DIY Apple Cider Vinegar using apple scraps

Have you ever wondered, as you stared at a mountain of apple peels and cores set aside during the making of sauce or pie, can these be used for anything other than compost?

The answer is resoundingly, YES!

Making your own apple cider vinegar is a lot easier than you may think, and can be used for a myriad of things: from a household cleaning product, hair conditioner, health tonic, to cooking ingredient. 

Follow these easy instructions to get started!

1. Save all organic apple peels and cores. These can even be frozen in a freezer safe bag/container if you are not processing a lot of apples at once, and then used once you have about a gallon bag filled.

Apple scraps in sugar water fill a large glass jar 3/4 full - ready to start the fermentation process!

2. Fill a wide mouth glass jar (I like to use a gallon) 3/4 of the way full with apple scraps..

3. Fill the jar with sugar water solution (1 Tbsp sugar: 1 cup water).

4. Use a knife or chop stick to reduce the amount of air bubbles and allow the water to fully surround the apple scraps.

5. Use weights (a smaller jar filled with water can work too) to keep the apple scraps submerged. If there are floaters they may start to mold (just remove these when/if you see them).

6. Cover with a loose weave cloth. I have tried cheese cloth and found it too porous as fruit flies got in. Essentially you want air to pass in and out but not insects.

Allow to ferment in a dark room temperature space for 3 weeks, checking every 3-4 days for floaters to remove.

7. Strain into smaller jars and compost the scraps. Cover the jars with cloth. 

Ferment 3-4 weeks more, stirring every 3-4 days.

8. After 3 weeks, taste the solution. Continue to ferment until it tastes like vinegar. Once it does, cap the jars and store.

A couple of notes:

Fermentation is a wild process, and many factors can contribute to how your acv turns out, including native microbes on the fruit, in the air around you, and the temperature of the environment. Each batch will be unique (as the different colors in the photo attest too). Use common sense - if your batch smells spoiled, it likely is and toss it. 

Each batch of homemade apple cider vinegar is slightly different.