How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar

Many people today use apple cider vinegar as a healthy home remedy for many ailments as well as for cooking. You can make your own apple cider vinegar to include in your own recipes. It just takes some apples and a bit of patience. The steps that follow are for 5 gallons of apple cider vinegar.

Things You'll Need

• Apples
• Strainer or press
• Cheesecloth
• Nonmetallic pots or containers
• Knife
• 1 cake wine-making yeast
• Plastic or wooden spoon
• Cooking pot
• Cooking thermometer
• Funnel
• Plastic or glass bottles with lids

Instructions

1. Choose apples that have a high-sugar content and that are fully ripe. Typically this includes Gala, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Fuji and Jonagold. Pick only the best apples. They should be worm-free as well as blemish-free.

2. Cut the apples into small pieces. Crush them. Filter the juice through a piece of cheesecloth inside a strainer, or press them in a fruit and vegetable press. Put 5 gallons of apple juice into nonmetallic containers, and set aside 1 qt. of juice.

3. Crumble one cake of yeast used in wine making into the 1 qt. of juice that you have set aside. Stir it until it dissolves. Add the yeast mixture back into the rest of the apple juice.

4. Fill the nonmetallic pots about two-thirds full. Cover them with cheesecloth and put them in a dark place. The temperature should be around 60 to 80 degrees at all times.

5. Stir the apple cider vinegar once a day for 3 weeks. After that, taste it. When the vinegar reaches the desired flavor, filter it once again through cheesecloth to remove the mother. That stops any more fermentation from taking place.

6. Pour the vinegar into a large pot. Cook it over low heat, stirring frequently, until the temperature reaches 140 degrees to pasteurize it. Remove the vinegar from the heat.

7. Use a funnel to pour the pasteurized vinegar into clean plastic or glass bottles. Put the lids on the bottles. Set the bottles into a hot water bath to further sterilize them. Allow the bottled vinegar to cool and store it in a cool, dark, dry place.