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Flavored Vinegars

A vinegar infused with herbs and seeds.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Thyme and marjoram match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,225 recipes. Both carry terpineol, which smells pine, woody. The science ↓

Flavored Vinegars

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine 3 ounces of your chosen herb or seed with 1 gallon of sharp vinegar in a clean container.

  2. Seal the container and let it sit for 10 days to infuse the flavors.

  3. After 10 days, strain the mixture to remove the solids.

  4. Bottle the flavored vinegar for use.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Thyme + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  2. Sage + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together507 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  3. Sage + thymetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,485 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Basil + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together688 recipes

    Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).

  5. Tarragon + marjoramtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together148 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sharp vinegar
Acts as the liquid base that extracts and carries the herb and seed flavors.
Tarragon
Contributes a distinct anise-like aroma to the infused vinegar.
Sweet basil
Adds a sweet, aromatic herbal note to the infused vinegar.
Sage
Adds an earthy, savory aroma to the infused vinegar.
Celery seed
Adds a warm, savory aroma that comes through in the infused vinegar.

The step that matters

Strain after 10 days. Leaving the herbs and seeds in the vinegar too long can make the flavor harsh or bitter, so the solids should be removed at the stated time.

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vinegar, tarragon, basil, sage, thyme, marjoram, celery):

  1. Winter savoryfits better
  2. Rosemaryfits better
  3. Parsleyfits better
  4. Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vinegar, tarragon, basil, sage, thyme, marjoram, celery. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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