Blueberry vinegar is purple.
It is made from fermenting blueberries into alcohol. Vinegar starter is added to this alcohol, which is then allowed to ferment into vinegar. Then, it is filtered and bottled.
It’s a specialty of the Valle d’Aosta in Italy.
A cheaper commercial version is made in Canada by soaking blueberries in cider vinegar.
Blueberry vinegar is good drizzled on cheeses such as blue cheese or chèvre, over melon slices, on fruit salads, as a vinaigrette with olive oil, Dijon mustard and honey.
Cooking Tips
Homemade version
1/2 cup (4 1/2 oz / 125g) of fresh blueberries
1 cup (8 oz / 250 ml) of white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon white sugar
Crush the blueberries, mix with the white wine vinegar in a bowl. Cover, let stand for 5 days. Strain into a saucepan, stir in the sugar, and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Filter into a sterilized bottle or jar, store in refrigerator and use within two months.
Language Notes
Occasionally translated as “Cornflower vinegar” in English. This is based on a misunderstanding of the Quebec word for blueberries (“bluets”); in France, “bluets” are the flowers.