preservation Orange Vinegar?

[stabzmcgee]

Hello again-
   I have my ingredients and am about to throw down on my first fresh hot sauce (as recommended by salsalady - thanks again). I have heard about making your own ORANGE vinegar. As I want to empart as much orange flavor into my sauce as possible, I was wondering about soaking white vinegar with orange peels for a day or two to see if it adds enough flavor to make a difference. Has anyone done this? Anyone know if it will impart more orangey goodness to the below recipe? there already is a fair amount of fruit in it with the actual orange pieces and pineapple juice, so I am wondering if it will even matter. 
 
4 habaneros
1 medium carrot, peeled/shredded
​1 Tbsp garlic cloves
1 Tbsp onion
​1 cup orange pieces, no pith or seeds
1/2-1c pineapple juice (to desired consistency)
​1/4c vinegar
​pinch of salt
maybe a dash of sugar if needed
 
Thanks again!

 

[The Hot Pepper]

I'd definitely look into mulling it for best flavor.
 
Ex: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/mulled-apple-cider-with-ginger-and-orange-1950776
 
Also you may want to toast the orange peel to release the oils first. Burnt orange peel = great flavor.

 

[Crispee-FL]

You could add the zest from the Orange as that is where all the oils are. Vinegar may take longer than a day or two to really capture the flavor.

 

[dragonsfire]

I like the Orange peel idea, done one some time ago, always nice and refreshing.

 

[Crispee-FL]

It sounds great though!

 

[stabzmcgee]

I'd definitely look into mulling it for best flavor.
 
Ex: http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/mulled-apple-cider-with-ginger-and-orange-1950776
 
Also you may want to toast the orange peel to release the oils first. Burnt orange peel = great flavor.

Oooh burnt orange peel sounds really good. For the mulling, do you mean just heating the vinegar and orange slices/toasted orange peels? 

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Yes you would follow similar directions to mulling wine.

 

[dragonsfire]

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/61649-orange-marmalade/?hl=orange
Working on finding the pics and reup them.

 

[Walchit]

I put orange peel in vinegar and let it set for a month or so probably, the wife used it for cleaning so the house didn't smell like vinegar as bad, it definitely had an orange scentto it

 

[cone9]

If you want to extract the flavor from the orange peel, try this:
 
Use a potato peeler to remove ONLY the orange rind(no white) from clean oranges.  It takes a bit of practice but will give you larger strips of peel rather than the tiny zest flakes, and you can see that you aren't getting much white (white=bitter).  (I make Limoncello and have become pretty proficient at this.)
Soak your orange peel for a week or more in grain alcohol or vodka to extract flavor and color.  I have not done this with oranges but it should work just as it does with lemons.
 
The alcohol will quickly boil off early as you cook the sauce as it's boiling temp is lower than water.  Allow for the water content of the grain alcohol or vodka, or just simmer your sauce longer the evaporate it.  The more oranges you use, the more flavor you can concentrate into your recipe.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

I put orange peel in vinegar and let it set for a month or so probably, the wife used it for cleaning so the house didn't smell like vinegar as bad, it definitely had an orange scentto it

lol nice

 

[Shorerider]

Why not substitute vinegar with freshly squeezed orange juice and ditch the vinegar all together?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Why not substitute vinegar with freshly squeezed orange juice and ditch the vinegar all together?

LOL. I just realized his recipe is for hot sauce and he wants to add orange vinegar for extra flavor. To that I would say, everything is going in the same pot! You don't have to individually pump up all your individual ingredients. If you want a really orangy hot sauce, I'd suggest other ways. One idea is frozen orange juice concentrate. Before anyone says boooooo this would be the equivalent of tomato paste instead of tomato juice. For cooking it makes sense.