Summer is here and for those of us with soft fruit in the vegetable garden, that probably means raspberries. Whilst raspberry jam is delicious, raspberry vinegar is a useful standby recipe that is reputed to soothe throats and you can also use it as a cordial.

Here’s how to make it.

How to make raspberry vinegar

Raspberry vinegar (and other fruit vinegars) are simple to make.  Here’s how to do it.

Ingredients

• 1 litre white wine vinegar
• 500 kg raspberries

Method

Bruise the raspberries gently with the back of a spoon and place in a large bowl. Pour the white wine vinegar them. Cover and allow the mixture to stand for four days in a cool place, stirring daily.

Strain through a jelly bag, adding 450g of caster sugar per litre of liquid. Heat gently till just simmering. Allow to cool, then bottle and cork tightly. Store in a cool, dry place. Drink diluted with water. Raspberry vinegar  is also reputedly effective for soothing sore throats, either taken neat or with a little hot water.

Raspberry, almond and oat crumble cake

If you’ve got plenty of raspberries, why not make our raspberry, almond and oat crumble cake recipe, which is perfect for picnics.

This article was originally published in 2015 and has been updated.