Apple cider vinegar is simply apple cider that has been allowed to ferment past the drinking stage. Apple cider vinegar is great to use in homemade salad dressings and other cooking and is claimed to have healing properties for everything from skin irritations to weight loss. Making apple cider vinegar at home is not at all hard to do and requires very little equipment, but it does take a bit of time.
Instructions
The Old Fashioned Method
1. Purchase only fresh apple cider, which can be found at Farmer’s Markets and some health food stores. Make sure that apples are the only ingredients, as any additive such as ascorbic acid will kill the natural yeast growth needed to make vinegar.
2. Transfer the cider to a clean crock or jar if it is bottled in plastic. As the vinegar works, plastic can expand and crack.
3. Cover the crock or jar with cheesecloth and secure the cloth with a wide rubber band.
4. Let the apple cider sit in a cool, dark place for at least 3 months. Natural yeasts in the air will turn the cider to vinegar. Taste after 3 months and if ready, use a siphon to rebottle the vinegar into glass jars with a tight fitting lid. The cider can take up to six months to become a full-bodied vinegar.
Quick Method
5. Follow step one above. If the cider is purchased in plastic, transfer the liquid to a glass bottle.
6. Add 1 tablespoon bread yeast to the cider. Put the top on the bottle and shake to distribute the yeast evenly. Remove the top.
7. Secure a wine-making airlock to the bottle. Set the bottle in a cool, dark place and let the vinegar work for at least a month.
8. Check after a month to make sure the cider has turned to vinegar. Siphon the finished vinegar to clear jars and close with a lid.
Tags: cider vinegar, apple cider, Apple cider vinegar, cool dark, cool dark place, dark place