hey welcome to haphazard homestead I am
NOT a fancy person but I've got a
confession to make
I really like balsamic vinegar now $50 a
bottle that's a little steep
but this grocery store salad dressing
just doesn't quite cut it so what's a
person to do I say hey I'm gonna go use
my spruce trees in this video I'm going
to show how I make some great balsamic
vinegar from my spruce trees I'll also
show some ways that I'm using that
spruce tree balsamic vinegar to really
make the most out of that spruce flavor
you may be thinking how do I even know
if this is worth watching how do I know
if this stuff is even any good well
let's have an independent assessment
right up front I entered my spruce tree
balsamic vinegar into our County Fair
here's what happened and so there you go
it got first place how about that that's
not bad
I hit a little note on the back and that
note says delicious delicious delicious
I should strain off more of the solids
in the sediment I don't want to do that
they want all that spruce tips out of
there but that's part of it you just put
that in and it's tasty that's good stuff
delicious they tasted it this spruce
tree balsamic vinegar is really easy to
make it uses the new spring growth of
any spruce tree to find out more about
picking spruce check out one of my
earlier videos in the iCard in the upper
right or in the link down below I
started by chopping up the Spruce tips I
put two cups of the chopped spruce tips
in a jar and added an equal amount of
apple cider vinegar
then I added 10 peppercorns and and 2
tablespoons of honey this is honey from
bees here on the homestead but that's
really all it takes apple cider vinegar
peppercorns and honey
mmm you how about right now with honey I
have a spruce tips Oh
ma'am little bit that wake up mm-hmm
to finish it up I just put the lid on
the jar and then turned it to mix it I
kept it in the dark
and turned it every few days by the time
of the County Fair I'd let it sit about
three months so how am I using this
spruce tip balsamic vinegar generally
just like any balsamic vinegar like in
this dish to the right with some nice
olive oil is so good that's delicious
but there's a nice bonus to those
marinated spruce tips they're great on
their own like here chopped fine and
used to top this cheese mmm it almost
seems wrong and I also use it to
marinate homegrown vegetables like these
heirloom tomatoes sweet onions and bell
peppers these apples grilled with the
spruce tips and the balsamic vinegar
they are so good I'm gonna do a video
special just for that so stay tuned now
some balsamic vinegar purists may be
saying hey isn't balsamic vinegar made
out of grape juice instead of apple
cider vinegar well next year I'm gonna
be adding some of my own home canned
grape juice to this recipe so be sure to
be subscribed to see how that turns out
or try it yourself with your own spruce
tips and let me know how that works for
you I hope things are going well at your
place I'd love to hear your comments and
have you subscribe for maybe a little
different perspective about simple
living
thanks for watching bye