As we all know, a salad is a dish consisting of a mixture of small pieces of food, usually vegetables or fruits. The other obligatory ingredient is the salad dressing.
Today we’ll prepare summer vinegar salad. Here, we may even experiment: a new dressing transforms any old salad into an original treat.
This time, we use vinegar (the word which in Old French meant ‘sour wine’). It retains the same morphological structure (root ‘Vinum’) and tastes sour being the most easily manufactured mild acid (‘Acer’).
Summer vinegar salad would be a great choice for barbecues, picnics, or family gatherings.
Summer vinegar salad is a perfect side dish for a hot weather meal. It goes well with meat or poultry. Your friends and family will absolutely love this refreshing summer vinegar salad!
How to make summer vinegar salad?
- Step 1 Thinly slice cucumbers, red onion, and green bell pepper. Place the slices into a large bowl and sprinkle them with sea salt. Mix and flip vegetable slices and make sure that salt gets to all of them. Set aside.
- Step 2 To a saucepan add vinegar, sugar, celery flakes, and red pepper flakes. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add 1 ½ cup of ice cubes to the prepared mixture.
- Step 3 Transfer salted sliced vegetables into a ball wide mouth jar. You may use one 2 quarts canning jar or several smaller jars. You need to pack vegetable slices quite firmly. But make sure there’s enough space in between them, so the spiced sugar-vinegar mixture can reach to all slices.
- Step 4 Securely close the jars with the lids and place them in the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.
What kind of vinegar may be used for this kind of salad?
During the long history of vinegar elaboration and processing, mankind invented a vast assortment of vinegar. Distilled white vinegar is the one that will turn our summer vinegar salad into a chef’s masterpiece.
It is a type of vinegar that is made from distilled grain alcohol. It is naturally gluten-free and diet-friendly. But if you do not have distilled white vinegar in your kitchen you may use apple cider vinegar instead.
Can white vinegar be used in salads?
White vinegar is a natural product and can be used in salad dressings. When added to a salad, vinegar provides several health benefits. For instance, it can be helpful for people with diabetes and is a healthy alternative to fats and sodium. In short, it is quite a safe bet.
BAKING TIPS FOR SUMMER VINEGAR SALAD
It’s easier to serve summer vinegar salad with a slotted spoon.
You may use your favorite vegetable mix to prepare summer vinegar salad. Here’s some yummy combinations: sliced cucumber with cherry tomatoes and onion; sliced carrots with cauliflower florets and chopped bell peppers; radish and cucumber slices; sliced fresh yellow squash or zucchini with onion, tomato halves, and bell peppers. Don’t be afraid of experiments!
If want your salad to be more hot and spicy, you may add some garlic cloves, mustard seed, fresh jalapeno, or other hot pepper.
More Salad Recipes You’ll Love
- POPPY SEED SALAD DRESSING
- AMISH BROCCOLI SALAD
- TACO CHICKEN SALAD
- HOW TO MAKE THE BEST RED POTATO SALAD

SUMMER VINEGAR SALAD
Ingredients
- 4 cucumber, thinly sliced
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 2 cups distilled white vinegar
- 1 ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tsp dried celery flakes
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1 ½ cup ice cubes
Instructions
- Slice vegetables and arrange them in a bowl. Sprinkle with salt and mix well, so the salt gets to all vegetables slices. Set aside.
- Add vinegar, sugar, celery flakes and red pepper flakes to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and add ice cubes to the pan.
- Transfer salted vegetable slices into a ball wide mouth jar (2 quarts) and pour with the prepared mixture. Pack sliced vegetables loose enough, so the spiced vinegar mixture can reach to all slices.
- Seal jars with the lids and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours before using. May be stored in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.
Notes
- If your cucumbers are a little bit soft, you can easily make them more crispy. Just let them soak in cold water for 15-30 minutes. This trick will always work when your cucumbers need a little extra crisp.
- You can cut the amount of sugar to 1 cup if you prefer more piquant taste.
- Few sprigs of fresh dill and 2-3 sliced garlic cloves will make summer vinegar salad even better.
- This summer vinegar salad is good with both fresh and dried vegetables.
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