A Drinking Vinegar and so much more
Imagine my surprise when I discovered yesterday that my wonderful (if I do say so myself) Raw Honey Infused Organic Vinegars are totally cool! Do we still say “totally cool”? That alone should show how far out of the loop I am. The last time I was told that I was “with it” was back in the early 1990’s when a young friend saw my patched jeans from the 1970’s and told me that they were perfect for wearing to a rave.
I only discovered my new “au courant” nature during a search for magazines, reviewers, bloggers, and chefs to whom I could offer some samples of my raw honey infusions in the heart-felt desire to create a little shameless self-promotion for my products.
Brookfield Farm’s Raw Honey Infused Organic Vinegar Background:
I started making two different styles of these a few years ago for friends and family. I chose brown rice and apple cider because I like those vinegars. My raw honey infused organic vinegars are drinking vinegars that also have a multitude of other culinary applications.
Raw honey and organic vinegar are delicious, as long as they are cold-matured. They need the time to “become friends” Ok, somewhere out there there’s a chemist muttering the acids are breaking down the sugar esters (or some such thing). If there is such a person reading this, can you tell me what’s in the chemical world is happening, I’d like to know. All I know is that they taste great together.
Brookfield Farm's Market Booth
Later, during the on-going search for ways to pay my bills, I took them commercial:Retail and Wholesale sales. I got two Washington State Department of Agriculture permits that allowed me to create these, along with my raw honeys infused with spices, flowers and nuts. Two permits are needed: one for the commercial kitchen where they are made, and one for the warehouse in which they are stored.
Now my raw honey infused organic vinegars are in local shops and markets as well as at our farmers’ market booths.
What One Does with Raw Honey Infused Organic Vinegars:
You can use them on salads, with or without oil.
Put them on vegetables instead of butter.
Marinade meat, fish, or fowl with them
Add them to the water in which you are poaching a fish – adds a lovely flavo
Put them in stir-fries and hot-pots
Use them as a part of all your culinary creations
Drink them straight (that’s a bit much for me, but a friend does this)
Drink them after adding water hot or cold (about a shot of my raw honey infused organic vinegar to a pint of water does it for me).
Their use as drinking vinegars is what makes me a happening kind of beekeeper.
Why I’m Suddenly Hip:
Drinking vinegars are apparently coming into fashion here in the US. Mixologists are blending them with and without alcohol in many gathering spots from New York City to Santa Monica, CA, and beyond. They even made it into the New York Times. You can also find recipes for “shrub” on the web: which are fruit and herb infused sweetened vinegars. (Sadly a lot of these call for sugar – if you make these at home, use honey, so much better.)
I do understand their popularity in a restaurant/bar situation. First they taste great, so they’re good any where. They do make wonderful mixers with many alcohols as well. But if you don’t drink and you are out for the evening, they make a nice break from orange and tomato juice. If you do drink, and you’re thinking about having “just one more drink”, to keep those other drinks you’ve downed company, try a non-alcoholic raw honey infused organic vinegar and water mix instead, it satisfies that craving and leaves you able to have a coherent conversation.
A Bit of History (drinking vinegars, not me)
Folks have been drinking vinegar and water for centuries. The Roman armies marched on water, vinegar, and honey. Drinking vinegars were popular in the US and Europe before the advent of soft drinks. In Asia, they have been popular for hundreds of year, and continue to be sought after today.
According to Majiro News (http://www.majiroxnews.com) “From Colonial times onwards in the United States, until soda pop and other sugared drinks vanquished it, “Switchel” was the drink of choice at haying time or other times when heavy labor was demanded on the farm. “Switchel” is basically vinegar, water, ginger and either molasses or honey to sweeten it.” Sounds good to me.
There is lots of talk about the health benefits of drinking vinegar, especially apple cider vinegar. I’ll not go into all those here. I could not dig up a lot of studies showing one way or the other. Wikipedia has links to quite a few studies with the effects on rats’ cholesterol, blood pressure, body weight and beyond. As to the notion that drinking vinegar helps memory, I’m probably proof it doesn’t help much.
Do remember, however, that vinegar is an acid, and, drunken straight, can have a detrimental effect on your teeth. So if you chug it or sip it straight, brush those pearly whites afterwards.
My Raw Honey Infused Organic Vinegars are just that : raw honey, organic vinegar. If you make something similar but add fruits or spices, and you’re willing to share what you do, please do share. New ideas for delicious drinks are always welcome.
