Iowa recipe: Strawberry vinegar

One of my co-workers, who knows I love unique recipes, gave me this recipe for strawberry vinegar.  I'm not exactly sure if this is true, but she told me that this is the same strawberry vinegar that is extremely popular at a northwest Iowa U-Pick strawberry patch.

This strawberry vinegar is a salad dressing. I've been spooning a little on my salads, along with a dash of olive oil.  The recipe says to strain the strawberries once you mash them, but I'm too lazy to use a cheesecloth to get the "chunks" out of the vinegar.  I ended up using my manual Oxo food mill, which pureed the strawberries and removed a lot of the seeds.

 It's a fun recipe to make if you come home with way more strawberries than you know what to do with after visiting a U-Pick patch.  I would guess this recipe would also work with raspberries or blueberries, which are in season now here in central Iowa.  If you try this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you.  Enjoy!

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Strawberry vinegar

• 4 C. fresh strawberries, halved
• 4 C. cider vinegar
• 1 C. sugar

In a large pan, combine fruit and vinegar.  Cover and let stand for one hour.  Stir in sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cool completely.  Strain and discard pulp.  Pour into a covered container.  Store in a cool, dark place.  Excellent with salad greens.