Making homemade, organic apple vinegar

We had a modest haul of apples from our establishing orchard this year, and I used some of our apples to make our own organic, homemade apple vinegar.

The process couldn’t be simpler and you just need apples, water and sugar. That’s it. We took four apples, cut them in half and then quartered them.

We placed them in a 1.5 litre jar and filled it with dechlorinated water – this is important because you don’t want the chlorine killing off the bacteria that will help make the vinegar. The top apple bits will float to the top. That’s fine.

We then added four teaspoons of sugar to the water, took a spoon and mixed everything ensuring the sugar fully dissolved. We then left the lid ajar and covered it with a tea towel, and left it in a cool, dark space for two weeks.

Once a day we’d give the liquid a vigorous stir. After a few days you’ll notice that a froth starts to form which is a result of the fermentation process, and you’ll notice a sweet smell starting to form. This is a sign that things are working.

At the two week mark you’ll notice the liquid gets darker. Strain out the fruit. Ours went onto the compost heap.

Keep the liquid at room temperature and keep stirring once a day. Do not seal the container because you want oxygen to keep the process going. Between 3-4 weeks the liquid will start to smell like vinegar and will taste sour.

Funnel the liquid into a bottle and put a cap on it. Put it in a dark place and use it for salad dressings, marinades, tinctures, pickling and anything else you’d used vinegar for.

Super easy and cheap to make. It just needs time and patience.