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Saturday 11 February 2012

fresh peach vinegar, a valentine's gift

A simple no-cook fresh white peach vinegar.

I had this post all written out. It was ready to go. And then... it went kaput. I shall spare you the details, but suffice to say, I was left with only a blank page, and even the geekiest things I tried couldn't bring it back.

I was devastated. All those hours of work... gone. All those words. My thoughts on Valentine's Day. An amusing story about my relationship with Simon. My take on peaches. My recipe for this no-cook fresh white peach vinegar, and my sentiments on the end product. Everything.

The one in front is a white peach, the one at the back is a yellow peach.

I thought of Simon. He, the cool, collected one. What would he say? I can imagine it so vividly. "There's nothing you can do now to change what happened," he would say. "You just have to forget about it and get on with what you have to do next."

So here I am, re-writing this post. And you know what? It's not that bad. This was not the post I intended to share with you all. This is a completely different story, with entirely different musings. I'm okay with that.

So here's my early Valentine's Day message to Simon.

Thank you for keeping me sane and calm, even though you are thousands of miles away in India right now, no doubt snapping away with your beloved camera and enjoying your new-found love of chai.

When you come back, I have this little vessel of sweet peach vinegar that I have created especially for you, to celebrate your appreciation of a good salad dressing. I hope you enjoy its gentle fragrance and subtle sensuality as much as I do.

I can't wait to see you again in a few days.


The pale, perfumed flesh of the white peach.

no-cook fresh peach vinegar

1 ripe peach, peeled, pitted and chopped
3/4 cup white wine vinegar

Blend peach pieces together with white wine vinegar. Let the mixture rest for 10 minutes, then strain it through a fine sieve or muslin cloth. Store it in a sterilised bottle.
This peach vinegar should keep in the fridge for at least 3 months.

Notes:
I chose to use white-fleshed peaches for this peach vinegar recipe - they have a gorgeous ambrosial quality that I adore.
Use non-reactive containers (preferably glass or ceramic) when dealing with vinegar.
I sterilise my bottles by washing them thoroughly and then letting them sit in boiling water for 2-3 minutes.


Fresh peach vinegar, a valentine's gift.

52 comments:

  1. That sounds lovely. I'm sorry you lost your first post. That has happened to me too and it's so frustrating! It's good to have a man in your life that keeps you sane and calm. Time for me to plan what I'll make for that guy in my life.

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    1. Thank you Nicole. It's terrible isn't it! I'm indeed lucky to have someone who balances me out. Hope you have a lovely time with your man. :)

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  2. Super tasty! White peaches have an interesting flavor to me, but it's sometimes hard to get non-mealy peaches here. I just have to keep buying, and hope for the good ones:)

    What a bummer about the post. I've only had posts duplicate on me... never disappear:/ You rebounded nicely!

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    1. Curse the mealy peaches! May the good ones come rolling into your life.
      In some ways I think that perhaps my rebound post is even better. This makes me happy. :D

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  3. Awwww, I feel your pain! If it's any consolation it has still ended up being a lovely post. :)

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    1. Thanks Agnes! Yes, I think things have turned out alright after all. :)

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  4. So sorry about the frustration of losing a post! It's always devastating at first when that happens, but well done for keeping calm and keeping on. After all, peach vinegar is too innovative not to share!

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    1. Thanks Hannah - I have a tendency to overreact sometimes and I'm glad I took it mostly in stride this time. Though I did end up sleeping very late... :p

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  5. This is so clever! Mmm, salads with a touch of fruity peach all through winter sounds wonderful.

    Also what a coincidence, my partner is back from Sydney in a few days :) I will probably have something much less healthy waiting for him though :P

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    1. Thanks Zo! And enjoy your time together when he gets back! :)

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  6. That is such a shame. How terrible to have drafted up a great post only to have it vaporise. I'd be devastated. Love your peach vinegar. What a great recipe. I hope Simon returns from India soon.

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    1. It was a pain, particularly as I'd spent quite a bit of time on that one. All's well that ends well though! Thank you. I'm looking forward to seeing him again. :)

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  7. Beautiful post and excellent easy recipe! I wish we had peaches season here... I love peach vinegar and I have always bought it thinking it's very complicated to achieve at home. Thank you for this wonderful idea!
    I am sorry for your lost text. I have also had similar (and worst) blog accidents, so I totally underttand the frustration you must have felt at the beginning.

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    1. Thanks Sissi! Perhaps when you can get your hands on some peaches you could try it and let me know what you think. Also, sorry to hear you've had very bad blog accidents yourself. *shakes fist*

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  8. I know that feeling. But you still got it up. good on you :)

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  9. no save draft function? :(

    anyway, what is the function of this fruity vinegar?

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    1. It was a lethal combination of the Ctrl-Z not working properly (took my whole post away instead of just deleting the most recent changes) and the auto-save function which saved the blank page.

      I've tried my peach vinegar so far on a salad and I'm thinking about drizzling it over fish next time. Basically anywhere I might normally use lemon/lime and which doesn't have too many flavours going on, so that the peachy scent and flavour can shine. Kind of the same idea as infused olive oil, I guess.

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  10. Oh, what a wonderful vinegar...I'm a sucker for anything peach :) So sorry about the disappearing post...how frustrating!

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  11. My Tyler cool calm and collected like your Simon. Makes me mad that I can't think rationally sometimes! Peach vinegar :) nom. . . I have a few ripe white peaches on the fruit bowl at the moment. I definately need to start making more salads, hopefully this week is my week!

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    1. Yay for the Tylers and Simons of the world. I get upset too easily sometimes and it's nice to have someone keep me grounded. :)

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  12. Ahhhhh I hate it when a post disappears. This sounds absolutely delicious though. Must give it a go if I can find some decent peaches.

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  13. That would annoy me so much to find out that my post kaputed :P I love the word Kaput!!! Sigh.. happened a lot to me when I was on Blogspot though.. maybe you should consider porting over to wordpress?

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    1. I opened up a Wordpress blog once but found it not as easy to navigate, hence my use of Blogger. It really can be a bit naughty sometimes though, I have to say...

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  14. Oh no Leaf, I am so sorry to hear about your lost blog post :(
    This vinegar is gorgeous, I would love this on my salad. Simon is a very lucky man to receive this :)

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  15. Oh, ug, so sorry you lost your first post. That is the absolute worst and most frustrating thing - makes me scream and pull out my hair!!! But good for you for doing another one, and a lovely one at that. : )

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  16. What a novel and delicious idea for Valentine's day... I love that you chose to showcase peaches as well. Beautiful Leaf!

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    1. Thanks Kelly. The peach is such a romantic fruit, isn't it?

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  17. Oh how I feel your pain. Happened far too many times. The vinegar looks spectacular though- I'm imagining it would be delightful over a rocket, mozzarella and prosciutto salad...

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    1. Too many times! That sounds bad. Hopefully it won't happen again. And, your salad idea sounds excellent. :D

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  18. Oh that's the worst, losing a post you put so much time into! :( But good on you for still getting it up, it does help to have someone keep you grounded through it doesn't it? :) This sounds so perfect for this summery weather at the moment! :)

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    1. Yes, I had been spending several nights writing and refining it, so my heart just sank. Then I typed this one out in one night (or rather, early morning) with minimal editing... ha. Thank you. :)

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  19. Ohhh computers are a great big pain sometimes. But glad you were able to soldier on and re-write it because this recipe sounds just glorious.

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    1. Ack, yes. Why don't they always behave? Thank you. :)

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  20. Ah. I hate it when that happens! I'd say the make up post ended up pretty fabulous. ANd peach vinegar? i'd be SO excited to come home to that.

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    1. Thanks, Joanne. He just read the post and he likes it. AND he's coming back tomorrow. Hurrah! :D

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  21. Peach vinegar? Are you kidding me? This is great! Simon is blessed. You seem to have a wonderful relationship and I'm so happy for you.
    And yeah, computers, you know. I've lost so many great posts that way.
    Take care! xxx

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    1. Thank you! He is blessed indeed. ;) I am too. Hurrah! :D

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  22. So frustrating! I hate when that happens. But also so sweet. And this vinegar - amazing!

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  23. Computers! Sorry to hear about the lost post - but at least, you still had a bottle of wonderful brick-and-mortar peach vinegar to inspire you again, and an even more real love to think about :)

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    1. Thank you Caffettiera, wise words. Life is really quite good, and now he is back! :D

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  24. Dear Indolent Cook,

    I love white peaches and this recipe is so simple. One salad I might tru it on is rocket and pear.

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    1. Thank you Chopinand, that sounds like a lovely salad idea!

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  25. Looks lovely! Glad I found your blog and hope to say hi again some time! :)

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