Keyword apple scraps, frugal recipes, homemade vinegar, zero waste kitchen
Prep Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 10 minutesminutes
Apple peels and cores covered with sugar water and left to ferment into homemade vinegar. A thrifty use for scraps.
Ingredients
Apple scrapspeels and cores (bruises are OK; discard any rotten bits)
1cupwaterchlorine-free (repeat as needed to cover)
1Tbspsugar per cup of water
1Tbspapple cider vinegar with a mother per cup of water
Directions
Wash the apples before you peel them. Fill a glass jar about three-quarters full with scraps that have no mold or bad spots.
Stir together the sugar, water, and vinegar one cup at a time, and pour it over the scraps until they are just covered.
The scraps will float, which is fine. Cover with a cloth or coffee filter held by an elastic band or jar ring; don't seal it, because it needs oxygen.
Let it ferment at room temperature in a dark place, such as a closet, and stir every 2 to 3 days.
After 2 weeks, strain out the scraps. Cover with a cloth and ferment for another month before bottling.
Let it age for at least 6 months; it gets darker and the flavor gets better.
Notes
A thick, rubbery pellicle (mother) or dark floating bits are normal. Mold is not: throw the batch out. If not sour after a month, ferment another 2 or 3 months. Safety: homemade vinegar's acidity is unknown, so don't use it for canning or shelf-stable pickling, which need commercial 5% acidity vinegar.