Raspberry Vinegar Tea and Mabel Bell

On February 23, 1909, the Silver Dart flew at Baddeck Bay, Nova Scotia. Alexander Graham Bell and the Aerial Experiment Association were the first crew to take to the air off of the frozen lake in the middle of winter. To keep all of the guests to this historic event warm, Alexander’s wife, Mabel Bell, served a warm drink called Raspberry Vinegar Tea. The recipe below will give you a taste of this historical drink and can keep you warm during these cold winter months.

Recipe for making raspberry (or any other fruit) vinegar

Ingredients:

• 480 ml/2 cups white wine or cider vinegar
• 400g/14 oz raspberries (or as mentioned above, strawberries, blackcurrants, or blackberries)
• 75g/⅓ cup  caster sugar

Method:

Put the raspberries into a glass bowl and crush them lightly with the back of a wooden spoon. Cover with cold vinegar.
Cover with cling film and leave for a couple of days in the fridge, shaking occasionally.
Strain through muslin or through a jelly bag, squeezing out as much juice as possible.
Transfer to a non-aluminium pan.
Add the sugar – taste it every now and then – you don’t want it to be too sweet.
Heat gently, stirring until the sugar has dissolved and then bring to the boil.
Boil for 10 minutes and let cool.

Then, as Agnes Jekyll describes “bottle in nice shaped medium-sized bottles saved perhaps from some present of foreign liqueurs or scent.”  

Make sure you have first sterilised the bottles – to find out how follow this link.

Simple recipe for Raspberry Vinegar Tea

• 1 can of raspberry juice
• ½ tsp of vinegar

Heat raspberry juice to boiling temperature.  Add vinegar and serve.  
A small amount of the Raspberry juice can be added to a black tea to add flavor.