Find out how to make vinegar from apples in four easy steps. All you need are some apple scraps to make homemade apple scraps vinegar right in your homestead! Follow these four easy steps on how to make vinegar and never buy this essential homesteading ingredient again!
How to Make Vinegar On the Homestead In 4 Steps
In This Article:
Homemade Vinegar Ingredients
- Apple peelings and apple cores
- Dark glass bottles
You will need organically-grown apples, some dark glass bottles, and some extra patience. Easy! It is important to use only organic apples because we don’t want the chemicals from insecticide spray to leach into the vinegar.
It’s also good to know red apples contain more sugar than green ones, so red apples make stronger vinegar. You will also notice your solution using red apples will be pinkish at the start.
So without further ado, let’s get this homemade apple scraps vinegar project started!
How to Make Vinegar from Apples
Step 1. Wash Your Apples and Cut Them Into Small Pieces
Make a mush out of the apples by hand or with your trusted electric juicer or food processor, then strain it through a muslin bag. You can also use apple scraps for this, so the next time you’re baking lots of apple pie, remember to save the peelings and the cores.
Note: If you’re using peelings and apple cores, let the pieces stand at room temperature for an hour to get a bit of that browning apples get when left half-eaten.
Step 2. Store Juice in Clean, Dark, Glass Bottles
Cover the glass bottles with several pieces of cheesecloth held in place with string or rubber. You do not want oxygen coming into your solution but you will want for the CO2 to freely escape from the glass bottles or jar.
Step 3: Store in Cool, Dark Place
Let it sit for about six months, and let nature and time do the rest. When you see bubbles, it means the process is coming along nicely.
Step 4. Strain, Bottle, and Cork
After some weeks, a filmy layer will appear on the surface of the solution. This is called the ‘mother’ and it is reported to have some benefits as it contains probiotics or good bacteria. You might want to leave it there or strain it if you want a clear homemade vinegar.
There you have it, homesteaders! Apple scraps vinegar you can make on your own. You’ve just learned how to make vinegar in a bottle! Remember to store jars covered in the refrigerator to preserve freshness.
Check out this video from Divas Can Cook on how to make apple cider from scratch! From this recipe, you can also proceed to make apple cider vinegar from scratch, too:
Use this vinegar recipe to learn how to make apple cider vinegar at home. Making your own vinegar means that there won’t be any icky preservatives added to it. The vinegar will definitely taste better because you can customize its flavor! There is a delightful unpredictability to homemade vinegar since you have the freedom to choose the main ingredient. There are many varieties of this tangy, fermented liquid, but the most common variation is apple cider vinegar.
How did your vinegar-making go? Did these steps help you learn how to make vinegar? We’d love to hear from you! Tell us in the comments section below!
Up Next: 23 Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar | Home Remedies & Apple Cider Vinegar Uses
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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on March 19, 2017, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
kathleen says
January 11, 2015 at 10:25 AMJust what I’ve been looking for
Signa says
March 1, 2015 at 11:55 PMSo, my vinegar making always ends with a bottle full of dried mush, and no liquid. The water evaporates long before the vinegar is even close to being finished. Do you add more water as it evaporates?
Janet says
April 19, 2015 at 11:47 AMDoes it hurt if the apples get mold on top? Do I throw away the batch, or do I dip off the molded and strain?
Zeo Phillpotts says
February 2, 2019 at 9:34 PMThis was a tutorial? I can think of several beneficial options/changes that will improve your readers vinegar making..
* replace the cheese cloth with CO2 bubblers used by wine & beer brewers. You’ll get far less evaporation, and a cleaner, bug-free product.
*If you inoculate your wanna-be vinegar with a known biotic from a known mother, such as Braggs natural vinegars, your chances of getting a flavorful product instead of a sour, foul tasting brew increases dramatically.
*Just as in beer &wine making, cleanliness is key. This is not mentioned in this article. Sure, there are some great wild yeasts our there, but just as many, if not more, wild yeasts that will surprise you with a skunky brew.
* If you really want to try The Wild Thing, do so with small batches (4-8oz), and allowing wild yeasts from several different environments. You will be amazed at the different yeast strains gathered from various locales such as the backyard, the kitchen, another outdoor place, a friends house, the local bakery…
*If you start with a liquid hot enough to kill off any unwanted yeasts, seal your jar until cooled, then expose to your chosen location, you will get a more controlled, reliable product.
* If you try the small batch method, and have given your young vinegar ample time to develope a mother and the acidity of a good vinegar, then sample. See which one suites you best to YOUR tastes. Find your favorite, then use that mother (or the whole mini batch) to inoculate a larger (gallon+ ?) volume of juice/liquid for your final, main batch.
Good luck, and as always, have fun with it!!
PS.: a beer brewers supply house is a great place to find equipment and advice