Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is known for its many health benefits. ACV is made by fermenting apples, but you don't need to buy a bunch of apples for this, just use the scraps. Remove the seeds (so you can grow your own apple trees) and save the cores, stems, and leftover apple pieces.

Here's what you do:

Apple scraps

1 tbsp of sugar per cup of water

Water, enough to fill the jar a few inches from the top

Add apple scraps to a jar, filling 3/4 of the way.

Stir the sugar into the water until it is dissolved. Pour this over the apple scraps.

Cover with a tea cloth and rubberband or leave the lid loose. Set the mixture in a warm, dark place for two weeks.

Stir every few days. If you see a film or scum on top, just scrape it off.

After 2 weeks, strain the liquid. This is the first fermentation. You have successfully made apple cider! If you wish to stop at this stage, move your cider to the refrigerator to slow down the fermentation process.

To make vinegar, after straining the liquid from the apple pieces, put the liquid back in the jar and set it in a warm, dry place for another 2-4 weeks, or until it has the smell (and taste) of vinegar.

If there is a blob of gel-like texture on top, that is the SCOBY (symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast) aka "the mother". This is where many of the health benefits come from in ACV. You can move your SCOBY to a SCOBY motel (see this info in my kombucha blog post) or leave it in your vinegar until you are ready to use it.

Your SCOBY can be used to start your next batch of ACV. It will ferment faster having the SCOBY and a 1/2 cup of the ACV you just made added to the jar.

ACV doesn't go bad, so there is no need to refrigerate it.