Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar

If you know me well, you would’ve known that I am forever looking to make everything from scratch, at home, at least as much as possible. I just want to cut down on buying as much store-bought processed things as I possibly can! And so, this was one of the pet peeves of mine as there was not only a mind-boggling varieties of vinegar to choose from but also the alarming price range differences. It was sold from as cheap as 30 INR to 1200 INR for the same quantity, of course with the label of organic and other things mentioned. So, this really makes one wonder about the quality of the cheaper ones and not to mention the reason for such a huge price for the expensive ones?

As I use vinegar in some of my recipes, I had to figure out how it make it on my own. And this is, hands-down, one of the simplest recipes for making your very own Apple cider vinegar and what’s more – by literally using apple scraps and at little or no cost at all! Isn’t that amazing!!!

All You Need Is:

• Apple peelings or cores
• Sugar (1 tablespoon per one cup of water)
• Water
• Glass jar

That’s it! As simple as that.

• Take any glass jar and fill it almost three-fourths of the way with apple peels and cores.
• In another container stir the sugar into the water until it’s mostly dissolved, and pour over the apple scraps until they are completely covered. (Leave a few inches of room at the top of the jar.)
• Cover loosely with a piece of clean cloth/fabric scrap and secure it with a rubber band.
• Set it aside in a warm, dark place for around two weeks.
• You can give it a stir every few days, if you like. If any brownish/greyish scum develops on the top, simply skim it off.
• Once two weeks has passed, strain the scraps from the liquid.

• At this point, my vinegar usually has a pleasantly sweet apple cider smell, but is still not ready.
• Discard the scraps (or add it to the compost pile like I do), and set the strained liquid aside for another 2-4 weeks.
• You’ll know your apple cider vinegar is complete once it has that unmistakable vinegary smell and taste. If it’s not quite there yet, simply allow it to sit a while longer.
• Once you are happy with the taste of your vinegar, simply cap and store in the fridge as long as you like. It won’t go bad.
• If a gelatinous blob develops on the top of your vinegar, don’t panic. It’s all good. In fact, you must celebrate! Congratulations! You have created a vinegar “mother”. This mother can be used to jump-start future vinegar batches. You can remove it and store it separately, or just let it float around in the vinegar as you store it.

Use your homemade vinegar just like you would use store-bought vinegar– for cooking, cleaning and everything in between!

NOTE: Though it can be used for just about everything a store-bought vinegar, it is better not to use it for preservation purposes.

The best thing about this recipe is that it helps me make something out of waste…something I can re-purpose into an absolutely amazing product, free of cost! How great is that!

I continuously strive to have a waste-free kitchen and I am sure you will love adding this to your sustainable-living kitty as well…

Live sustainably…its the need of the hour!

Do let me know how you like it! I would love to hear from you…

…

Kalpana

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