Homesteading

Make your own Apple Cider Vinegar

By The Petite Plantation - January 18, 2020

In the closest small rural village where we fill up on supplies like food and fuel, items like kombucha or real probiotic Apple Cider Vinegar are impossible to find. It's kind of like a time warp, with no bank, where the shops close up early and some don't even have a debit machine!

Luckily, I am a resourceful woman! Not only do we make our own Kombucha here on the tiny homestead, we also make our own Apple Cider Vinegar and in this post, I am going to share the process with you!



We give all our animals, domestic and feathered flock, Apple Cider Vinegar in their drinking water for a boost of gut healthy probiotics that in turn keep the whole flock healthy! I also use Apple Cider Vinegar in my homemade toner for healthy, clear skin.


What I love about making things ourselves, is that they often are made out of scraps, or leftovers. I mean, sure these apple scraps and cores could have been future eggs when fed to our chickens, or turn into fertilizer when added to the compost pile but this time, I made some more Apple Cider Vinegar!

You can use any apple scraps for this but organic is best because they won't have pesticides on them. I HAVE used store bought apples and it worked just the same. This day, I used the cores from cut up apples for the kids, but keep this in mind the next time you are making apple pie or processing your fall apples. You could even freeze them in a bag and process them at a later date to make a larger batch! Also, you don't need to use just the apple cores, it can be the peels or a mixture of both but be sure you aren't using rotten bits.


I like to cut up my apple cores into smaller pieces so there is more surface area to ferment, and hopefully it will work a little quicker for us! 




To make your own Apple Cider Vinegar, you'll need:



- about 5 apple cores, or whatever you think the equivalent would be in peels.
- 3 to 3.5 cups of filtered or dechlorinated water
- 3 tablespoons of sugar, organic cane sugar is best.
- a Quart jar
- and if you have it, 1/2 cup of real probiotic Apple Cider Vinegar


How to make your own Apple Cider Vinegar:


First, place your apple pieces into the quart jar and add 3.5 cups of filtered water. *** If you have some real Apple Cider Vinegar with the mother on hand, use 3 cups of filtered water and 1/2 cup of this Apple Cider Vinegar. *** This will give your vinegar a head start but it isn't necessary.

Then add 3 tablespoons of sugar and combine well until the water is clear and the sugar is dissolved. The sugar gives the wild yeast in the apples something to feed off of, creating the vinegar. It's similar to a Sourdough Starter.


Once you have it all mixed, add a piece of cheese cloth and rubber band and place in a warm spot. I didn't have a rubber band OR cheesecloth so I used a piece of paper towel and a jar rim which works just fine. I placed it on the shelf where I also store my Kombucha SCOBY and Sourdough Starter!


Lastly, set a reminder in your phone for two weeks to strain out the apple pieces. Cover it the same way but tuck it away in a cool and dark place to continue to ferment for up to 6 months. And there you have it! Your own Apple Cider Vinegar!

This is for a small batch because we live in a small house hah! If I had some of those two gallon pickle jars, I would make a much larger batch!


If you enjoyed this recipe, or this post, please consider sharing with your friends on social media where ever you like to hang. Because, sharing really is caring! Sharing this post also supports my rambles and allows me to continue doing just that!

Thank you for taking the time to stop in on our humble blog and we hope you come back soon! If you want to see what we are up to lately, find us on our Facebook page or on Instagram!

always,


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