Save Your Scraps! ~ Make Apple Cider "Scrap" Vinegar

"Everything must be saved,

nothing wasted of all the summer's bounty.

Even the apple cores were saved for making vinegar…"

~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy

I love when nothing goes to waste. Of course, apple scraps could go to your goats, chickens and compost piles, but I like the idea of creating something useful for our pantry even better! This idea came from Fresh Eggs Daily (though the pioneers did this for years) but we modified the recipe for easier use with a Fido jar. Some call this apple cider vinegar while others refer to it as apple scrap vinegar. Being this has no real cider but starts with scraps, I deem it apple scrap vinegar but will use it like apple cider vinegar.

After thoroughly washing your apples and using them for whatever you had in mind (we made delicious apple crisps), place all the leftover scraps on a clean plate. Let them sit for an hour to develop a bit of browning on the outside.

Note: You can accumulate scraps for this project, just store them in the refrigerator until you have enough to work with. I had about 2 quarts worth (use as much as you have, there is no set recipe). You may also consider using organic apples because the skins are used in this project and apples are one of the #1 sprayed trees.

Next, place your scraps inside a sterilized Fido jar. I chose to use a Fido jar because I didn't want to worry about skimming the growth off the top in this first stage (see this post if you want to use a regular canning jar).

Prepare a sugary brine for your scraps. For every quart of water, add 1/4 cup of sugar. Don't worry about the sugar because it will be eaten up in the fermentation process. Stir this mixture until it is dissolved.

Pour your sugary brine over your apple scraps until they are completely submerged under the liquid (if you have more apples, just keep making up the brine until you have enough to cover all your scraps).

The trick in keeping the scraps submerged is to place a ramekin on top of the apples and close the jar upon it. This works wonderful for all my fermentation needs.

Important Note: You can only close the lid while making vinegar when using a Fido jar because they keep the oxygen out, which is the focus of fermentation, while allowing some of the CO2 to safely escape.

Store jar in a cool, dark location for one week.

After a few days, you will start to see the bubbles. It is fermenting. This is good!

Once the proper time has elapsed, strain your liquid into another sterile jar (at this point, a regular canning jar works well).

If you use red apples, your solution may have a pinker cast in the beginning.

Note: Green apples contain less sugar so you may have a stronger vinegar with red apples.

Cover your jars with cheesecloth and store in a cool, dark location for approximately six weeks.

After a few weeks, the "mother" will make her entrance (filmy stuff on top). You can swirl your jar to allow it to settle to the bottom and create some more (or you can leave it be). This is good stuff!

For more information on the benefits of fermented food, visit here.

Your vinegar will darken as it ages. Isn't it pretty?

Note: Be patient on this project because the liquid will turn to hard cider before it becomes vinegar. Our object here is to make vinegar ladies ;)



Once the six weeks expires, you will notice a vinegar smell instead of a brewery. It is ready to be bottled (or jarred). Some people strain out the mother though a coffee filter but I kept it in for medicinal benefits (and with hopes to start a new batch of vinegar quicker with the "mother"). When you are finished, you have a vinegar that you can "Bragg" about (pun intended)! There is no need for refrigeration as this is now "shelf stable" (store in a cool, dark location, like your pantry).

We use this as a salad dressing, in meat marinades and for adding into our bone broths as they simmer to draw out the minerals. I do not recommend using your vinegar for canning because the acidity level is unknown. Your apple scrap vinegar would also make a nice (and thrifty) gift when dolled up a bit in a decorated canning jar or placed inside a pretty bottle (we used a neat pouring spout on ours). Here is our printable label sheet that you may use (just download from the link and print) to further embellish your bottles.

If you enjoyed this project, we share 100+ more ideas on how to use up fruit scraps in our Ebook here! Happy kitchen-crafting, ladies!

This post may be shared with some or all of the following link-ups: The Art of Home-Making Mondays, Modest Mom Monday's, Monday's Musings, Make Your Home Sing Monday, Good Morning Mondays,  The Scoop, Titus 2sdays, Titus 2 Tuesdays, Roses of Inspiration, Tuesdays with a Twist, Raising Homemakers, Wise Woman Link Up, Homestead Blog Hop,  Wow Us Wednesdays, Wildcrafting Wednesday, Coffee and Conversation, So Much at Home, Homemaking Thursdays, Home Sweet Home, Our Simple Homestead, From the Farm Blog Hop, Farmgirl Friday, Front Porch Friday Blog Hop, Awesome Life Friday Link Up, Simply Natural Saturdays and Clever Chicks Blog Hop. Thank you lovely ladies for hosting these. Note: This tutorial was a collaboration of gleanings from the following sources: source one, source two, source three and source four.