Did you also know that it is incredibly easy to make homemade apple cider vinegar your own at home? You can use whole bruised apples that no one wants to eat or cores and peels left from canning apples or whipping up apples to make these Apple Pie Wontons.
If you already have a bottle of raw Apple Cider Vinegar in your pantry, undoubtedly, you know some of the amazing uses and benefits it is -great for a sore throat, makes a wonderful natural hair conditioner, a tasty salad dressing base, an effective flea shampoo ingredient, and countless other things.
While there is nothing at all wrong with a good quality store bought apple cider vinegar that is raw, unfiltered, and unrefined this one is free and remarkably tastes 10x better than the bottle that comes with a label from your local grocery store. It’s a good idea to always have 1 jar in the process of fermenting so that you always have some on hand.
What do you need to make homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
- Distilled water
- Organic apples or apple scraps
- 1 Tbsp. raw sugar
- 1 quart mason jar
- lid/ring
- cheesecloth
How to make your own Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
Use the peels, cores, and apple scraps left over after making apple pie filling to help fill your jar.
If you are starting from whole apples wash them well, cut into ⅛’s.
Stuff clean quart jar with apple quarters or peels and cores.
Pour distilled water over the top to completely cover your peels.
Add sugar and give it a gentle stir.
Place a piece of cheesecloth over the top of jar opening, put ring in place.
Put your jar in a cool dark place like a cupboard and ignore it for 2 weeks.
When do you strain homemade apple cider vinegar
After about 2 weeks, strain out the large pieces, recover with cheesecloth and put back in cupboard.
Stir the mixture every day for 4 weeks (if you miss a day or two it’s not going to ruin it). Your apple cider vinegar is ready when it has a strong smell and tangy flavor.
Things are floating in my apple cider vinegar
You will notice some brown sediment and perhaps a jelly-like blob on top, this is the mother and is perfectly normal. It makes for excellent quality apple cider vinegar.
Do you refrigerate apple cider vinegar
No, apple cider vinegar does not need to be in the refrigerator. Store homemade apple cider vinegar in a cool dark place, like a cabinet.
While you can use your homemade apple cider vinegar for many things I would avoid using it for canning, as canning requires an acidity of 5% and you just can’t tell with homemade.
