Waste not, want not and all those thrifty proverbs are perfect for scrappy apple vinegar. Making apple cider vinegar from scraps is practically free and you end up with a light and refreshing vinegar that is probiotic. Best of all, it is REALLY EASY to make. So get thrifty and turn your apple scraps into something useful!
Scrappy apple vinegar is different from a traditional apple cider vinegar. It is a bright and fresh vinegar compared to the earthy, full flavour of traditional cider vinegar. Here’s what you can expect from scrappy apple vinegar:
- Perfect for adding tanginess to cooked recipes.
- Use it in salad dressing or as a health tonic.
- It is probiotic! So it can be used to culture other foods.
- Don’t use it for canning, unless you test the pH
. Otherwise, you don’t know the exact acidity levels.
. Otherwise, you don’t know the exact acidity levels.For a more traditional apple cider vinegar, make cider vinegar from juice.
PrintScrappy Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar made from scraps is cheap and easy. It also tastes great and is full of probiotics.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 1 quart jar 1x
- Category: Condiment
- Method: Fermented
Ingredients
- Apple scraps (peels and cores; bruises are OK but no rotten bits)
- Water (chlorine free)
- 1 tbsp sugar per cup of water
- 1 tbsp of apple cider mother per cup of water (optional)
Instructions
- This recipe is designed so you just pack jars with apple scraps as you make them. So adjust the measurements to suit the amount of apple scraps you have.
- Wash your apples before peeling them, then fill a glass jar 3/4 full of apple scraps. Just make sure the scraps are free of mold.
- Add the mother and pour water over the apples scraps, measuring as you go so you know how much water you’ve used. You only need enough water to just cover the apple scraps.
- Stir in 1 tbsp of sugar per cup of water.
- Cover the jar with a piece of cloth or a coffee filter and keep in place with an elastic band or jar ring.
- Place somewhere dark to ferment at room temperature.
- Check every few days to stir.
- After 2 weeks strain out the scraps and bottle the vinegar. Allow the vinegar to rest for at least another 2 weeks before using. It will continue to ferment until all the sugar is consumed, so use a bottle that can handle the build up of carbonation. (See notes.)
Notes
- A mother isn’t required for this recipe, however, it will kickstart your vinegar. Either use a bit of a previous batch of homemade vinegar or a store bought vinegar with mother. There are a number of brands of cider vinegar with mother available on the market, including: Viva Naturals
, Braggs
and Dynamic Health
- The vinegar may grow a thick rubbery mother, and/or there might be dark floating bits. Both of these things are fine. Mold is not OK… If you get mold then throw it out and start again. Below is a picture of a mother, notice how it is thick and rubbery. Mold is fuzzy.
- The vinegar will continue to ferment until all of the sugar is gone. So age in plastic pop bottles, swing-top beer bottles or fido jars
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Keywords: vegan, gluten free, ACV, probiotic, free, affordable, keto, paleo, summer, fall
This was a great way to use up the apple scraps from making apple sauce. Super thrifty! And so much cheaper than buying ACV. Thanks!
★★★★★
Great! It’s a go-to recipe for me too!
can you use an airlock like a pickle pipe for this? or does it need oxygen for the ferment? thanks!
You can use an airlock, but only if you are certain that your cider vinegar has a healthy mother. Otherwise it needs the free-range yeasts in your home to ferment.
thanks!!
a bunch of thanks to the recipe. I am sure gonna try it the soonest. More power!
★★★★
Thanks!
How do you prevent mold? I’ve done 2 now and both times, I’ve had it mold ♀️ Thanks so much for the help
Kylee, I’m sorry to hear that you’ve lost two batches of scrappy ACV. I only ever had mold once, and I was using apple scraps that I had collected and frozen. Now I just make it every fall with fresh apples. Here are my suggestions for preventing mold:
1. Do you have mold in your house? If that’s an issue, then you’ll want to use a fido or airlock to prevent contamination. I know I suggest starting with open air fermenting, but it should still ferment if you start with a good ACV culture.
2. Clean out your jar by filling it with boiling water and leaving it for 5 minutes. That should kill any mold in the jar.
3. Lastly, only use good apple scraps. Wash the skins before you peel the apples and compost any spots that look off. Cores and peels are fine as long as they aren’t bruised and moldy.
Good luck!
How do you store your mothers when not in use and how long can you store them without using them?
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I just leave them in the cider vinegar, then transfer them when I make a new batch of vinegar. I admit that I have 4-5 containers of AVC at any given time. If I have too much mother, then I just mix it into a salad dressing.
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How long does the vinegar stay good?
I usually use up my vinegar within 1 year, and I’ve never had it go off. I imagine it could last several years provided you got to the right pH level. Enjoy!