You won’t believe how easy it is to make homemade apple cider vinegar from apple scraps. It’s so good for you, and it costs less than a penny per tablespoon.
I love turning trash into treasure, and this apple cider vinegar recipe is an example of that. When I recently read that you can make your own vinegar from apple scraps, I knew I wanted to try it.
Apple cider vinegar has so many uses, including salad dressing and turning milk into buttermilk. Some people swear by it as a digestive aid, a skin care product, and a hair conditioner (see this Apple Cider Vinegar
book). It costs next to nothing to make, and it doesn’t require any work. If you can make a spot for the jar on your counter, you can make this recipe.
Apple scraps soaking in honey water
The bubbles show the fermentation process after one week.
Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Process
To make your own apple cider vinegar, submerge apple scraps in water and mix in a little sugar or honey. The mixture will sit at room temperature for couple weeks to get the process started.
After a few weeks, the scraps get strained out and the vinegar sits at room temperature for at least another month. Eventually, it will begin to taste like the ACV you can buy at the store.
Here’s a short video showing the simple process of making homemade vinegar:
Apple Cider Vinegar
Ingredients
- Cores and peels from 6-8 apples ideally organic
- 2 tbs honey or sugar
- Water to cover
Instructions
- After you use the apples to make a wonderful apple treat (such as apple pie bread), place the cores and peels in a large, wide-mouthed jar. I use a 4-cup jar, but you can adjust the size of the jar to the amount of apple scraps you're using.
- Cover the scraps with water and stir in the honey or sugar.
- Place a paper towel on top of the jar, and secure it with a band.
- Let the mixture soak for 2 weeks at room temperature (I use the back of a cabinet shelf), and then strain out the liquid. Discard the solids.
- Return the liquid to the jar and cover it again with a paper towel and band. Leave it for 4 more weeks, stirring daily.
- Taste it and see if it has the acidity you would like. If it does, transfer it to a covered bottle for storage. If not, leave it in the wide-mouthed jar for a little while longer, checking every few days.
Nutrition
Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe Price Breakdown
I don’t assign a price to water in my recipes, and since apple scraps are usually discarded, this vinegar costs just $.30 to make, or $.10 a cup. That’s less than a penny per tablespoon. It’s a wonderful flavor on salad and a helpful digestive aid.
Check out my homemade coconut milk for another great affordable DIY recipe!
JanRenae says
May 25, 2018 at 10:43 amI’m going to try this with my kids, as soon as we get moved. Now I’ve got to get my hands on a narrow mouth canning jar
Jenny says
October 1, 2016 at 5:50 pmI am trying this bit today when I went to discard the apple scraps some on the top were moldy. Just wondering what I did wrong? Not enough water covering. Any help wold be appreciated. Thanks.
Annemarie says
October 2, 2016 at 8:39 amJenny, you can avoid the mold by using a jar that gets narrower at the top. This will help keep the apple scraps submerged. Your vinegar should still be okay, but if you’re not sure, you can always use it as a household cleaner.
Meghan Schrock says
September 15, 2016 at 11:53 amHi, what about gnats? Theyve gotten past my cheesecloth and into it…
Annemarie says
September 15, 2016 at 12:57 pmMeghan, I’m guessing it would be fine after you strained out the gnats, but to be on the safe side, you could use this batch as a household cleaner. I use a paper towel or tighter butter muslin (rather than cheesecloth), so I haven’t had fruit flies get into my vinegar.
Deanna Segrave-Daly (@tspbasil) says
August 30, 2016 at 9:19 pmWho knew this was so easy? Definitely featuring in a future Healthy Kitchen Hacks post!
taramdeal says
August 30, 2016 at 4:27 pmThis is so cool!!! I love finding a higher purpose for our scraps too 🙂 I’ve just gotten into making kombucha…I think this is the next experiment I need to conjure up!
heathersfp says
August 30, 2016 at 10:06 amI cannot wait to make this! I use cider vinegar daily,, and would love to have homemade
Jen says
March 3, 2016 at 9:37 pmGreat post! Does anyone have a suggestion for replacing paper towel? I see some have tried cheese cloth but had issues. Would a towel work?
Annemarie says
March 3, 2016 at 9:43 pmJen, a thin towel or butter muslin should also work.
Jen says
March 4, 2016 at 11:20 amThank you Annemarie!
Monica Snider says
September 23, 2018 at 7:22 pmcoffee filter?
Annemarie says
September 23, 2018 at 7:26 pmA coffee filter would work.
Jennifer says
August 12, 2018 at 12:30 pmI like to use paper coffee filters
Teresa says
January 31, 2016 at 12:37 pmHi, I am wondering if I could use red wing crocks for this instead of a glass jar? I have a 1 and 2 gallon I would like to use.
Annemarie says
January 31, 2016 at 12:39 pmI’ve never tried this in a crock, Teresa, but I don’t think it would be a problem.
frances says
January 30, 2016 at 2:22 pmHi there. Fantastic Blog, many thanks. Did I read that you can use a Scoby from Kombucha Tea to make ACV? If so can you use the Mother from ACV to make Kombucha?
My ACV with the Mother in it looks like spider webbs or maybe cloudy is a better description. I want to make my own ACV and I will use the left over sediment from the bought ACV which is the Mother. I make a lot of Bone Broth and ACV is part of the recipe.
Regards
Frances from Sunny South Africa
Annemarie says
January 30, 2016 at 6:46 pmFrances, you can make your own ACV using the sediment from store-bought vinegar. I’m not sure of the relationship to kombucha, though. Let me know if you experiment with it.