Vinegar in Dessert?! Try This Blackberry-Honey Vinegar Gelee Chocolates Recipe
At the start of 2026, The New York Times named vinegar the ingredient of the year — predicting its use would expand beyond salad dressings and shrubs. If you haven’t yet incorporated vinegar into your cooking, baking or beverages, this recipe for Blackberry-Honey Vinegar Gelee Chocolates is a great place to start.
It takes vinegar beyond marinades and pickling brines, instead incorporating it into chocolate, where it adds tangy complexity.
“I love the way in which the depth of balsamic vinegar marries with the bitter complexity of caramel and dark chocolate,” says Pastry Chef Michael Laiskonis, whose Balsamic Caramel Bonbons demonstrate this interplay. (Watch him make them in the video below.)
Though common varieties like balsamic, red wine, distilled white and apple cider vinegars are kitchen staples, vinegar’s flavor potential doesn’t stop there.
In this recipe, red wine vinegar infused with blackberries and honey provides the foundation for gelee chocolates. (Gelee chocolates feature soft, chewy fruit jelly centers coated in chocolate.)
Pomegranate seeds are added to the infused vinegar to make the gelee, supplying juicy bursts of freshness and contrasting textures. Once set, the gelees are dipped in chocolate, resulting in a unique confection with tart, tangy and sweet notes.
Blackberry Honey Vinegar Gelee Chocolates Tips & Tricks
To help you achieve the best flavor and texture, keep these tips in mind as you prepare the gelee chocolates.
- Let the blackberry-honey vinegar steep at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks to extract the full flavor from the blackberries and integrate the sweetness of the honey. Attaching a carboy or fermentation lid will help prevent contamination while allowing gases to escape during the vinegar’s infusion.
- The recipe for the infused vinegar yields more than what’s needed for the gelee chocolates — use the extra in marinades, mignonettes and salad dressings. Combine it with herbs, mustard and olive oil for a simple and delicious vinaigrette.
- Agar flakes are a plant-based gelling agent made from red algae (a vegan substitute for gelatin) and are what sets the gelees. Gently simmer the agar flakes and vinegar for 5 to 10 minutes to ensure the agar dissolves completely before adding the pomegranate seeds.
- Melting two-thirds of the chocolate over a double boiler then stirring in the remaining chocolate off heat mimics the more precise tempering process chefs use to stabilize chocolate and improve texture.
- Experiment with other fruits or vinegars to create your own signature gelee chocolates.
Ingredients
Blackberry-Honey Vinegar
Yield: 8 cups
- 3 cups blackberries
- ½ cup honey
- 6 cups red wine vinegar
Blackberry Honey Vinegar Gelee Chocolates
- 1 cup blackberry honey vinegar
- ¼ cup agar flakes
- ½ cup pomegranate seeds
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Blackberry-Honey Vinegar
- Add ingredients to a ½ gallon-sized, sterilized glass jar.
- Attach a carboy and fermentation lid and steep at room temperature 2-3 weeks.
- Refrigerate for extended storage.
Blackberry Honey Vinegar Gelee Chocolates
- Add vinegar and agar to a saucepan.
- Simmer on low 5-10 minutes, or until agar flakes dissolve.
- Fold in pomegranate seeds.
- Pour mixture into small silicone molds and set in refrigerator.
- Melt 1 ½ cups chocolate chips over a double boiler.
- Remove from heat and stir in remaining chocolate.
- Dip gelee in chocolate to coat.
- Store refrigerated in airtight container.
