Preparation Steps

• Fill the glass jar ¾ of the way with the apple peels and cores.
• Stir the sugar into the water until it’s mostly dissolved, and pour over the apple scraps until they are completely covered. (Leave a few inches of room at the top of the jar.)
• Cover loosely with a coffee filter or fabric scrap secured with a rubber band and set in a warm, dark place for around two weeks.
• You can give it a stir every few days, if you like. If any brownish/greyish scum develops on the top, simply skim it off.
• Once two weeks has passed, strain the scraps from the liquid.
• At this point, my vinegar usually has a pleasantly sweet apple cider smell, but is still missing that unmistakable tang.
• Discard the scraps (or feed them to your chickens!), and set the strained liquid aside for another 2-4 weeks.
• You’ll know your apple cider vinegar is complete once it has that unmistakable vinegary smell and taste. If it’s not quite there yet, simply allow it to sit a while longer.
• Once you are happy with the taste of your vinegar, simply cap and store it as long as you like. It won’t go bad.
• If a gelatinous blob develops on the top of your vinegar, congratulations! You have created a vinegar 'mother'.
• Use your homemade vinegar just like you would store-bought vinegar– for cooking, cleaning and everything in between!