This is a jewel of a syrup, a deep ruby red reduction with the rich thick consistency of honey. Take a taste and the intense strawberry flavor plays on your tongue, the sweetness balanced by the complex tartness of red wine vinegar. This syrup is incredibly versatile, allowing for a little bit of customization at each step along the way. You can make it with different berries or fruits (or combinations of fruits even), you can add in fresh herbs, you can reduce the syrup only slightly (a thinner consistency works best for mixing in drinks or vinaigrettes) or cook it down until it’s the consistency of honey, and once you’ve made it, there are an endless amount of possibilities for using it! I’ve listed some suggested uses after the recipe.
Strawberry Vinegar Reduction (adapted from the New York Times)
Yield: 3 – 4 cups syrup
Ingredients:
- 1 quart strawberries
- 2/3 cup red wine vinegar
- sugar
Method:
- Roughly chop half of 1 quart strawberries.
- Combine the chopped and whole strawberries with 2/3 cup red wine vinegar in a nonreactive bowl. Cover and let macerate for 3 days.
- Mash the berries in the bowl, and strain the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.
- For every cup of liquid, add 1 1/4 cups sugar.
- Bring to a boil in a saucepan and simmer for 15 – 45 minutes (depending on the consistency you want – keep in mind, the syrup will be thicker when cooled).
- Refrigerate for up to 3 months.
Suggested uses:
- Drizzle on top of vanilla (or strawberry!) ice cream.
- Use as a dipping sauce for grilled pineapple or peaches.
- Incorporate in an apple-cheddar sandwich (especially good if you put in some bacon or ham as well).
- Mix into lemonade or club soda (and adding alcohol isn’t a bad idea here).
