Go Back Email Link

MAKE YOUR OWN APPLE CIDER VINEGAR FROM APPLE JUICE

Course: Sauces, Marinades & Rubs
Author: Excerpted from Homebrewed Vinegar© by Kirsten K. Shockey. Used with permission from Storey Publishing

Ingredients

  • 1 gallon apple juice with no added preservatives
  • ½ teaspoon wine yeast or, in a pinch, baker’s yeast
  • ¼ cup unchlorinated water heated to 104 degrees F
  • 1 cup raw unfiltered vinegar starter (make sure it is unpasteurized), or a vinegar mother

Instructions

  • Fill a sanitized 1-gallon jar with juice, leaving about 2 inches of headspace.
  • If using wine yeast, hydrate the yeast by sprinkling it over the warm water in a cup. Stir gently, let sit for 20 minutes, then add hydrated yeast liquid to the jar and stir well.
  • Cover jar with a piece of unbleached cotton (butter muslin or tightly woven cheesecloth), or a basket-style paper coffee filter. Secure the cloth or filter with a string or rubber band, or the screw on the jar ring. This is to keep out fruit flies.
  • Place in an environment where the temperature is between 55 and 65 degrees F.
  • At 7 to 10 days, add vinegar starter. Replace cover on jar. Store on your counter or in another spot that is 75 to 86 degrees F. Over the next few weeks, a mother will likely develop. It is a cellulose film that grows on top.
  • Check the vinegar in a month, when you should have nice acidity. However, it may take an additional month or two to fully develop, especially if your environment is cooler.
  • Bottle finished vinegar in an airtight bottle. Save the mother for another batch or share it with a friend. Use vinegar immediately, or age to allow it to mellow and further develop flavor.
QR Code linking back to recipe