Fir Needle Vinegar
From the title of this post you might, at first impulse, be thinking about that store bought brand of pine scented cleaner. Do not be fooled. Making your own evergreen vinegar is not only cheap and easy, it also smells amazing and is quiet effective for cleaning the house and for use as an herbal hair rinse.
For this batch of vinegar I made I used douglas fir needles (Pseudotsuga menziesii) because I have that tree in my backyard and the pine tree I have requires a ladder to reach the lowest branches, so I didn’t bother. You can use almost any evergreen for this but it’s best to stick with pines or firs. You could use blue spruce as well, but gosh those are prickly.
It takes about a week for this vinegar to macerate with the plant materials so plan accordingly if you want to use it for cleaning your house before a holiday gathering or giving out as a gift.
Ingredients:
a few evergreen branches
a gallon of vinegar
quart jar
parchment paper
some garden snippers or scissors
Directions:
You can transfer the vinegar to a gallon glass jar if you want, but I found in the spirit of being frugal leaving it in the container it came in is just fine. I did however have a quart jar on hand to pour off some of the vinegar as needed.
Begin by cutting over small pieces of your greens. I cut them between two and 4 inches long. Then when you think you have enough start putting them into the vinegar jug. Put as many as you can and pour off a little vinegar as needed.
Once the jug is fairly full with needles, put the lid on and put in dark draft free place to sit for a week. I would come by once a day and give it a little love. Shake it up and just see how it’s going. The smell should get stronger as the days pass. After a week or two (if you forget) you’ll want to strain the vinegar into a jar. Make sure to place a piece of parchment paper over the jar before putting the lid and ring on so the vinegar doesn’t corrode the metal.
Do let me know in the comments below if you try it. Enjoy!
