This homemade apple vinegar is so cheap and easy to make, made with leftover apple scraps and just a couple of other ingredients.
Apple Vinegar from Apple Scraps
Apple scrap vinegar is so versatile. You can drink it as it is, add to salads as a dressings, use it as a facial toner or to rinse your hair and even use it as a cleaner.
If you have a stash of apples laying around, why not try making this amazing vinegar! You can even eat the apples first (or make some apple crumble) and use the scraps to make this fermented concoction.
It is hard to give exact measurements for this fermentation, so use these as a rough guideline. The bacteria from the apples performs the fermentation with with sugar feeling the process. Sure, you can add more sugar if you wish, though I found that it wasn’t needed. To give your fermentation a kickstart, you can add a little raw apple cider vinegar, though this is not necessary.
I recommend avoiding chlorinated water and using filtered water as the chlorine can kill the microbes that perform the fermentation. If you want to use your tap water, pour some into a jug and leave it open to air for up to a day. This will cause the chlorine to dissipate, giving you water that can be used in this apple vinegar.
Ingredients for Making Apple Scrap Vinegar
To make this vinegar, you will need:
- Apple scraps – peels and cores, no rotten bits
- filtered water
- 1 TBSP of sugar per cup of water
- 1 TBSP of apple cider mother per cup of water (optional)
- pure, warm water
Making Apple Scrap Vinegar
This recipe is designed for you to adjust the measurements depending on how much you want to make and how many apple scraps you have.
Make sure the apples that you are going to use in this vinegar are cleaned before peeling them. I like to cut up the cores a bit before adding as well. Fill a glass jar about ¾ full of apple scraps that have no rotten bits or mould.
Measure the water as you pour it over the apple scraps. You will need enough to just cover the apple scraps, leaving about 2 – 3 inches of room at the top of the jar.
Add the apple cider mother if using.
Stir in the sugar.
Cover the jar with a piece of cloth or a coffee filter and keep in place with an elastic band or jar ring.
Place in a dark cupboard to ferment at room temperature.
Check every few days, giving it a gentle stir.
After 2 weeks, strain out the apple scraps and discard. Bottle up your apple cider vinegar.
Allow to rest for at least another 2 weeks before using. You will need to use a bottle that can handle carbonation, as it will continue to ferment until all the sugar is consumed. If it has a strong apple cider vinegar smell and taste it is ready, if not, allow it to ferment a little longer.
Apple Cider Vinegar Notes
You do not need to add the apple cider mother, this just helps kickstart your vinegar. If you do add it, you can add store bought vinegar with the mother or a bit of your previous batch.
You may notice that your vinegar grows a thick, rubbery mother or that dark floating bits may appear or it may become cloudy. These two things are okay. Keep an eye out for mould as that it not okay and your vinegar will need to be thrown out and you will have to start again. To stop the fermentation process, replace with a proper lid and store in the fridge. It should last up to 12 months when refrigerated.
It is generally recommended not to use this homemade vinegar in preserving and pickling. To use vinegar in preservation, it needs an acetic acid level of 5%, and since the levels in this vinegar have not been checked, it is best just to skip using it.
Uses for Scrappy Apple Vinegar
Here is a list of some of the uses, though there are many, many more:
- To soak grains
- To make homemade salad dressings
- As a substitute for white vinegar in recipes
- Use when making bone broth
- To make homemade mayonnaise
- As an immune system booster
- Use as a facial toner or hair rinse
- To get rid of fruit flies
- To clean the house – infuse with citrus peels
More Apple Resources
- Apple Scrap Jelly
- How to Dehydrate Apples
- Slow Cooker Apple Butter
- Mulberry and Apple Jam
- Apple Alphabet Matching Cards
- Apple Life Cycle Playdough Mats
- Apple Seed Counting Mats
- Apple Printable Pack
- Apple Life Cycle Flip Book
- Apple Lapbook
- Apple Notebooking Pages
- Apple Letter Find
Make Scrappy Apple Cider Vinegar
Simple Living. Creative LearningIngredients
- Apple Scraps - peels and cores, no rotten bits
- 1 TBSP sugar per cup of water
- 1 TBSP apple cider with the mother per cup of water, optional
- pure, warm water
Instructions
- This recipe is designed for you to adjust the measurements depending on how much you want to make and how many apple scraps you have.
- Make sure the apples are cleaned before peeling them. I like to cut up the cores a bit before adding as well. Fill a glass jar about ¾ full of apple scraps that have no rotten bits or mould.
- Measure the water as you pour it over the apple scraps. You will need enough to just cover the apple scraps. Leave about 2-3 inches of room at the top of the jar.
- Add the apple cider mother, if using.
- Stir in the sugar.
- Cover the jar with a piece of cloth or a coffee filter and keep in place with an elastic band or jar ring.
- Place in a dark cupboard to ferment at room temperature.
- Check every few days, giving it a gentle stir.
- After 2 weeks, strain out the apple scraps and discard. Bottle up your apple cider vinegar.
- Allow to rest for at least another 2 weeks before using. You will need to use a bottle that can handle carbonation, as it will continue to ferment until all the sugar is consumed. If it has a strong apple cider vinegar smell and taste it is ready, if not, allow it to ferment a little longer.
Notes
- You do not need to add the apple cider mother, this just helps kickstart your vinegar. If you do add it, you can add store bought vinegar with the mother or a bit of your previous batch.
- You may notice that your vinegar grows a thick, rubbery mother or that dark floating bits may appear or it may become cloudy. These two things are okay. Keep an eye out for mould as that it not okay and your vinegar will need to be thrown out and you will have to start again. To stop the fermentation process, replace with a proper lid and store in the fridge. It should last up to 12 months when refrigerated.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. The values may vary according to the ingredients and tools that are used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed information.
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