Herbal Update-Nasturtium Peppercorn Vinegar

I promised myself I was going to do more updating this year.  Not let unfinished stories hang in herbal space.  Someone asked in my first post about the nasturtium peppercorn vinegar placing new herbs in the finished vinegar.  I never do that and this is partially the reason.  It gets to be a mucky mess!  I think with edible flowers they are fragile in the first place and collapse in the second place.

Hardy herbs like rosemary, thyme or even tarragon and basil hold up much better if you want to decorate your vinegar bottle with a fresh sprig or two.  Tarragon and basil become pickled and can be used in a recipe as you would use fresh.  You can even give them a rinse if you don't want too much of a vinegar taste.  Here is the finished vinegar.  I had a tasting for my last audience and they liked it!  No, they didn't have a shot of vinegar!  They dipped a sugar cube into the vinegar and then sucked the flavor from the sugar cube.  It works quite well.  I think it is a beautiful color and the taste is peppery from the flowers, leaves and peppercorns.  It adds an additional layer of flavor to a meat or vegetable stew.