Make your own apple cider vinegar

Saturday, October 20, 2018

It is the end of apple season.  It is a great time to get local apples to make your own apple cider vinegar.  All you need are glass jars, water, apples and sugar to make this healthy brew.  

Here is the recipe that I am using for a gallon of apple cider vinegar:

*3 pounds of a variety of apples (more variety gives a fuller flavor.  )

*8 cups of spring water (do not use tap water as chlorine kills the yeast that makes the cider)

*1/2 cup of sugar

Directions:

*Slice the apples into quarters

*Let the apples brown on the counter

*After browning, place into a wide mouth glass gallon jar

*Fill with water, add sugar, and a weight to keep the apples under the water to keep flies from landing on the apples or mold from growing on them

*Cover with a cheese cloth with a rubber band to keep any fruit flies out

Let the apples ferment in a dark, warm location for at least 4 weeks.  The fermentation goes faster in warm weather and slower in cooler temperatures.  White scum will form on the top.  This is normal.  Bubbling is also normal as it ferments into cider.  Mold is not.

After at least 4 weeks, strain out the apples and put the liquid back into the jar and cover with cheesecloth.  During this time, yeast will eat the sugar to transform your apple water into apple cider.  

After you have apple cider, it is ready to transform into acetic acid and vinegar.  You can add some finished raw apple cider vinegar or mother into your strained liquid to give it a boost.  It should take another 4 weeks to turn into vinegar.  Allow to continue fermenting until it reaches the appropriate tartness.  

You will see a thin rubbery substance on the top of your jar.  This is the "mother" that converts the cider into vinegar.  

When the taste is the way you like it, you can now put a regular lid on your gallon jar or pour into smaller jars to make room for another apple cider vinegar batch!  The mother can be kept in the jar or stored separately.

Tips:  

*Use organic apples if possible.  If not, be sure to remove any wax coating and then soak in baking soda water for 15 minutes to remove all pesticides.

*You can use apple scraps as well.  Make sure that any scraps are well cleaned as above.  Peels and cores are great adds.  You can keep scraps in the freezer until you have enough to start a batch of vinegar.

*Use a combo of apple types.  50% sweet like Golden Delicious, Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious.  35% sharp like McIntosh, Liberty, Winesap, Northern Spy, Gravenstein, Granny Smith.  15% bitter like Dolgo crabapples, Newtown, Foxwhelp, Porter's Perfection, Cortland.

*If you don't have access to spring water, you can use filtered, reverse osmosis water or distilled water.