesterday - meeting of members of a sustainability group - and one member brought okra patties....they were delicious! She cut them very thinly, added thinly sliced onions, egg and a tiny bit of flour to bind them, seasonings and fried....they were GOOD!
Even my non-okra eating son ate them and went for seconds...
Sonia M. Sep 28, 2009, 12:18pm EDT
Kat, I get this blog site's updates e-mailed to my in-box and this morning's reminded me of you

Pickled Chili Peppers
Katrina Hall Sep 28, 2009, 1:55pm EDT
Arggggg. Did it again - reply is below, sorry!
Katrina Hall Sep 28, 2009, 1:54pm EDT
Nice recipe and photo, Sonia - but I'm since I'm not fond of sherry, I wonder if a different vinegar could be used with the same % acidity?
Sonia M. Sep 28, 2009, 2:00pm EDT
It's sherry vinegar, Kat....not sherry. I love sherry vinegar!
But maybe a different vinegar with same % acidity would work

BTW, you can sign up for his updates which I really enjoy....
Tory H. Nov 12, 2009, 5:11pm EST
Mm! And so easy.
Katrina Hall Nov 18, 2009, 11:52am EST
Thanks for swinging by, Tory!
Mariana T. Nov 18, 2009, 11:49am EST
thanks so much - I used to make vinegars all the time - don't know what happened - well, time got in the way! I love this presentation Katrina - thanks for posting to the Pregnant Onion club. Salud
Katrina Hall Nov 18, 2009, 11:54am EST
Amen to the busyness of living, Mariana! I used to make dozens of bottles a summer, and now? Just those three or four chili pepper vinegars to give to the kids, with one for me.

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