Last year we got so many apples from our small orchard! At first I was a little overwhelmed but I began to find so many uses for them. I used my free hours during naps for weeks to make gallons of freezer applesauce, frozen apple pie filling, baked apple rings and more.
You can imagine we had a LOT of apple scraps hanging around and I didn’t want to let those go to waste so I decided to give homemade apple cider vinegar a try.
Apple cider vinegar is a fermented beverage that has many health benefits and is rich in phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and calcium. It is especially beneficial when you can find it “with the mother”. Honestly speaking, the mother looks kind of icky floating around in your vinegar. But it is full of so much good bacteria that I do my best to ignore the aesthetic! ACV with the mother is expensive from the store, but making it at home is so affordable.
Here’s what you need:
- organic apple scraps, or whole apples cut into pieces
- organic sugar
- filtered water
- half gallon mason jars
- jar funnel and sieve
- cheesecloth
- fermentation weights
Our apple cider vinegar turned out deliciously and we’ve been using it all winter, not only for cooking but also for medicinal uses. We also take a teaspoon a day when one of us feels at the start of a cold and all I can say is…we’ve never gotten past the start of a cold this year!
You can also take unfiltered apple cider vinegar to help digestive issues, or add a teaspoon to bathwater to balance skin pH and treat dandruff and eczema. I haven’t tried these last two remedies yet but I will be keeping them in my parenting tool belt!
Enough chit-chat, here’s our recipe. Feel free to drop questions in the comments or head over to instagram and message me there!
Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar is an excellent pantry item! It has many health benefits and is very affordable and easy to make. We use ours in homemade salad dressings and take a teaspoon daily to help prevent colds and other sicknesses.
Ingredients
- 3 cups organic apple scraps
- 3 TBSP organic sugar
- 3 cups water (filtered)
Instructions
Sterilize a half gallon mason jar.
Fill the jars ¾ full with apple peels and cores (seeds included), or If you are using whole apples, roughly chop them up before you put them in the jar.
Stir three tablespoons organic sugar into three cups filtered water.
Pour sugar water over the apples until they are completely submerged. Add a little additional water if needed to make sure the apples are covered.
Place a fermentation weight on top of the apples to make sure they stay submerged and prevent mold! You can also use a small mason jar filled with pie weights or clean rocks.
Cover with a cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band.
Store in a dark place at room temperature. I put mine in a cabinet in the kitchen.
Leave it for about 3 weeks, checking every few days to make sure the apples are staying under the water and to make sure no mould is growing.
After 3 weeks it will smell fairly sweet and still have a pale color. Strain the apples pieces out and return the liquid to the jar. You can now compost the apple scraps!
Cover the jar with a cheesecloth again and return it to a dark place at room temperature for another 3-4 weeks, stirring every few days.
When the ACV has reached the “tartness” you like you can put a lid on it or transfer it to a different jar with a lid and start using it!
