Okay. I realize that for most of the world, it’s not exactly “pineapple season.” But, this was one recipe in Nourishing Traditions that I just had to try — pineapples are (obviously) a staple where I live, and it’s 25 Days of NT, so, darnit — this pineapple recipe is going up in December! 
Did you know that you don’t have to toss out the thick skin and core when you cut up a pineapple? I sure didn’t! It always felt so wasteful, throwing all that away (you have to cut the skin off pretty thick off the fruit to get those spiky parts off!), but I couldn’t think of a thing to do with the stuff. Pineapple vinegar to the rescue!
Pineapple Vinegar is found on page 156-157 of Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
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Ingredients
- skin and core from one pineapple
- 2 quarts filtered water
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1⁄4 teaspoon red chile flakes
- 2 tablespoons whey (page 87) optional
Instructions
Put the pineapple pieces in a large glass bowl, and fill with filtered water. Add in your spices.
Let it ferment at room temperature for about 36 hours.
Then, skim off any scum that has formed, and strain the vinegar into glass jars. I just ladled it into mason jars with cheesecloth under the rim like this:
And you’re done! Sally says this will keep in a cool place for several months. I put it in the fridge since our home is almost never a “cool place.”
How’d it go?
The only trouble I had with this was finding a big enough bowl for the 2 quarts of water plus the chunks of pineapple rejections! It was so full that some of it spilled as I set it into my cabinet. Other than that, this recipe couldn’t have been easier!
How we liked it
Remember that Basic Dressing we tried? Well, it calls for wine vinegar, but we went ahead and used this pineapple vinegar instead, and thought it was delicious! Sweet and flavorful, and I liked the hint of herbs. Next time, I think I’ll be a little more brave with the chili pepper flakes, though.
Another thing you can do with this vinegar is make “cortido,” on page 93, which is a traditional sauerkraut dish. I think I’ll try it!
Be sure to check out the other installments of 25 Days of Nourishing Traditions:
- Onion-Cranberry Compote
- Sweet Potato Puree
- Ginger Carrots
- Stuffed Peppers
- Turkey Stock
- Coconut Turkey Soup
- Carrots Vichy
- Breaded Whitefish
- Moussaka Eggplant Casserole
- Breaded Chicken Breasts
- Baked Custard
- Basic Dressing
- Crispy Walnuts
- Zucchini Cakes
- Roman Egg Soup
Oh that sounds interesting. How “vinegary” was it? I don’t use a lot of vinegar, what other uses might one use it for besides dressings? I can’t wait to maybe get NT from Santa (or maybe if I’m lucky the Butter Believer santa)
Chris recently posted..How to Make Yogurt in the Desert
Good question! I think it’s getting progressively more “vinegary” as time goes on, but it’s not exactly the type of vinegar taste you would expect. It was very mild when I first tried it.
You can make cortido with it, another recipe in NT! It’s a type of sauerkraut. I hope you do win a copy, hehe!
I made pineapple vinegar from an old Mexican recipe in a Diana Kennedy cookbook this year which was very different. The Mexican way is to leave your pineapple trimmings in filtered water until it ferments via natural airborne yeasts into alcohol, and then the alcohol ferments further to vinegar. The final fermentation from alcohol to vinegar is a process that involves both yeasts and bacteria, which together form the vinegar mother (like the SCOBY in kombucha).
Anyway, it took a really long time (months even) so although the result was great I’m glad there is another way!
Oh how interesting! Yeah I was kind of surprised to see this recipe, thinking, how could it really turn into vinegar after only 3 days? I think doing the fermentation longer like with your recipe will lend a more vinegary taste and have a stronger flavor. But this way works fine for a more simple version to add flavor to other things like the dressing. I really like it!
I think this would also be lovely as an ingredient in Cheviche.
CateK recently posted..Better Butter
Ooh, definitely! Good idea.
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