Tarragon Vinegar

A good tarragon vinegar is an indispensable part of that luscious bearnaise sauce. Pick fresh tarragon shoots and place them in a glass bottle. Heat up some white vinegar with a shred of lemon peel and half a dozen green peppercorns. Pour over the tarragon and seal. A half and half mixture of dry white wine and white vinegar makes a milder herb vinegar. Take some sprigs of lemon thyme and young lemon balm shoots and cover them with a warm equal parts of wine and warm vinegar. You can use cold vinegar, but if you warm if first it seems to bring out the full flavour of the herbs. You can also bruise some of the herbs a little to release the aroma.

Some herbs work better if they are chopped first. Cover them with hot vinegar, seal and leave them to mature for two or three weeks then strain the vinegar through filter paper or a muslin-lined sieve and rebottle. Herb flavoured vinegars add tang to a salad when used in the dressing, particularly if you sprinkle the salad with a selection of finely chopped fresh herbs of the same variety as those used in the salad.