Harvest sun-ripened strawberries from your patch or from a local u-pick.

Rinse strawberries to remove dust and bugs.

Remove the green caps, leaving the stems attached.

Pack whole fruit into your jar, filling it to the shoulder, leaving 3-4 inches of open space at top.

Add chlorine-free water until your berries are just covered when you press them down.

Fasten a lid in place and set the jar on a plate if leaving on kitchen counter.

Break the seal daily to release any carbon dioxide that builds up.

Let strawberries and water infuse for 6-10 days.

Line an 8 quart bowl with a cotton cloth.

Pour the strawberries and liquid into it.

Gather up the 4 corners of the cloth and knot together.

Lift berries and hang for 1-2 hours so juices can drip into the bowl below.

Pour collected strawberry juice into a clean, wide mouth jar.

Cover with a cloth, paper towel or coffee filter and fasten down with rubber band to keep fruit flies out.

Let juice ferment for 6-8 weeks, until it begins to smell sour.

Taste test. If your strawberry juice taste sour, pour ½ C into a small jar and cover with a tightly fastened canning lid and band.

Return to the kitchen counter and let sit for 2-3 days.

Break the seal. If a puff of air was released, your vinegar isn't done fermenting yet. Return to the original fermenting jar and let it sit for another 2-3 weeks.

Continue testing, until no puff of air is released from your little jar.

And then, it's time to bottle or jar your homemade strawberry vinegar in a food-grade container!

Store in a kitchen cupboard or on a pantry shelf for up to 12 months.

Use in homemade salad dressings, vinaigrettes, in shrubs or as a tonic.