Last week, Tavola Mediterranea posted about the history of the fig. If you are not already familiar with Tavola, I highly recommend checking it out. It is run by a food archaeologist who frequently experiments with edible archaeology. She is constantly doing something fascinating and I quite look forward to seeing each new post.
Included in her post was an offer to "follow along at home, boys and girls" with her experiment on making fig vinegar from Columella's recipe in De Re Rustica. I forgot to get figs at the grocery store last week, but I bought them this week, so I set out to start my vinegar.
Ingredients:
~3/4 lb organic Black Mission Figs
~250ml spring water
2 tbsp Bragg's organic, raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
16 oz mason jar
linen
cotton cord
The unpasturized vinegar is supposed to have good bacteria in it so that it functions like sour dough starter.
I had plenty of figs and was going to try a jar without the apple cider vinegar, but oddly enough we only had one 16 oz mason jar. There are plenty of half gallon jar from infusing brandies, though. If I get another 16 oz mason jar before the figs get eaten, I will start it in a day or two. Both Jay and I love figs though, so I'd give that second batch at best a 50% chance of happening.
Until then, I will leave you with a pic of my little experiment. I'm not entirely sure what steps the figs go through to become vinegar and while she says "tend daily" it's not terribly clear what I am supposed to do to it. But I'm an interesting experiment and I am ever curious.
On other fronts, I am up to my eyeballs in making kaftans and planning out how to feed 20+ people each night at War of the Wings with minimal kitchen equipment. Never a dull moment around here :)
Included in her post was an offer to "follow along at home, boys and girls" with her experiment on making fig vinegar from Columella's recipe in De Re Rustica. I forgot to get figs at the grocery store last week, but I bought them this week, so I set out to start my vinegar.
Ingredients:
~3/4 lb organic Black Mission Figs
~250ml spring water
2 tbsp Bragg's organic, raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
16 oz mason jar
linen
cotton cord
The unpasturized vinegar is supposed to have good bacteria in it so that it functions like sour dough starter.
I had plenty of figs and was going to try a jar without the apple cider vinegar, but oddly enough we only had one 16 oz mason jar. There are plenty of half gallon jar from infusing brandies, though. If I get another 16 oz mason jar before the figs get eaten, I will start it in a day or two. Both Jay and I love figs though, so I'd give that second batch at best a 50% chance of happening.
Until then, I will leave you with a pic of my little experiment. I'm not entirely sure what steps the figs go through to become vinegar and while she says "tend daily" it's not terribly clear what I am supposed to do to it. But I'm an interesting experiment and I am ever curious.
On other fronts, I am up to my eyeballs in making kaftans and planning out how to feed 20+ people each night at War of the Wings with minimal kitchen equipment. Never a dull moment around here :)
