Apple Cider Vinegar

Prepare your water-sugar (or water-honey) mixture by mixing 4 tablespoons honey/sugar with 1 cup filtered water. Chop 3 organic apples, or prepare 5 to 6 cups organic apple scraps. If apples are not organic, peel them and discard peel. Add apple pieces to jar; they should fill it to about half.

Pour 3 cups filtered water apples in jar. Next, pour water-honey mixture into jar. Use long metal spoon to stir mixture. You will need to stir every day for the next 2 weeks.

Cover jar loosely with coffee filter fixed to top with rubber band or twine. Don’t use cheesecloth as small bugs and fruit flies can get through gaps in it.

Store in dark corner of your kitchen or inside a cupboard, or cover with a tea towel for about 2 weeks (or 4 weeks if using honey). Stir mixture with a metal spoon or swish the jar every day. The optimal temperature range for the fermentation process is 54 to 70 degrees F.

After 2 to 4 weeks, strain out apple solids and discard. Put remaining liquid back in same jar and place on countertop. Let sit for additional 2 to 4 weeks or longer.

You can smell and taste your apple cider vinegar to determine when it is done fermenting. Store your finished vinegar in the refrigerator because it is not pasteurized.