Making apple cider vinegar yourself at home It’s easy and cheap, and the results are delicious. You only need apples, sugar and water.

If you make your own homemade apple cider vinegar, the great advantage is that you know the ingredients and you can be sure that it does not contain additives (preservative sulfites are usually added) or harmful substances (remains of agricultural pesticides, for example).

Also, if you have an apple tree, it is a very interesting way to take advantage of your entire apple harvest. You can also do this when apples are on sale at the local market. Of course, organic and kilometer 0 apples are preferable.

On the other hand, preparing these simple preparations at home contributes to reducing the production of plastic bottles and CO2 emissions What it means to carry a bottle of vinegar from a distant region or from another country to your home.

Also, anything you do yourself It makes you more self-sufficient and, if it is a food, it tastes better. You can get addicted to your own apple cider vinegar. As if that were not enough, apple cider vinegar has healthy properties, which makes both the process and the result even more attractive.

How to make homemade apple cider vinegar

To make apple cider vinegar at home you don’t need much, but have some basic utensils It is essential. Have them prepared and then follow the instructions detailed below.

It takes a few weeks prepare the apple cider vinegarbut it’s not difficult at all. Please note that the indicated times may vary depending on temperature, type of apple, etc. The ingredients are to obtain approximately 1 liter of apple cider vinegar. Multiply them accordingly to make larger quantities.

The utensils What you should have ready are:

• 2 large (1.5 l) wide-mouth glass containers (Mason jar type)
• 4 small glass bottles (250 ml)
• A kitchen towel, paper napkins (or coffee filters) and rubber bands
• A fine mesh strainer and cheesecloth

Ingredients (for 1 liter of apple cider vinegar):

• 500 g organic apples without spots or signs of deterioration (you can also use a similar amount of apple cores or skins)
• 250 grams of sugar
• 1.5 l of natural or filtered mineral water

Step by step preparation:

1. Wash the apples well, remove the core and cut them into small cubes. Try not to cut or crush the seeds.
2. Place the apple pieces in the large clean or sterilized container and add cold water until the apples are completely covered and approximately 4 cm under water.
3. Sprinkle the sugar on top and stir everything well.
4. Then place a small plate over the apple pieces inside the container. That way none of them will float to the top (if they come into contact with air they could rot and spoil the fermentation).
5. Cover the container with a kitchen towel, secure it with a rubber band, and place it in a dark place at room temperature (around 21ºC). You should leave it there for a couple of weeks. Stir the apples once a day with a wooden spoon.
6. After that time, The apples will have settled to the bottom, they will no longer have a tendency to float. A white foam will have formed on the surface, Remove it with a wooden spoon and then pour the cider through the strainer or cheesecloth and fill the other large container, which you will have sterilized shortly before. Cover each jar with a napkin and secure with a rubber band. Throw the apples in the organic trash or compost pile.
7. Place the container in the same place at room temperature (the temperature may now be a little higher) and leave it there for four or five more weeks. During this time it will go from being cider to becoming vinegar. Don’t be surprised when after two weeks The so-called mother of vinegar is formed, a kind of gelatinous mass that floats in the jar. Stir every two or three days. If white sprouts or a whitish coating appear on the surface of the water, remove them (it is a harmless mold, but you don’t want it to grow).
8. Test the vinegar every two or three days to see if it has reached the point of acidity and flavor you want. You can soak a test strip under the mother to measure the acidity (found in pharmacies), which should be 4-5. If the value is greater than 5, the appropriate acidity level has not been reached. and fermentation must continue.
9. Whether you have done the test or not (your sense of smell may be enough), pour the vinegar through a fine strainer and cheesecloth into the small bottles, also sterilized, and close them tightly with a screw-on metal lid. Save the mother to make more vinegar with the same production process, but faster. You just have to add the mother to the apples along with the water.
10. Let the vinegar mature in these bottles in a cool place or in the refrigerator for eight to ten weeks. Then you can start using vinegar in your recipes.

Some questions you can ask yourself

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The preparation of apple cider vinegar is simple but playing with the fermentation always produces respect. Beginners may ask themselves a few questions.

Why is sugar added?

To make vinegar, you first need to make an alcohol. Sugar is the best food for the yeasts found in apples to feed and develop quickly, giving rise to the mother of vinegar. Then those bacteria will convert the alcohol into acetic acid.

In theory you can make vinegar without added sugar, so that the bacteria multiply thanks to the sugars in the fruit itself, but the process is much slower and increases the risk of mold or pathogenic bacteria developing.

How long can homemade vinegar last?

As much as the commercial one, which is a product that does not need refrigeration and has a very long expiration date. It is normal for some mother to form on the surface or bottom. You can remove it and continue consuming the vinegar. After six months it can begin to lose quality.

Why are jars covered with cloths or napkins?

During the fermentation process we need air to enter and gases to escape. Once the fermentation has finished, during maturation and storage, we are interested in stopping the fermentation, so the bottles are tightly covered.

What symptoms may indicate that the process has not gone well?

The presence at any time of green, gray, black, or brown mold or foam above apple cider vinegar during or after fermentation indicates that contamination has occurred and you must throw it away. The molds and bacteria that have developed could be dangerous. But this can only happen if you have not been careful with hygiene or have allowed apple pieces to float above the water surface.

How to make «switchel» with your apple cider vinegar

The «switchel» is a drink made of water mixed with apple cider vinegar and ginger. It is usually sweetened with molasses, honey, sugar, brown sugar or maple syrup. This drink is native to the Caribbean and was popular in the American colonies at the end of the 17th century. If you want to make «switchel» yourself at home, all you need is:

Ingredients:

• 1.5 liters of water
• 1 large ginger rhizome
• 175 ml honey (or maple syrup)
• 125 ml apple cider vinegar
• 100 ml lemon juice

Elaboration:

1. Boil the water.
2. Meanwhile, peel and cut the ginger into large pieces.
3. Add the ginger to the boiling water and let it simmer for two minutes.
4. Remove the pot from the heat and let the ginger soak and cool for 20 minutes before adding any other ingredients.
5. Strain the ginger infusion through a sieve. You can use the ginger pieces for cooking or boil them again to make another infusion.
6. Add the honey, apple cider vinegar and lemon juice to the switchel and stir.

You can enjoy the «switchel» cold or hot. Be careful not to heat the drink above 40 degrees, otherwise valuable ingredients will be lost.