Make your own homemade apple cider vinegar with this easy tutorial! Avoid wasting apple scraps and use them in this simple recipe for ACV.
Apple season means we almost always have some sort of apple dish at either breakfast or dessert (our favorite continues to be the oatmeal apple breakfast bars).
Naturally, lots of apple dishes mean lots of apple cores or peels. We try really hard to waste as little food as possible in order to save more money. That means using apple cores and peels in high protein smoothies (following the recipes in my eBook) or we juice them. But at the rate we typically go through apples when they are in season, I still have plenty on hand.
As it turns out, you can use apple peels and cores to make homemade apple cider vinegar!
What Are the Uses For Apple Cider Vinegar?
We use apple cider vinegar for a variety of things in the kitchen:
- To soak grains. Here is my method for soaking whole grains. Adding some apple cider vinegar helps the process work faster.
- To make homemade salad dressings. This delicata squash salad recipe is one of my favorites that uses an apple cider vinegar dressing.
- Substituting for plain vinegar in recipes. Apple cider vinegar works really well in most recipes!
- Make homemade bone broth. Whether you use the slow cooker chicken stock method or the Instant Pot chicken stock recipe, add 1-2 Tablespoons of ACV. This helps pull the nutrients out of the bones creating a true bone broth.
- In homemade mayo. My recipe for fail-proof mayo uses lemon juice. But if you’re out or don’t have fresh lemons on hand, ACV works in a pinch! The flavor is slightly different but still makes great mayo.
Household Uses
Apple Cider Vinegar is also useful around the house:
- As a detox elixir. Use this recipe for a short term detox or an everyday start to your digestive system.
- An immune system booster. In addition to these immune-boosting fall foods, a tablespoon of ACV will help your immune system.
- A facial toner. After using a homemade face wash like this, you can use apple cider vinegar as a toner. Top off with homemade lotion bars and you’re skin will thank you!
- To remove moles. I know this seems strange, but my husband tried it and it worked! Here’s his story.
- To catch stray fruit flies. I shared about this on my Instagram not long ago and it really worked! The flies didn’t stand a chance in our homemade trap.
- To clean the house. You can take your finished apple cider vinegar and infuse with citrus peels. This creates a nice smelling cleaner you can use anywhere in the house.
Is Apple Cider Vinegar Healthy?
Yes! Apple Cider Vinegar is a natural way to boost digestion, balance your body’s pH and stabilize blood sugar. It has “good” bacteria and enzymes that improve gut health. It also aids in detoxing the liver and lymphatic systems.
When you buy apple cider vinegar off the shelf, you want to look for one with “the mother”. This is an unfiltered vinegar that contains all of the good bacteria that benefits your health. Raw apple cider vinegar can be somewhat pricey. That’s why I learned how to make my own!
Why Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar?
Homemade apple cider vinegar is essentially free. Use the apple scraps leftover from any apple dish and you’ll have apple cider vinegar in about 6 weeks!
Pasteurized apple cider vinegar is what most stores carry, and it’s fairly affordable. However, it’s always best to get the raw and unpasteurized version whenever you can. Unfortunately, the better option comes with a bigger price tag – $20+ for 64 oz of “raw and unfiltered” on Amazon.
On average, it takes us a couple of months to go through a 32 oz glass jar of apple cider vinegar. Spending $5 each month isn’t so bad, but still. If I can make the same thing for FREE, then why not?!
Apple cider vinegar earns bonus points too since you don’t have to really “work” to make it.
How to Make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar (using peels and cores)
Supplies
- Apple peels, cores and any browning/discolored flesh from pesticide-free apples (approx 6 large apples)
- One quart jar like these (or whatever you have on hand)
- One canning lid ring OR a rubber band
- Coffee filter OR paper towel
- 2-2 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar (I like Turbinado raw sugar)
- 2-2 1/2 cups water, boiled and allowed to cool
Note: You want the peels to be from apples that have been scrubbed very, very well. Organic apples are preferred, but simply buy the best you can afford and use this all-natural produce cleaner. Secondly, it’s okay to use brown or bruised apples. However, it is NOT okay to use moldy or rotten apples.
Method
1. Cover the bottom of your jar with apple scraps, filling no more than 3/4 full. The apples need room to expand and stay submerged.
Tip: You don’t HAVE to use a quart-sized jar, but it’s what I readily have available. Feel free to use whatever size jar you have on hand.
2. Add 2 Tbsp of granulated sugar and 2 cups of filtered water to the jar. The apples should be completely submerged. Mold can grow on any portions of apples that are not covered and ruin your batch of vinegar. If your scraps float to the top of the jar add a smaller jar on top to keep them submerged.
Reader tips:
- Use a wide mouth jar for fermentation and a small half-pint jar to keep apples down.
- Use shot glasses on top to push apples down.
- Fill a plastic bag with water and place on top of apples to keep submerged.
- If you plan to do this often, many home fermenters use an airlock, like these, specially made for mason jars.
Stir the apples, sugar, and water and cover with a coffee filter. Secure with a canning band, or a rubber band.
Tip: If you use a different size jar, the ratio is 1 Tbsp sugar per 1 cup water.
3. Allow apples to sit in a warm, dark place for 2 weeks. Above the refrigerator or on the top shelf of a cupboard are great places. Just don’t forget you put it there!
4. After 2 weeks, you might notice some fizz or bubbles. That’s good news! Strain out the apple pieces and compost. Cover the apple cider vinegar again with a coffee filter and canning band. Allow continuing to sit at room temperature for another 2-4 weeks.
5. The vinegar may become cloudy or a SCOBY could form on the top, both of which are normal. Taste test the vinegar once a week until it’s to your liking. You can stop the fermentation process by replacing the coffee filter with a canning lid and storing it in the refrigerator.
And that’s it! You’ve just made your own apple cider vinegar and saved yourself some cash!
Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar Troubleshooting and Tips
- How long does it take to make Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar?
- The entire process can take anywhere from 2-6 weeks.
- Can I use an apple cider vinegar starter?
- Yes! Add 1 1/2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar for every 2 cups of water to speed up the process. It helps to kick start the fermentation process. Strain the apples after just one week, and taste each week thereafter.
- Can I use honey for fermentation?
- You can substitute honey for sugar, but it will cause a slower fermentation. All the sugar will be eaten by the yeast anyway so I prefer to use a less expensive sweetener. You can also omit the sweetener altogether, but the total fermentation time will be up to six months.
- How do I use “the mother”?
- You can use the mother or SCOBY as a starter in your next batch of ACV. Or you can give it to a friend to start her own batch of ACV!
- My vinegar is moldy. Is it still good?
- No, toss it out and try again. I’m usually willing to toe the “is it still okay?” line, but I draw the line at mold.
- How much does DIY apple cider vinegar cost?
- There is no additional cost for using apple scraps. The sugar comes out to about 1¢ per tablespoon. So you’re looking at about $0.02 per batch of homemade apple cider vinegar.
- Why do I need to refrigerate ACV?
- Refrigerating your apple cider vinegar will stop the fermentation process. You can keep it out on the shelf, but it will continue to get stronger in taste.
- Can I freeze extra apple cider vinegar?
- I have not tried freezing ACV before. But I would think you could! Use these tips to freeze liquids without breaking the jars.
- What is the shelf life of apple cider vinegar?
- Homemade apple cider vinegar will last up to a year when refrigerated. You should be able to tell by smell and taste if it has gone bad.
- What color should homemade apple cider vinegar be?
- There are a lot of factors that affect your ACV color. It could be the apples you use, how long it ferments, and the temperature of where your store it! Mine typically stays a light color but has the distinct vinegar smell and taste.
- What if my ACV turns slimy or thick?
- Apples naturally contain a lot of pectin. This is what is used to thicken jellies and jams. If your ACV becomes thick, you can continue to ferment and then thin with water later. Organic homegrown apples tend to contain more pectin!
Looking for Apple Recipes For Apple Scraps?
Here are a few of my favorites:
- Homemade Applesauce
- Apple Butter (plus 7 variations)
- Slab Apple Pie
- Oatmeal Apple Breakfast Bars
- Homemade Apple Crumble Ice Cream
- Dehydrated Apple Chips
- Cranberry Apple Spinach Salad
Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar
Make your own homemade apple cider vinegar with this easy tutorial! Avoid wasting apple scraps and use them in this simple recipe for ACV.
- Prep Time: 6 weeks
- Cook Time: 0 mins
- Total Time: 6 weeks
- Yield: 32 oz 1x
- Category: Kitchen Hacks/Tutorials
- Method: Fermentation
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- Apple peels, cores and any browning/discolored flesh from pesticide-free apples (approx 6 large apples)
- One quart jar like these (or whatever you have on hand)
- One canning lid ring OR a rubber band
- Coffee filter OR paper towel
- 2–2 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar (I like Turbinado raw sugar)
- 2–2 1/2 cups water, boiled and allowed to cool
Instructions
- Cover the bottom of your jar with apple scraps, filling no more than 3/4 full. The apples need room to expand and stay submerged.
- Add 2 Tbsp of granulated sugar and 2 cups of filtered water to the jar. The apples should be completely submerged. Mold can grow on any portions of apples that are not covered and ruin your batch of vinegar. If your scraps float to the top of the jar add a smaller jar on top to keep them submerged.
- Stir the apples, sugar, and water and cover with a coffee filter. Secure with a canning band, or a rubber band.
- Allow apples to sit in a warm, dark place for 2 weeks. Above the refrigerator or on the top shelf of a cupboard are great places. Just don’t forget you put it there!
- After 2 weeks, you might notice some fizz or bubbles. That’s good news! Strain out the apple pieces and compost. Cover the apple cider vinegar again with a coffee filter and canning band. Allow continuing to sit at room temperature for another 2-4 weeks.
- The vinegar may become cloudy or a SCOBY could form on the top, both of which are normal. Taste test the vinegar once a week until it’s to your liking. You can stop the fermentation process by replacing the coffee filter with a canning lid and storing it in the refrigerator.
Keywords: Homemade apple cider vinegar
When you remove the apple scraps and let it sit for a couple more weeks to get more vinegary, can you put a lid on it at that point? Or do you still leave the top open and covered?
The greater the air flow, the faster it will ferment. So you CAN certainly seal it, but it will take a bit longer to get the acidity level you’re used to.
If a scoby forms can it be used to make kombucha?
I don’t know, Audrey, I’ve never tried that before!
I’m making them in gallon jars, do I use the same amount of sugar and such or increase according?
Increase proportionately!
To overcome mold, I stir the mix every couple of days for about two weeks then leave it until all sinks. I also wait to bottle until it tastes how I like. This can mean a mother of 1/2 an inch at times. I use 25 liter plastic buckets and buy bulk apples from the market here in South America. Also use brown sugar with no problems. Two bottles of one batch were very thick, syrupy and sweet like balsamic vinegar. Absolutely delicious. But I have no idea why . Would love to be able to replicate it.
Hey, I’ve been making acv for a little but now, and has always been great. I’ll bottle it in an air tight glass bottle and stash it away. Previously had no trouble but the last batch I made, I went to pop open a bottle to use it and it was very very carbonated.. Still tasted like vinegar though not very strong. What have I done and can I rid the carbonation and save them?? I don’t know what to do haha. Thanks
Hi Natalie! The carbonation is a natural by-product of fermentation and doesn’t make it bad at all! I’d burp the vinegar now and then (opening and closing it) and just let it keep sitting to make it stronger. 🙂
Using an airlock protects against contamination and allows the materials to create the ideal environment for fermentation. I use the Perfect Pickler, but you can also easily and inexpensivly make your own if you are a bit handy.
Thanks for this post. For the many commenters who have ‘failed’ making the fermented apple scrap vinegar due to mold, I suggest they try using an airlock which will allow air to leave the jar, but keep the contents protected from molds, bacteria, dust and pests. They are not hard to make yourself, or there are companies selling them all ready to just screw onto your wide mouth Mason jars. A food safe bag filled with water and rested on top of the apple scraps will also cut down on molds, etc., but an airlock is the best in my experience. It’s also fun to watch how the water in the airlock responds to the pressure of the fermentation process in the jar.
So, I started and after the first two weeks with the scraps, my mixture turned very syrupy. Is this normal?
I don’t recall mine being syrupy… how does it smell?
It smells like vinegar. It’s just much thicker than the normal kind you’d get at the store. I wonder if it would help if I added more water?
It might – let us know how it works out for you!
I love making ACV. always have at least 1 gal going. I get used pickle jars from local places that sell the full pickles, like the Farmers Market.
I’ve also made a pineapple vinegar that was delicious. Used the meat cut off inside of peelings. Never trust the pineapple peelings, unless you grow them yourself. Exact same process.
1/2 c of acv w/mother, pineapples bits, 1/2 c br sugar, (can also use honey, but takes longer), dist. water, & 2 Tbsp of lemon juice. Strain after 2 wks. Then after 2 more wks, start tasting & cap off, when you like the taste, then bottle.
Another vinegar hack I love is citrus cleaning vinegar, (wht vinegar & citrus peelings). I clean everything w/vinegar. Peelings gives wonderful citrus smell. Having 2 Meyers lemon, a tangerine, a pink lemon, & a Ponderosa lemon.
Citrus peelings in any size jar, (can keep in fridge for a wk, until you have enough), fill w/reg white vinegar, & cap. Put in dk cool place, remembering to shake at least every other day. After 1 mth, strain & keep in same jar, or put into spray bottle. I clean mirrors, tables, floors, etc w/it.
Thanks for the wonderful ideas Tosh!
★★★★★
Hello!
SOS!I will move in there weeks and even if I start today it will not be read until then.Can I pause the procedure for one day and put the lid?
Absolutely!
Can I use brown sugar? Will the molasses be a problem?
I don’t think I’d recommend brown sugar Sarah. In all the ferments I’ve seen, white sugar is nearly always used.
Hi is it ok to apply on my hair, Henna and make a Conditioner of it? cuz i really like everything home made and if i can use this vinegar for my hair it will be great, and can i make other blends of it?
Thanks.
I’m not sure Julian, but if you try it and are successful let me know!
Hi! I also tried to make one at home my self! But the color of the vinegar was really cloudy and pale… did i do wrong?
Thanks!
I used this recipe and it has been sitting for about 2 months. I had another batch of homemade act with the mother, so when I started this I added that mother in with the apple scraps. After a few weeks I strained the apples and the mother was all grown into the apple pieces. Now it looks great with more mother growing on top and it’s super cloudy, but very light in color, almost white. It smells right, but I havnt tasted. Do you think I should leave it a lot longer and hope the color gets darker? I was hoping to jar it in clear glass growlers soon. Any suggestions??
If it smells right, I’d judge by that over color (personally). Taste, and see if it needs more time, and get it bottled up!
Im just wondering if anything can be made from apple peels after using to make vinegar.
I think once you make vinegar, you won’t want to use them for much other than compost. MAYBE you can dehydrate them into dog treats, but the vinegar soaked flavor likely won’t be enjoyable by humans. 🙂
So I’m at 2 weeks minus 1 day and my apple peels closer to the top of the jar are browning. They are *mostly* submerged (has been a few peels that have come out of the liquid maybe a milimetre at most) but even ones that are completely submerged are starting to brown. The second half at the bottom look the same as they did when I first started the process. I don’t see any mold, just discoloration. Is this normal? Has anyone experienced this? Any solid advice or even just pondering would be helpful 🙂
Hi Chelsea! Discoloration is fairly normal, as it takes only a little oxygen to react w/the apples. You definitely don’t want mold, and you don’t want an off smell. As long as it smells good and the color is the only issue, I say you’re doing great!
I have tried this a few times now with different contraption involving jars and lids. But I still struggled to keep the apple scraps down and mold kept ruining my batches. This last time, I used a coffee filter pot and a piece of paper towel. I just cut a slit in the paper towel so it would slide in around the shaft. I was going to use a rubber band over the paper towel, but I thought I might brake the pot. So I just let. The lid hold the paper towel down. Perfect results and no mold!
Wonderful – thanks for sharing Merrilee!
Hi, could you please enlighten me, what is a SCOBY. I have made the apple water part and it smells pleasantly sour. I am going to remove the apples now at day 16. At the edges where i couldnt completely submerge the apples, there is a skin that has formed that looked like a congealed scum that is a milky colour. I am assuming that i am to toss this out? Can i use the rest of the cloudy looking liquid and keep following your instructions? if i can skim off the milky skin on the side?
Thank you,
Hi Michelle – that is technically an MOV – mother of vinegar! It is VERY similar to a scoby (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast), but technically speaking, scoby’s are created in kombucha (fermented tea) while MOV’s are created in a vinegar solution. I have an MOV too, which I honestly haven’t done anything with yet, BUT I do plan to use it to make more ACV. You can do that, instead of using the mother from raw ACV when you make vinegar. If you don’t want to use it for awhile, store it in a jar w/some of the homemade vinegar – maybe 1/4 cup, depending on how thick it is. Cover w/thin cloth and secure w/rubber band. It’ll continue to thrive, but you won’t be forced to do anything with it right away. Congrats! It’s not a super common occurrence to grow an MOV, but it means making more ACV easily going forward!!
This pertains to my question, about whether I can strain away a lot of the apple cider vinegar from the peels/cores. It seems that I am throwing a lot of GOOD STUFF away, but if I try to strain out the “cider”, it will be really thick. And I think that will all be good stuff, but just inordinately thick.
I really hate to throw all the SEEMINGLY good stuff AWAY!!
I had been thinking to strain out the vinegar, but drilling it down in a food processor, and then straining it in a sieve. I just want to get every good bit out — and not throw it away in the compost!!
I tried this. I got 2 thick layers of what assume to be mother, but it smells sour not vinagery. Should I toss it. It’s been over a month
April – does it smell bad? Or just sour? Sometimes “sour” is mistaken for vinegar, especially in home fermentation. If you don’t see any mold, then you’re probably fine.
Thank you all for the interesting advice making acv. I used to make Kombicha years ago and enjoyed making it, I gave the extra ‘mother’ to our local health shop, they were most appreactve.
I have never made acv but am going to give it a go. I have been using bought acv for years, I put it in a spray bottle and after showering I spray it in the air and ‘walk’ through it, I’ve used it as an u/arm deodorant for years. It works. Ps. I’m 80 yrs young. 🙂
BerylH