Making apple cider vinegar at home allows control over the ingredients. This is essential for making artisan vinegars, which can range from tart and fruity to fragrant spice or a woodland flavor. There are no artificial additives. Here’s how to craft apple cider vinegar from scratch.
About Apple Cider Vinegar
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is known for promoting digestion, powerful antimicrobial action, as a natural preservative and flavorful ingredient in cuisine. Making apple cider vinegar at home yields a natural product and potential to experiment with flavors.
ACV is made by fermenting apple juices in two stages. The process uses specific strains of yeast and acetic acid bacteria (AAB). Yeast absorbs sugars and excretes ethanol, or alcohol. The yeast can be store bought, or wild yeast captured from the environment, especially fruit.
Cider vinegar making is not for those seeking instant gratification. The methods below take three or four months.
Wild and Domestic Yeast
Wild yeasts can be strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Commonly called brewer's yeast or baker's yeast, S. cerevisiae is instrumental in winemaking, baking and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to be originally isolated from the skin of grapes.
It's one of the most intensively studied eukaryotic model organisms in molecular and cell biology and the catalyst in many types of fermentation. S. cerevisiae cells are round to ovoid, 5–10 μm in diameter. They reproduce by budding.
A common wild yeast is Brettanomyces, a favorite among artisan brewers, bakers and vinegar makes. "Brett" is also found on fruit skins. It loves the sugar and acidity of citrus but doesn't colonize the peel.
It develops inside citrus like oranges and can be coaxed out by breaking up a couple of orange segments in a mini glass of water, with table sugar (sucrose) dissolved. Brett will appear shortly thereafter. A microscope helps with visual identification.
Yeast gets inside fruit because it's attracted to flower nectar. Flower petals are another possible source of wild yeast. As the fruit develops, the yeast becomes incorporated. It doesn't act until the fruit is ready for fermentation.
As the yeasts perform their conversions, the AAB get to work slurping up the alcohol to metabolize acetic acid, the primary ingredient in vinegar. Store-bought apple cider vinegar is about 5 - 6% acetic acid. This factor too can be controlled by the maker.
Sterilize
Jars, lids and other equipment or tools need to be sterilized before starting, to avoid introducing contaminants which can ruin the process or result. First wash items with hot water and dish soap, rinse, then boil them gently for about 10 minutes.
Use glass jars and stainless steel stirrers and other equipment if possible. Straining cloths should be washed with soap in hot water before use, and rinsed thoroughly in cold.
Ingredients
The vinegar making process uses the wild yeast (probably Brett) on the skins of the apples. This method can be adapted to different fruits such as ripe pears, plums, grapes, blueberries or bananas, all favorite colonization media of wild yeast.
Store-bought yeast, usually S. cerevisiae, can also be used as consistency is more predictable. A packet of dry yeast is conventionally 7-8 grams or just over 2 teaspoons. Add 60 ml (1/4 cup) warm water to wake up the yeast if needed. It yields about 1/2 cup of fully active yeast.
It's best to experiment with smaller amounts before going for the gold. All kinds of factors can affect fermentation from climate to time to yeast strains. Sample sizes also take much less time to ferment and develop. Adjust amount of ingredients to suit. Overall it's a personal taste.
Apples
Use whole apples, apple scraps like cores and peels, or a combination of both. Choose organic apples. Pesticides destroy or repel our industrious little helpers. Apple flavor tones can range from crisp and sour to sweet and rustic.
Apple cider vinegar can be made from one type of apple or a variety, for a cunning blend of flavors. It's most important to be familiar with the basic process before the mix and match.
Sugar
Sugar bribes the yeasts to create the alcohol, which is turned to vinegar by acetic acid bacteria. Use white sugar, brown sugar or honey. Be daring. Try syrup, fruit juice or beet sugar. A rule of thumb is about 250 ml (1 cup) of sugar per 3.8 liters (one gallon) of water.
Yeast doesn't always need sugar to ferment, but responds to it with great enthusiasm. It can also break down starches, as in grain or flour, into sugars for energy. While this is more work for the yeast and slows down production, slow fermenting is also a process used in brewing.
Water
Filtered or distilled water helps prevent unwanted bacteria from interfering with the fermentation process. Tap water is not recommended if it contains chlorine, which is sudden death even to beneficial microbes.
Mother of vinegar (optional)
This intriguing gelatinous substance contains beneficial bacteria and yeast to accelerate the fermentation process. The Mother of Vinegar herself can be created through a separate process over several weeks and used to start new batches.
Equipment
Glass Jar or Fermentation Vessel: A wide-mouth glass jar or a ceramic container works best.
Cheesecloth, other fabric, paper towel or coffee filter: This covers the jar, allowing airflow while keeping out dust and insects.
Rubber Band or String: To secure the cover over the jar.
Stainless Steel: Spoons, tongs and other utensils, washed and sterilized. Ethyl alcohol can also be used for sterilization.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Prepare the Apples
If using whole apples, wash them thoroughly to remove any dirt or wax. Cut them into quarters, leaving the cores and seeds intact. Apple scraps can be used directly. Aim for about 4 to 6 apples to produce about 1 quart of vinegar.
Step 2: Make Sugar Water Solution
In a large mixing bowl or directly in the fermentation vessel, combine about 1 cup of sugar with 4 cups of water. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.
The sugar water nourishes the yeast during fermentation. Pour the sugar solution over the apples in the jar until the apples are completely submerged. If using mother of vinegar, add it at this point.
Under these conditions jars will explode due to expansion of gasses if capped. Cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth, light fabric, paper towel or a coffee filter and secured with a rubber band or string. This cover allows controlled air flow while keeping out dust and insects.
Step 4: Ferment the Mixture
Put the jar in a warm, dark place (15-27°C or 60-80°F) for 3 to 4 weeks. During this time, swirls the mixture every few days to keep mold from forming and to promote fermentation. Mold is fond of stagnant acidic conditions and is one of the microbes naturally present on fruit.
Because yeast prefers anaerobic conditions, a skin or froth might appear at the top of the liquid in the jar. The yeast forms this biofilm to create the habitat it loves and repel pathogens. It contains yeast bodies and secretions, harmless bacteria and some organic matter.
Some people prefer to leave the natural biofilm undisturbed and let the yeast work in peace, while others find a good shake-up has more desirable results. Also called SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria & Yeast), the biofilm is similar to the krausen of beer (above) and is part of the ultimate composition of the Mother of Vinegar.
Breaking up the biofilm doesn't kill the beneficial bacteria or the yeast. These scrappy microbes just build a new one and continue on with their work. Let the mixture ferment a while. This stage is crucial for developing the classic vinegar flavor.
Step 6: Strain the Mixture
After 3 to 4 weeks, the apple pieces have sunk to the bottom and the liquid should be cloudy brown. Strain the mix using a fine-mesh sieve or fabric bag. Transfer the liquid back to the jar or into another sterilized glass container.
The yeast from the mixture makes a fine white silt at the bottom of the original jar. It can be used to start another batch. Yeast dies at an alcohol saturation of 10 - 20% but can survive and prosper for a long time if rescued before then. It can even be frozen and will revive.
To gauge progress, smell and taste the liquid produced. it should resemble a sweet apple wine or hard cider. If it lacks any alcoholic flavor or smell, more fermentation is needed. If it smells noxious and fuzzy blue/grey/white things grow, it's spoiled.
Step 7: Secondary Fermentation
Cover the jar again and let it sit another 3 to 6 weeks. This is where the acetic acid bacteria take over. They convert the alcohol to acetic acid, resulting in vinegar. If using a Mother of Vinegar, now is the time to add it.
Without a mother, naturally present acetic acid bacteria soon catalyze the transformation to vinegar. Taste periodically to check for flavor; once it reaches desired acidity level, the apple cider vinegar is ready.
Step 8: Storing Apple Cider Vinegar
Once the vinegar has reached the desired flavor and acidity, transfer it to a clean glass bottle with a tight-fitting lid. Store it in a cool, dark place. Its flavor may evolve further over time.
Watch out for bubbles, which mean some yeast left in the mix is fermenting again. Loosen the lid to release the carbon dioxide it produces. Decide whether to chuck it or use for more experiments.
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