Making Apple Cider Vinegar

If you have access to an apple tree, fall is the perfect time to make a batch of apple cider vinegar.  There are several ways to make vinegar from apples, but if you have a quantity of apples and want to be efficient, you can use a cider press to squeeze the juice from the apples.  Check out my "Making Apple Cider using an Apple Press" post for instructions for making apple cider. You can also use a juicer for smaller quantities.

Vinegar, bottled and ready to use.

The exciting thing about making your own apple cider vinegar is that you get a unique flavor based on the apple variety you use.  And the flavors are absolutely delicious!

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Our red apple tree ripens early in the season and makes a complex fruity flavored vinegar whereas our storage apple tree produces a very sweet vinegar.  (I would recommend keeping a journal listing the apple varieties you plant otherwise you will forget them after 20 years!)  

Our crab apple tree produces a red cider and a tart almost cranberry-like vinegar.  If you have access to apples, experiment and enjoy vinegar diversity! You can also blend juice from different trees for even more variety. 

Some people make apple cider vinegar in a two step process by first fermenting the fresh juice into hard cider using a fermentation vessel with an airlock and then making the hard cider into vinegar. I have tried both techniques and have found the freshest most "applely" tasting vinegar is made using the one step process outlined below.


Assemble your Supplies

Crock - thrift store often carry crock pot inserts that are inexpensive
Dish towel - the white ones with a fine weave
Rubber band

Assemble your Ingredients

Apple cider - fresh and unpasteurized
Apple cider vinegar - raw with the mother
Apple cider vinegar mother (optional)

The vinegar mother is a layer or disc with a gummy, jelly-like consistency that forms on the top of the fermenting crock as the juice ferments into vinegar.  It can also take another form and look wispy with web-like strands. This film is a cellulose substance containing complex sugars and acetic acid that, in the presence of oxygen, converts alcohol into acetic acid (vinegar).  Acetic acid is a substance that is found naturally in raw apple juice/cider.

The Process

Clean your crock with soapy water, rinse thoroughly, dry, and then wipe the interior with a cloth that has been dampened with vinegar. 

Pour the fresh cider into the clean crock.  The crock should have a wide opening as maximum air exposure is necessary for fermentation.

Add the raw apple cider vinegar to the apple juice at the rate of 1 cup per gallon. You can find Braggs raw vinegar at most co-ops for your first batch and then use your own raw apple cider vinegar for the subsequent batches.  If you have a vinegar mother, now is the time to add it as well.

Fresh cider with a mother added and floating on top.

When you look at a bottle of raw apple cider vinegar you will notice residue on the bottom.  This brown and powdery residue is pieces of the vinegar "mother" and filled with probiotics.  Shake the bottle before dispensing to make sure you get some of the residue each time you use the vinegar. 

Raw apple cider vinegar with residue of the mother.

Vinegar mothers can be saved for future use.  Just put them in a glass jar, fill with finished vinegar, put on a plastic lid, label, and store in a cool dark place.

Last year's vinegar mother stored for future use.

Vinegar mothers will form to the shape of the top of fermenting container.  In the photo above the amber colored mother was formed on the top of a very large crock and is folded to fit into the glass jar.  Mothers can also appear in a disc shape like the thick cream colored mother that formed over time on top of the jar in the picture below.  Both will accelerate the transformation from fresh cider to vinegar.

A cream colored vinegar mother has formed on the top of the jar.

After the vinegar and mother have been added to the crock of cider, place a towel over the top, secure with a rubber band and place it in a room that is above 70 degrees.  A dish towel with a tight weave, double layered will keep out insects and dust.  Fruit flies are especially attracted to vinegar.  If you get fruit flies in your vinegar you will need to dispose of it.

A wide mouth crock pot insert covered with a dish towel makes an effective fermenting vessel.

In time a mother will start to form over the top.  This will at first just look like a cloudy film, but will thicken with time.  Try not to disturb the mother. (universally good advice!)

The sugars in the cider will first ferment into alcohol and then transform into vinegar.  The length of the process will depend on the temperature of the room along with the strength of the vinegar and mother you added.  The ideal temperature range is 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, but 59 to 94 degrees is acceptable. 

Check the crock periodically and when it smells and tastes like vinegar with no hint of alcohol, remove the mother and bottle the vinegar. You can use a straw or plastic spoon inserted along an edge to remove a small amount.  Plan on the fermentation process taking a month or longer. 

If you notice mold forming at any time during this process, discard the batch as it is no longer safe to consume.

Use glass bottles, preferably with a small opening.  Fill them to the top and then screw on a tight cap.  The small opening will limit the amount of oxygen the vinegar is exposed to which will, in turn, significantly slow down the ongoing fermentation.  Plastic caps are preferable as vinegar will rust metal and that rust will contaminate the vinegar. 

Raw apple cider vinegar is cloudy and the residue of the mother will settle to the bottom of the jar and may look stringy.  Shake before each use to evenly distribute the bits of mother than contain beneficial enzymes, pectin and trace minerals.

Filled bottles can be stored in a dark cool room without the need for refrigeration.  The vinegar will continue to ferment, but much slower with very limited access to air.  In some cases the aging of vinegar enhances and mellows the flavor.

Save the mother in a jar covered with your finished vinegar in a cool, dark location.  (A basement or crawl space is an ideal location.)

Be aware that heating, pasteurizing, or filtering AC vinegar will destroy or remove many of it's beneficial constituents.


Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

• Raw apple cider vinegar is a probiotic and provides beneficial bacteria the body needs for immune function and for effective digestion of food.

• The malic acid in vinegar is antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal.

• Vinegar has traditionally been used as a disinfectant, preservative, and detoxifier.

• The American Diabetes Association has published several studies where AC vinegar was used to reduce the waking glucose concentration and improve insulin sensitivity in adults with Type 2 diabetes.

• Apple cider vinegar is reported to lower blood sugar response after meals and increase the feeling of fullness.

Vinegar Uses

• Homemade vinegar is a delicious ingredient in made-from-scratch salad dressings.

• Fire Cider (Check out my post) uses vinegar as the base and boosts the immune system which helps to prevent colds and flu from taking hold.

• Vinegar infused with plantain leaves and diluted with filtered water makes an effective facial toner that balances the skin's PH levels, prevents the formation of blemishes, and improves the overall appearance of the skin.

• For a shiny head of hair, use diluted vinegar (try infusing with herbs) as a rinse.

• Adding vinegar while making bone broth increases the amount of minerals the water absorbs.

• A splash of vinegar adds a nice zing to cooked greens.

• Vinegar can be used as a solvent for herbal infusions.  It effectively absorbs minerals from plant material.  Herbalist, Susan Weed suggests infusing yellow dock root in vinegar and using it as an calcium supplement.

Once you have successfully made your own apple cider vinegar you can move on to other adventures.  Try using fresh pear juice instead of apple juice.  Grape juice is another option.  (I have had the best success with grapes by first fermenting the juice into wine and then into vinegar.) 

Like many homemade food items, the taste of home fermented apple cider vinegar is far superior to any available commercially.  Once you have this wonderful resource on hand you will find many ways to use it and wish you had made even more!

Happy fermenting! 

Please note: The objective of this blog is to raise awareness of alternative ways to achieve wellness and to empower you to take an active role in your health decisions.  To accomplish this, you will need to explore these subjects in greater depth and then determine what makes sense for your life.  My hope is that this information will inspire you to start your own search into ways to make your life happier, healthier and more fulfilling.