Apple cider vinegar how to make it. Making apple cider vinegar at home

Apple cider vinegar (ocet) is used in cooking as a seasoning and preservative, in cosmetology to create anti-aging masks, in folk medicine for certain ailments. You can buy it in the store, but to be sure of the quality, it is better to make apple cider vinegar at home using simple recipe. We'll consider classical technology, giving the most useful product.

Theory. The preparation of apple cider vinegar consists of three main steps:

• fermentation - the processing by yeast of sugar (natural in fruits and introduced) into alcohol without air access, as a result, young wine is obtained, preferably with a strength of 6-10%;
• souring - the conversion of wine alcohol into vinegar under the influence of bacteria of the Acetobacteraceae family, which are activated when oxygen is available;
• filtering the finished vinegar and bottling for storage.

Vinegar can be made from homemade apple wine (preferably dry) of any aging. Store-bought counterparts, such as cider, are not suitable because they contain sulfur or other substances that prevent the development of acetic bacteria. If you have finished wine, immediately proceed to the 11th stage of the preparation technology. This will greatly simplify and speed up the process.

Attention! The authors of some apple cider vinegar recipes suggest adding pressed or dry yeast, bread, and other ingredients to the composition. The resulting drink will not be natural vinegar and will lose some useful properties, since ordinary ethyl alcohol will appear instead of wine alcohol.

Ingredients:

• apples - 10 kg;
• sugar - 50-80 grams per liter of juice (optional);
• water - 50-100 ml per liter of juice (in some cases).

apple cider vinegar recipe

1. Unwashed apples (very dirty, wipe with a dry cloth) cut into slices, remove the core and seeds. On the surface of the apples are wild yeast, thanks to which the juice will ferment.

2. Grind the slices with a grater, meat grinder or in another way to a puree state.

3. Put the puree together with the extracted juice in a non-metallic container with a wide neck, for example, enamel pan or a plastic basin. Cover with gauze.

4. Put for 2-3 days in a dark place with room temperature. Stir every 8-12 hours with a clean hand or a wooden stick. When the apple mass darkens, foam, hiss and a slight smell of fermentation appear on top, proceed to the next step.

5. Squeeze the puree through cheesecloth or a press. Squeezes are no longer needed.

6. Pour the filtered fermented juice into a jar or glass bottle, filling no more than 75% of the volume.

7. Taste it. If the juice is not sweet, add sugar based on the proportions in the recipe, mix. The juice should be sweet, but not cloying (the maximum allowable sugar content is 20%). If you feel strong acidity (pinching tongue), add water.

8. Install a water seal or a medical glove with a hole in the finger on the neck of the container (made with a needle). Check the tightness of the connection between the neck and the water seal to prevent air from entering inside.

9. Transfer the bottle (jar) to a dark place with a temperature of 20-25°C for 25-40 days.

10. At the end of fermentation (the water seal does not release gas or the glove is blown off, the wine has brightened, a layer of sediment has appeared at the bottom), drain the young wine through a straw, without touching the sediment at the bottom, so that Apple vinegar turned out bright without turbidity.

11. Pour the wine into a container with a wide neck. The larger the contact area of ​​wine with air, the better. You can leave it to sour in a jar, but the cooking time will increase. Top with gauze to protect against insects. After some time, a film (a layer of Mycoderma aceti bacteria) may appear on the surface, this is normal.

In a wide container, the wine will sour faster.

12. Leave for 45-60 days in a dark place (or cover) at 18-23°C. The wine will gradually turn sour, turning into vinegar. At the end of fermentation, the characteristic pungent smell of souring will disappear.

13. Filter the finished homemade apple cider vinegar through 3-4 layers of gauze or a thick cloth, pour into bottles for storage, close tightly.

When stored in a place protected from sunlight, for example, on a dark shelf in a kitchen cabinet, the shelf life is up to 3 years.

Apple cider vinegar has a very pleasant taste and brings undeniable benefit. Food is not the only way to use it. It is popular in folk medicine for the treatment of various diseases of the internal organs and skin. There are many recipes for the preparation of ointments, creams and compresses using vinegar from fresh apples.

Naturally, vinegar from the store has practically no resemblance to homemade vinegar. Its acidity is much higher, sometimes reaching 7%, while in homemade vinegar it cannot be higher than 5%. And also manufacturers often replace natural apple juice for harmful flavors that have nothing to do with traditional ingredients. Making homemade apple cider vinegar is an opportunity to be completely confident in the naturalness of the finished product.

Before you start preparing a fragrant essence from fresh apples, it is important to familiarize yourself with all the features of this process, so that the result only pleased and benefited the body.

As a result of cooking, the vinegar turns out to be opaque. A thick sediment can be found on the bottom of the containers. This should not scare or bother you. Since the product ferments during the infusion process, the sediment is quite impressive. It is as a result of fermentation acetic acid is released. The main element, the appearance of which you need to wait for, is the vinegar uterus. Outwardly, it looks like a jellyfish, and is formed on the surface of the infusion. It is absolutely impossible to remove this film or move it!

The uterus is useful together with vinegar and separately from it. You can prepare tea or infusion from it for the treatment or prevention of various diseases. In purchased vinegar, it is impossible to see the uterus or sediment at the bottom of the container. . They can only be formed during preparation of the product from natural ingredients.

Recipes for making apple cider vinegar at home

There are several options for making apple cider vinegar at home. They differ from each other in the list of ingredients and cooking time.

Quick Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe

Great for those who are looking for the fastest way to make apple cider vinegar at home. The process takes no more than one month. I am pleased with the speed and the minimum amount of products needed for infusion: you only need sugar and homemade apples. The amount of sugar required for cooking will vary depending on the variety of apples and their sweetness.

So, to prepare vinegar at home as soon as possible, you will need:

• 3 kg of apples (it is advisable to choose sweet varieties);
• 200 gr sugar;
• water (the amount depends on the juiciness of the apples).

Fruits must be thoroughly washed under running water and cut into small cubes. To let them juice out, you can slightly crush them and put them in a prepared glass jar or enamel pan. From above, apples are completely covered with sugar. and poured warm water. The water level should be at least 3 cm above the fruit.

The dishes are placed in a warm room without access to sunlight. So that the mass does not dry out, it must be stirred 2 times a day with a wooden spoon.

After 14 days, the apples are filtered through a fine colander or gauze, and the liquid is poured into large bottles.

After another 2 weeks, the vinegar will be ready, it can be poured into sterile bottles. It is important to leave some space under the neck, because the vinegar may continue to ferment, causing the liquid level to rise.

When all the liquid is in the bottles, you can drain the remaining sediment from the bottom of the pan and add to the resulting vinegar. After that, you can tightly close the bottles and store them in a dark place.

American homemade apple cider vinegar

This method originated in America on the recommendation of Dr. Jarvis. It uses additional products that make vinegar even more useful, while increasing its preparation time.

For vinegar from Dr. Jarvis you will need:

• 2 kg of apples;
• 2 liters of water;
• 300 gr lime honey;
• 20 gr of yeast;
• 40 grams of bread.

Apples need to be crushed as much as possible. It is better to make mashed potatoes from them by grating or passing through a meat grinder right with the skin and core. Transfer the resulting mass into a glass container and add water and dry ingredients, which make the fermentation process fast. Cover the top of the container with paper or cloth and place in the shade. The room must be very warm.

The first stage of fermentation lasts 10 days. All this time, the workpiece must be stirred with a wooden stick or spatula. Then you need to express the infusion through a colander or cheesecloth, folded in 2-3 layers.

The mass is weighed and laid out in different containers of 1 kilogram each, sugar is added to it and covered again, placed in an isolated warm place. In this form, the blank will stand for almost 2 months until it becomes transparent. This will mean complete readiness for use. You can store the product in the refrigerator.

Fresh Apple Cider Vinegar

In search of an answer to the question of how to make apple cider vinegar at home, you should consider the method of making it from fresh juice. . Total weight of raw materials will depend on the variety, juiciness and sweetness, so it may vary. Other than fresh apples, no other ingredients are required for the vinegar.

Fruits should be coarsely cut into pieces and laid out on a piece of cloth in an open space so that they oxidize. After darkening, the juice is squeezed out of them using a grater, juicer or ordinary gauze.

Juice is poured into glass bottles, on the neck of which a thin rubber glove is fixed. Then they are placed in a dark place, the temperature in which does not fall below 30–32 degrees. During the fermentation process, the air from the bottle will fill the glove and inflate it. When it is completely inflated, it must be removed. This usually happens after 2-4 weeks.

Infusion from a bottle is poured into a wooden or an earthenware container along with a vinegar uterus. To the edge of the dishes should remain from 8 to 12 centimeters of free space. So the area of ​​contact with oxygen increases significantly, from this the product begins to ferment even faster. The dishes must be covered with a cloth or paper.

The completion of the fermentation process will be indicated by the transparency of the infusion and the complete cessation of the formation of bubbles on the surface. The whole process usually takes 6 to 8 weeks depending on the preparation conditions.

Strained transparent vinegar is poured into small glass bottles and stored with a closed lid in the refrigerator.

Apple cider vinegar with honey

This method allows you to prepare vinegar, similar to the one described in the previous recipe, but much easier and faster. It does not use bread. The composition of the product includes:

• 1 kg of ripe apples (you need to choose the sweetest variety in order to use less sugar);
• 1 liter of cold boiled water;
• 200 gr of honey;
• 150 gr granulated sugar;
• small pack of yeast

Puree is prepared from carefully washed fruits. To do this, they are passed through a meat grinder or rubbed on a fine grater. Honey and yeast are added to it, the mixture is poured with cold boiled water on top. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed, the container is covered with a cloth and cleaned in heat for 2 weeks. To make the fermentation process faster, apples need to be stirred daily with a wooden spoon.

After 14 days, the mass is squeezed out, the resulting juice is mixed with infusion. Sugar is added to the liquid and again put in heat to continue fermentation. It will last 6 to 8 weeks. Readiness will be indicated by the transparency of the vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar infused with sugar

This is one of the most popular ways preparation of a useful product. Making vinegar according to this recipe is not difficult even for beginners. The most important rule is the control of terms and conditions of production.

For sugar vinegar you will need:

• 2 kg of ripe, sweet apples;
• 250 gr of granulated sugar;
• 2 liters of cold boiled water.

For cooking, apples are useful along with the skin and bones. Fruits need to be crushed into puree using a grater or meat grinder and put in an enamel pan. Half of the total amount of granulated sugar and water are added to the puree.

The pan is covered with a cloth or paper towel and left warm for 20 days. Every day it is necessary to check the workpiece and stir it with a spoon. In the process of insisting to mass add the remaining sugar and spread the mixture over glass jars with a wide throat.

The container is left for another 4-5 weeks to pass the second stage of fermentation. Once the vinegar is colorless and clear, it is ready to use.

Apple cider vinegar with yeast

Yeast dough accelerates the natural fermentation process and acts as a good natural catalyst in this method. Thus, the cooking time of vinegar is significantly reduced.

List of ingredients for cooking:

• 2 kg of large, sweet apples;
• 1 tsp granulated sugar;
• 1/4 small package of yeast;
• 4 tablespoons of warm boiled water.

Using a juicer or a fine grater and gauze, squeeze the juice from the fruit and pour it into a glass jar. In a separate glass, mix water, yeast and granulated sugar and leave for a while to get a foamy dough. When bubbles appear in the glass, add the sponge to the fruit juice and put a medical glove on the jar.

When the glove is completely filled with air, you can remove it and leave the jar in the open air for another 8 weeks.

Important to remember that vinegar queen is the main ingredient of the product. From it you can make a new infusion that will ferment much faster, improve the taste and add a lot of useful properties of vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar is a healing product that can be consumed during a cold. This is especially true in autumn, when the body is weak and more susceptible to viral and infectious diseases. It's also a diet drink. which helps to get rid of excess weight.

Apple cider vinegar is the most widely used in everyday life as a preservative. winter preparations, and in folk dietology - someone uses it for treatment or weight loss (although the proven effectiveness of such weight loss methods is in question!). You can buy apple cider vinegar in almost any grocery store. But which vinegar is better to take, how do you know if it is natural or synthesized? Is it possible to trust the manufacturers and what is written on the bottle label? Can you make your own natural apple cider vinegar at home?

In this post, we will tell you how to make apple cider vinegar at home, according to simple recipes, in a volume sufficient for family consumption. Even home-made natural vinegar tastes much more fragrant than store-bought, and you can’t even talk about its usefulness, because you yourself control the cooking process.

Natural apple vinegar is suitable for compresses, rubbing, and other cosmetic and hygienic procedures. Apple cider vinegar is also used to treat hair, because it makes hair shiny and obedient, regulates the PH of the scalp, and to a certain extent helps to get rid of dandruff. The composition of natural apple cider vinegar includes organic acids, phenolic substances, a certain amount of sugars, aldehydes of esters of trace elements passing from raw materials, as well as formed as a result of the metabolism of acetic acid bacteria (UCB) during the manufacture of apple cider vinegar.

What is the difference between homemade apple cider vinegar and commercial apple cider vinegar?

The industrial version of apple cider vinegar, firstly, contains a higher percentage of acid - usually 6%, and in the home version it is no more than 4%. Secondly, home version apple cider vinegar is completely natural and environmentally friendly pure product, without the addition of synthetic flavors and dyes.

Thirdly, perhaps you are solving the problem of using substandard apples or, instead of throwing away extra fruits. Finally, you can also try to make it from purchased inexpensive market apples in order to verify everything in practice. We will try to tell you in detail how to make apple cider vinegar at home with your own hands.

Basic rules for making apple cider vinegar at home

Natural homemade apple cider vinegar is made from ripe, juicy, sweet apples, possibly from cut, but high-quality, rot-free pieces. Whereas in industrial production for this use the peel and core.

To make natural apple cider vinegar at home, you can use both apple pulp and apple juice. It is preferable to choose the sweetest, ripest and even overripe apples for vinegar, otherwise it becomes necessary to add sugar.

In addition to the pulp or juice of apples, sugar is used, which can be replaced with honey. There are recipes for apple cider vinegar without sugar. Other recipes provide for the addition of fresh or dry bread yeast, slices of black bread or rye crackers.

Vinegar is a fermentation product of apple material, juice or apple pulp diluted with water. During fermentation, alcohol is formed, which as a result is converted into acetic acid, which leads to the formation of a specific film on the surface of the wort, similar to tea mushroom. Such a formation is called an acetic uterus and cannot be removed.

Apple cider vinegar can be produced at home both in three-liter glass jars and in glass bottles or bottles, thanks to the narrow necks of which it is easy to fill them with sealing wax or paraffin for perfect long-term storage.

1. A Quick Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe

Vinegar from apples this recipe will be ready for use in a month. To make apple cider vinegar at home, in addition to the apples themselves, you will need regular sugar, the amount of which depends on the sweetness of the apples. For sour apples, it will need twice as much as for sweet varieties.

Ingredients:

• sweet ripe apples - 3 kilograms;
• granulated sugar - 150 grams;
• drinking water.

By quick recipe homemade apple cider vinegar is prepared as follows:

• Finely chop the washed apples and chop until homogeneous mass crush.
• Put the apple mass in a stainless steel or new enameled saucepan and, having covered it with sugar, pour water so that the apple mass is covered 4 centimeters higher.
• Bring the contents of the pan over low heat with occasional stirring to 70 degrees C and remove from heat.
• Place the container with vinegar must in a warm place, avoiding direct sunlight.
• During the fermentation process, there is a need to mix the acetic material twice a day to avoid drying out its upper layer.
• After 14 days, strain the acetic material through gauze folded in three layers, and pour the resulting fragrant liquid into a sterile glass container of a larger volume, without adding at least 5-7 centimeters to the top, leaving space for the liquid to rise during subsequent fermentation.
• Vinegar is kept in this glass container for two weeks, after which it, ready already, is carefully poured into a suitable sterile glass container, without adding at least 2-3 centimeters to the top.
• Pour the cloudy precipitate remaining in the preliminary bowl into a small glass container. After a certain time, when all the remaining liquid is well settled, it can be separated by careful straining through gauze folded in 4-5 layers and distributed among already poured bottles.

For high-quality storage, bottles with homemade apple cider vinegar are corked with strong corks, and bottles corked with them can be dipped with a closed neck into melted paraffin. You can store such products at room conditions, in a dark and cool place.

2. Jarvis Apple Bite

The process of making apple cider vinegar at home according to the prescription of the American doctor Jarvis takes a long time, but the reward is a product that is useful in composition.

Ingredients:

• sweet ripe apples - 2 kilograms;
• drinking water - 2 liters;
• natural honey - 200 grams initially and 100 grams again;
• fresh yeast - 20 grams;
• stale rye bread - 40 grams;

At home, according to the Jarvis recipe, apple cider vinegar is prepared as follows:

1. Pass whole washed apples with pits and core through a meat grinder or rub on a coarse grater.
2. Arrange in prepared clean glass jars applesauce and fill with the specified rate of drinking water.
3. Enter in equal proportions the amount of yeast, honey and rye crackers indicated in the recipe, which will accelerate the fermentation of the wort.
4. Cover the dish with the wort with a cloth napkin and place in a dark, warm place at the optimum temperature of 30 degrees C.
5. Fermentation goes on for 10 days, but three times a day there is a need to stir it with a wooden spoon or spatula.
6. After the prescribed period, strain the liquid through a gauze filter and measure its exact volume.
7. Add and stir for each liter of volume 50 grams of sugar or honey and return to a dark and warm place for 50 days, after which the product will become completely transparent and ready for bottling for storage.

It differs from previous recipes in that its source material is fresh juice of sweet and ripe apples, the number of which is indicated approximately, based on their juiciness and the required volume of such vinegar.

The only ingredient in this recipe for natural apple cider vinegar is two kilograms of sweet ripe apples. Plus, to make apple cider vinegar at home, you'll need a juicer or blender.

Apple cider vinegar from apple juice classic recipe prepare like this:

1. Cut the washed ripe apples into slices and hold in the air until they oxidize and turn brown.
2. Turn the darkened pieces of apples through a juicer or meat grinder and squeeze the juice through cheesecloth.
3. Pour the resulting juice into a strong glass bottle with a reserve of space for fermentation, and put on a hermetically sealed medical glove on its neck.
4. Put the bottle in a warm place.
5. Under the influence of gas, the glove should inflate as much as possible and then remove it. The process of juice fermentation can last from weeks to one and a half months.
6. Pour the fermented wort into a wide earthenware or wooden dish, together with a vinegar uterus, so that the space necessary for fermentation remains, at least 10 centimeters to the surface of the dish. And the fermentation itself goes under a non-hermetic lid or a cloth napkin for a week.

After one and a half to two months, the fermentation will be completed and the apple cider vinegar will become transparent and ready for the final bottling after filtering into a container for storage under a hard stopper and preferably in the refrigerator.

4. Rustic honey apple cider vinegar recipe

The process of making rustic apple cider vinegar is similar to the Jarvis recipe, only without adding black bread to the container with apples and water, but natural honey is used.

Ingredients:

• fresh sweet apples - 1 kilogram;
• cold boiling water - 1 liter;
• natural honey - 200 grams;
• sugar - 100 grams;
• dry yeast - 20 grams.

Apple cider vinegar according to a rustic recipe with honey at home is prepared as follows:

1. Washed apples cut into large pieces and pass through a meat grinder, juicer or grate on a coarse grater to get natural apple juice with pulp.
2. Place the resulting applesauce or juice with pulp in a container suitable for fermentation, pour in a norm of water and add yeast and honey.
3. Stir the mixture with a wooden spoon and place the container with it in a warm place for 10 days for fermentation, cover with a cloth and stir the wort twice a day.
4. At the end of the process of fermentation of the wort, strain it, squeeze the cake and combine with the squeezed out liquid.
5. Pour the wort into a container with a wide neck, add sugar, stir until it dissolves and place again in a warm place until the final fermentation for one and a half to two months.

As soon as the vinegar becomes light and transparent, it is ready and should be filtered from the sediment, poured into glass bottles for storage under a hard cork.

5. A simple recipe for homemade apple cider vinegar with sugar

Making such vinegar at home is really not difficult: the necessary available ingredients and heat for normal fermentation.

Ingredients:

• ripe apples of a sweet variety - 2 kilograms;
• sugar -200 grams;
• cold boiling water - one and a half liters.

Apple cider vinegar according to a simple recipe at home is prepared as follows:

1. Grind apples with peel and core.
2. Put the resulting puree in a suitable glass container, pour in half a serving of sugar, pour in the required amount of cold boiling water and mix everything.
3. Place the container with the wort in a warm place, cover with a cloth and leave to ferment for 3 weeks, during which it is necessary to stir it 2-3 times daily.
4. After three weeks, strain the wort, add the sugar remaining at the norm, stir and pour not to the top into the jars, leaving them to ferment for 2 months.
5. When apple cider vinegar becomes transparent, it should be filtered for further use and storage and poured into glass bottles under a hard cap.

6. Recipe for apple cider vinegar on yeast dough

With the participation of yeast, apple cider vinegar is fermented much faster. If you have no objections to yeast, then you should try making apple cider vinegar according to this recipe.

Ingredients:

• ripe and sweet apples -1.5-2 kilograms;
• granulated sugar - 1 teaspoon;
• dry active yeast - 1/4 teaspoon;
• warm drinking water - a few tablespoons.

At home for grandma's recipe prepare apple cider vinegar like this:

1. Wash the apples and, after squeezing the juice, pour it into an earthenware or glass container.
2. Dilute a mixture of granulated sugar and dry yeast in a bowl in 2-3 tablespoons of water, place in a warm place so that the dough comes up.
3. As soon as it is ready: foamy and suitable, pour it into the apple cider vinegar wort.
4. Put on a medical rubber glove on the neck of the bottle and leave it for 4 weeks in a warm place.

At the end of 4 weeks, remove the glove and continue fermenting vinegar with oxygen for another 2 months.

With all the simplicity of preparing apple cider vinegar at home, you need to remember that the vinegar uterus (a substance consisting of cellulose and acetic acid bacteria, formed during the fermentation of alcohol-containing liquids in apple pulp, this “transparent mushroom” converts alcohols into acetic acid using oxygen from the air) should be saved for faster recovery required amount vinegar. In addition, it enhances the beneficial properties of apple cider vinegar and gives it pleasant taste like seasoning for food.

There is an experience of using apple cider vinegar, it is also sometimes added to massage mixtures. But in all these cases, there may be contraindications associated with individual intolerance and diseases, for example, gastrointestinal tract: with ulcers, gastritis with high acidity, hepatitis; pyelonephritis and urolithiasis.

Good day, my beloved readers! Probably many of you have heard about. How it prevents cellulite, helps grow gorgeous hair, is used for weight loss and skin tightening, to treat low stomach acid and even varicose veins. Yes, and you can’t list how useful it is. But, the trouble is that it is not always possible to buy quality product in the shop.

homemade vs store bought

Most often, the manufacturer "conjures" vinegar from leftovers from other industries, using:

• apple peel,
• core
• broken places,
• often prepared from cake left over from juice production,
• and about the presence of honey in a store product, you can only dream of.

The use of waste is not the worst thing - they are food. This product in falsification has surpassed all others. Manufacturers are very fond of vinegar and chemical:

• add preservatives to your product to prolong its shelf life,
• dyes to mask used low-quality raw materials and make them more marketable,
• the product is subjected to severe filtration using reagents to remove natural sediment,
• and often under the guise natural product, sell and at all a chemical mix.

Such a product will not contain any vitamins or minerals, and fermentation accelerators and preservatives will only worsen the situation.

Homemade vinegar is stored, maybe less, and its color will not be so bright. Cooking your own apple bite at home, which does not require much time and money, will be much safer and healthier, because the hostess will put not only love into it, but also high-quality fresh products!

Basic Recipe

Many sites and forums of the World Wide Web have collected a lot of different step by step recipes, among which you can find both the old "grandmother's" and modern ones from popular experts. Let not all, but they have the right to exist, although the basic principle of how to prepare a healthy product is practically the same for everyone. That is what I will now prove.

I went for apples

What is vinegar? In fact, it is sour wine. That is, the process of preparing both of them consists in fermentation fruit juice. And the only difference is that wine ferments without air, while vinegar, on the contrary, must breathe.

So where does a good vinegar start? Right! With good raw materials. We have apple today. Therefore, we cook, no matter red or yellow, the main thing is sweet and ripe apples. And it is not at all necessary to wash them (not even desirable!) And cut off the beaten places, it is enough to tear off the stalks and cut out the rot. Indeed, in order for fermentation to be active and without yeast, it is necessary that fungi remain on the fruits that contribute to this very fermentation. And they are only on "unwashed" apples.

By the way! The riper and sweeter apples, the less sugar will subsequently need to be added to the wort and the faster the fermentation process will take place.

• grate
• chop in a food processor or mixer
• pass through a meat grinder
• just cut with a knife

You can choose any method you like. But! To do this on a grater for a long time and our fingers are not at all safe. With a knife - even more dangerous and longer. The meat grinder crushes the raw material too much, turning it into gruel, which will subsequently affect its filtration. Therefore, I usually do it in a combine. Apples in it do not crumple, but are obtained in small pieces.

Natural product base

The most important, but not the most difficult moment in our undertaking begins: we lay the foundation for the future vinegar. What is needed for that:

• apples of any variety (both Antonovka and small ranetki are suitable);
• water;
• honey (which is preferable) or sugar;

Everything with the basic ingredients! All other additives are just variations on the vinegar theme. You can add a piece to enhance fermentation rye bread. But I would not advise adding yeast - if you do everything as I wrote above (and below too) and without them you get wonderful vinegar.

There are not very many options with the proportions of these components, but there are. I believe that one liter of water should be taken per kilogram of apples, and sugar - depending on the sweetness of the original product. On average (in terms of sweetness) it will be - 100 grams per selected amount.

Attention! Mix the ingredients in a wooden, glass, clay or enamelware. Aluminum, iron, and even more so plastic is not suitable for this purpose. Be sure to leave space in the product fermentation container, do not fill it to the brim.

When the base for vinegar is ready, cover it with a napkin or towel, put it in a dark place where a rather high temperature should be maintained - 28-32 ° C. For this, hidden places in your apartment are suitable closer to heating appliances or a dark cabinet in the kitchen.

Under such conditions, the harvest must stand for 10-15 days, it all depends on the presence of the aforementioned fungi and the storage temperature of the wort. All this time, you need to “disturb” his calmness three times (or at least once) a day by stirring with a wooden spoon.

This is also an important stage. First you need to separate the pulp from the liquid (so far it is not vinegar yet). How to make it easier? Apple porridge will not squeeze well through gauze, I know from my own experience. That is why, I advise you to do it “roughly” through a colander, on which you throw the pasta.

Just throw the wort into a colander and press the mass with your hands to make the liquid glass as much as possible. No need to rub anything! This will only knead the pulp into porridge, and it, in turn, will clog the fabric during subsequent filtration.

Then we put gauze on our colander (make it in two layers) and filter the liquid already “clean”. It's not juice anymore, but it's not vinegar either! The resulting semi-finished product should still wander, not so violently, but still. We repeat the technology in the same sequence, only we do not add water:

• sweeten per liter of liquid 50-100g of sugar, again depending on the source material;
• pour into a clean container and also cover with a cloth;
• put in a dark, warm place for 40-60 days to complete fermentation.

Our daily presence is no longer required, it is not necessary to interfere with the strained workpiece, and do not touch it at all until the product is ready. Vinegar will be considered ready when the fermentation process is over and it becomes completely transparent.

Packaging and storage

Already prepared vinegar must be removed from the sediment. Do you know how it's done? No? Exactly the same as finished wine. I know two options:

1. Gently, without raising the sediment from the bottom, the liquid simply pours into a clean container. This is done quickly, but the downside here is that it’s good, you can drain it with the least “losses”, it won’t work out - the sediment will definitely rise and flow into a clean product. The second way will be less waste, but you will have to tinker longer.
2. With a rubber tube. We fix one end of it in a container with vinegar, somewhere in its middle and certainly not touching the bottom. To start the process, it is necessary to draw in air from the other end of the tube, and quickly lower it into the overflowing dish (it should be much lower than the first). Thus, the "pumping" from one container to another will begin. You just have to make sure that the tip of the tube does not fall into the sediment and does not pop out.

If you end up with a lot of cloudy liquid, don't worry. Let it stand for another day or two and you can repeat the process again. Moreover, I advise you to strain clean vinegar in a week or two in the same way again, it is very difficult to do it well the first time.

Attention! At the stage of bottling vinegar for storage, you can infuse it with various herbs for medicinal purposes or to add flavor. This is done by adding your chosen herb to a bottle of finished product. After 3-4 weeks, it will give the vinegar not only its aroma, but also all the useful properties and it can be removed.

Pour the finished vinegar into smaller dishes, you can put it into bottles or small jars and do not do this right up to the neck. Just close nylon lids or tight stoppers, but not airtight. Now it is still quite “green”, with a strength of no more than 4-5%, it will still ripen over time, why deprive it of access to air completely.

It is better to store at a temperature of 6-8 ° C, but more is possible, not the point. After a year, the vinegar will reach a good strength and be fully ripe. You can use it without fear for your health (and for your health!) for 3 years, which means more than one winter!

Variations on the Vinegar Theme

What else would you like to say on the topic of vinegar? While preparing the article, I didn’t read any recipes and recommendations. My God, if I myself were completely out of touch, it would not be surprising to get lost.

What I mean? Yes, just for an example. I open top articles on our today's topic. And what do I see? Dr. Jarvis' Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe! I don’t argue at all, there was such a doctor who promoted vinegar (by the way, not only him!) medicinal purposes.

But, that's why this recipe according to Jarvis, I can't understand. All the same recipe, rewritten many times from site to site with bread and yeast. Maybe I didn't understand? Maybe you can explain to me?

By the way! Our Russian Malakhov also respects the use of vinegar and soda for medicinal purposes. If you listen to the people's mouthpiece, this product helps absolutely in any cases, from the common cold to arthrosis.

And yet there is another option that deserves special attention. I offer it to you.

apple juice recipe

For the production of vinegar apple juice, we will act according to the principles of the main recipe, but there are certainly subtleties. This is the easiest way, eliminating the part of the recipe where we stir the wort regularly. But, for active fermentation, it will be necessary to add sourdough to the juice in addition to sugar. What could it be?

• a piece of black bread
• live yeast
• must left over from previously prepared vinegar
• vinegar uterus with remnants of unexpressed sediment

I leave the choice of the appropriate option to you, but I consider the second and third more acceptable.

Advice: try to prepare vinegar with honey and without sugar in any recipe, because the product of bee work contains much more vitamins and minerals.

Should juice be diluted with water? Many of the sources I have come across do not give such a recommendation. But, I'm still leaning towards doing it. Judge for yourself - from undiluted juice, vinegar will turn out to be very concentrated and, I think, strong. What for? Do this with about 3 parts juice, one part water, or a little more.

I will not describe the rest of the process, everything is repeated one to one:

• fermentation
• desludge
• sending to storage

But, even this lighter version cannot be cooked in 1 hour. In any case, you will need at least one and a half months for everything about everything.

Video recipe

Firstly, it is obtained from apple pomace, skins, cores and other waste from the production of juice concentrates.

Secondly, no one guarantees the high quality of raw materials - for example, that apples were taken from trees growing in ecologically clean areas.

And finally Thirdly Factory pasteurization robs apple cider vinegar of most of the vitamins, probiotics, and enzymes that homemade cider vinegar is so rich in.

What is apple cider vinegar and how is it prepared?

Vinegar is formed from apple juice as a result of its fermentation.. But first, alcohol is obtained from it, which eventually becomes acetic acid. This usually happens in 1.5-2 months. During this period, the surface of the apple must is overgrown with a milky-white gelatinous mass, which is called vinegar uterus.

The vinegar uterus, which consists of yeasts, probiotics and various enzymes, is three times more healing than the vinegar itself. Just a teaspoon of this wonderful potion a day relieves joint pain, helps cleanse the skin and rids the body of worms.

There are a few important rules for making apple cider vinegar at home:

• select ripened fruits without signs of rot (but it is allowed to use carrion);
• fermentation is accompanied by the appearance of a foamy substance, which in no case can be removed (it is simply driven into the rest of the mass during daily stirring);
• use dishes made of glass or clay (metal and plastic buckets are not suitable for this purpose);
• pour the juice into the selected container so that its level does not reach at least 10 centimeters to the edge;
• stir the cooking vinegar with a wooden kitchen spatula or a wooden sushi stick;
• at the first stage of fermentation, it is better not to interfere with or touch the juice at all (unless this is specifically stated in the recipe);
• in the second phase of fermentation, an acetic uterus is formed, it does not need to be removed;
• To speed up the process, place the container of apples and juice in a warm and dark place (such as a warm pantry).

Best apple varieties for homemade apple cider vinegar

I met advice that apple cider vinegar is best made from sweet varieties of apples. Allegedly, the high content of fructose and sucrose in them facilitates fermentation, so that the vinegar cooks much faster.

However, such a product will not have such a balanced rich taste and beneficial properties as made from different types apples.

In my opinion, the following proportion is optimal:

• 50% sweet apples;
• 35% sweet and sour apples;
• 15% sour apples.

Certainly, sour apples today it is not so easy to find, so try using 60% sweet and 40% sweet and sour fruits. Well, if your garden grows a single sweet variety of apples, then its fruits will make a very good organic apple cider vinegar!

Easy Recipe #1 Sugar Free Apple Cider Vinegar

This traditional recipe especially for fans healthy eating, because it does not contain store-bought yeast and sugar.

1. Rinse whole and strong apples under running water and cut them into slices, after removing the core.
2. Wait a while until the flesh darkens.
3. Drive away apple slices through a juicer and the separated juice, pour into a glass or clay container.
4. Pull a medical glove over the neck of the container, making one puncture in it with a sterilized sewing needle in advance.
5. After 6-7 days in a warm room, the glove will fill with gas - this is a sure signal that it is time to pour the liquid into a wider vessel.
6. After that, the container is loosely covered with a clean kitchen towel and kept warm for another 2 months. At a temperature of +25 ... 27 degrees, the juice ferments actively, gradually turning into the most valuable homemade vinegar.
7. Then apple cider vinegar is filtered again and further stored in the dark and cool.

Simple recipe number 2. Apple cider vinegar with honey

Ingredients: 5 large apples or pomace and leftovers from 10 apples, filtered water, 1 cup runny honey

Cooking method:

1. Cut apples into pieces with a diameter of at least two to three centimeters (including seeds and cores).
2. Transfer the apple mixture to a suitable dish so that it is about ½ full.
3. Fill the container with clean water until it covers the apples (but leave 5-10 centimeters of free space to the top).
4. Dissolve honey in water and knead the mass well with a wooden spatula.
5. Cover the dishes with a linen kitchen towel or gauze folded in several layers and secure the whole thing with a tourniquet.
6. Move it to a warm corner in the kitchen and keep it there for 1-2 weeks with daily stirring.
7. Apple slices no longer float on the surface of the liquid? So strong apple cider I'm ready now. It's time to strain it into another container and cover it again with a clean cloth.
8. Leave the liquid to ferment for another 3-4 weeks. At the end of the third week, take a sample of the resulting product - if it is not strong enough, then let it “play” for another week or two.

Easy Recipe #3 Carrion Apple Cider Vinegar

Precipitation during storage is normal for homemade apple cider vinegar.

Fruits that have fallen to the ground are stored very badly, so they need to be urgently put into processing. One option is to make a medicinal apple cider vinegar out of them using this easy recipe.

Ingredients: Apple Carrion, Water, Sugar

Cooking method:

1. Sort the fallen apples, rinse thoroughly and remove the soft barrels.
2. Weigh the fruits and write down or remember the result.
3. Cut them into pieces and pass through a meat grinder (or chop with a blender).
4. Transfer the apple gruel to a container of neutral material and fill it with water at a temperature of about 70 degrees. Water should cover the puree by 1-2 centimeters.
5. Sugar is added to the resulting mass at the rate of 50 grams per kilogram of sweet apples and 100 grams for sour ones.
6. After mixing, place the container in a warm and dark room and keep it under a towel for 10-14 days. It is advisable to stir the contents of the container daily.
7. After this period, filter the semi-finished vinegar and pack the liquid into jars, filling them ¾ of the volume.
8. After another 2 weeks, drain the apple cider vinegar completely and store it tightly closed in the refrigerator or in a cold cellar.

Easy Recipe #4 Yeasted Apple Cider Vinegar

Ingredients: 1500 kilograms of apples, 2 liters of water (approximately), 200-400 grams of sugar (the more acidic the fruits, the more sugar, add), 20 grams fresh yeast or ½ teaspoon dry yeast

Cooking method:

1. Grate the washed fruits on a coarse grater and transfer the apple mass to the prepared dishes (best suited three-liter jars Soviet type).
2. Pour apples hot water so that it covers them by 2-3 centimeters. There should be 5-10 centimeters of free space at the top of the cans.
3. Add half the sugar and yeast. Instead of yeast, you can take a crust of dry rye bread weighing 40-50 grams (pre-soak).
4. After mixing, close the neck of the container with any air-permeable cloth and put it in a warm and dark place for 10 days.
5. After that, add the rest of the sugar to the liquid, mix and keep warm for another 40-60 days or until the fermentation completely dies out. At this point, the vinegar will noticeably lighten, and bubbles will stop forming in the juice.

I also suggest looking at how quickly and easily homemade apple cider vinegar is prepared.