How to Make Your Own Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar

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There is a saying that goes “there is no free lunch”, and although that might be true, there are still plenty of things in this world that are free…or next to it, and making your own apple cider vinegar is one of them !

There are plenty of recipes around, so it’s not like this is anything new, but some of these recipes are fairly complicated. Our recipe is going to show you how to make natural apple cider vinegar from nothing more than peelings from your apples. You can use some apple cores, too, if you like, but you really don’t need anything more than peelings. This is a great way to use apples that are so bruised your family doesn’t want to eat them, or if you make applesauce or apple pie, you can put those apple peels to good use.

Sugar is vital to making vinegar. You can use honey in its place but it will take much, much longer. Using sugar, you should have some apple cider vinegar in about 4 weeks; with honey, more like 7 to 8 weeks.

You should have a few glass jars for storing your vinegar. You can start by using simple Mason jars, but when you are feeling comfortable with your vinegar making skills, you can move on to larger containers.

If you have a few apple peels but not enough to make your vinegar, don’t worry. Simply put them in a plastic bag and store them in a really cold place, like a freezer, until you have collected enough!

You should always use organic apples to avoid a jar of pesticide residue laced vinegar! Yuck! And a mixture of different types of apples will make the best tasting and healthiest recipe, but you can use just one type of apple.

Are you ready to get started? Let’s go!

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Photo credit: bigstock.com

What You Need:

Glass Mason or other type of glass quart size jar
Water, 8 ounces
Sugar, 1 Tablespoon
Apple peels/cores

Instructions:

Fill your glass jar about ¾ full with your apple cores and peels (You don’t have to use the cores, but why not?)
In a measuring cup, mix water with sugar in the given proportions until the sugar is dissolved.
Pour this sweet water over your apple scraps, there should be enough water to cover the apples completely. If you need more water, make another 8 ounces of water mixed with one tablespoon of sugar. Continue until the apple peelings are completely covered, but ensure that there is about an inch of room left at the top of the jar.
Cover the glass jar tightly. Generally, it is a coffee filter that works well, or a piece of cotton fabric secured with a rubber band, as an option. You want to keep dust and bugs out but allow the mixture to breathe.
Set in a dark and warm place (like a kitchen cupboard near the stove) for a fortnight.
Give it a stir every now and again if you like, but it’s not really necessary.
If you have any brownish or greyish scum form on the top, just skim it off with a spoon.
After two weeks, strain into another jar.
You can put the apple scraps into your compost pile or, as an option, feed them to your chickens, or whatever you like.
Replace with a fresh cover and put back into that warm, dark location for another two weeks.
Smell and taste your vinegar to be sure that it’s done. Usually, you can smell right away if it’s ready. If it’s not quite ready, put it back for another week. For most people, after 4 weeks, the mix is ready to be used.

Once finished, you can store your vinegar in the fridge in a container with a tight fitting lid. If your vinegar makes something that looks like a blob of jello, congrats! You have just made a “mother” for future vinegar batches! Just remove it and store it in a separate container. But most people simply wait until they are ready to make another batch and remove it then. It won’t hurt anything, so you needn’t worry about it.

By the way, you might want to think about experimenting with other fruit scraps. Peaches and pears work very well.

Use your homemade apple cider vinegar as you would a jar of store bought! Use it for cleaning, cooking, and many other purposes. Mixing about one quart of your raw apple cider vinegar to your bathwater turns it into a super detoxifying bath and using it as a hair rinse will give you soft shiny hair without those chemical conditioners.

To your health, friends!

References:

http://www.gmj.ir/gmj/index.php/gmj/article/view/97/html_31

http://science.naturalnews.com/G/Glucose_and_blood.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20387813

http://www.md-health.com/Health-Benefits-Of-Apple-Cider-Vinegar.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17827702

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