Gourmet Vinegars

by TILDE MERKERT

There's an old recipe for rabbit stew that begins, "First kill the rabbit." Well, like succulent rabbit stew, those delightful gourmet vinegars that command such fancy prices at the store have a very simple base and one could begin a recipe for them with the line, "First pick the apples."

You can start with apples — that is — and easily make your own base vinegar, but it isn't necessary. Not when you can take any ordinary, pure apple cider vinegar . . . add your own accents . . . and produce exotic gourmet vinegars with a back-to-nature touch.

The process is really quite uncomplicated, although the concoctions with mixed flavors do require more ingredients than the simpler one-herb vinegars. I can assure you, though, that the whole business is great fun and your creative products will be much less expensive than the gourmet varieties in the stores.

So let your imagination soar and see what you can create. Here, to get you started, are four proven recipes of my own:

ORANGE-ROSEMARY VINEGAR

1 quart pure apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons (heaping) fresh rosemary leaves (or 2 table spoons dried rosemary)
1 large, juicy, naturally well-colored orange

Peel only the thinnest outside rind from the orange, avoiding any of the white underneath. Chop fine. Strip four tablespoons of needles (leaves) from the fresh rosemary and bruise the leaves in a mortar and pestle, if you have one. I use a heavy white crockery mortar and pestle that doesn't retain other tastes and aromas. You can also lay the leaves on doubled wax paper and crush them with a small, old-time crockery bowl or coffee cup.

Place the rosemary and peel in a quart jar. Add vinegar. Let stand, tightly covered, for two weeks and shake frequently to hasten flavor release. Strain through a sieve to remove solid matter and then strain a second time through a clean cloth laid in the sieve.

Pour into picturesque bottle, add several freshly cut curls of orange peel and a sprig of rosemary . . . and set out as the beginning of a collection of your own innovations.

The mixture is excellent with fresh fruit or as an ingredient in a fruit salad dressing made of three parts oil and one part vinegar. Salt and pepper to taste (a dash of sugar is optional).

When resorting to dried rosemary for this recipe, first bring the vinegar to a boil. Add rosemary. Cool. Add orange peel and let stand. Whether you use your own fresh rosemary or the dried bought-at-thestore variety, be sure it's still potently flavored and fragrant.