Culinary Medicine for the Body, Mind, & Soul
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR
Makes: 2 12 ounce jars
Time: 10 minutes + 14 or more days
Good for the Body, Mind, & Soul
APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (ACV)
I took the girls and meet up with our neighborhood besties to an apple orchard near our home. It was this incredible orchard that you could “adopt” a tree for a year, where you could trim it, care for it and during the fall all the other “parents” would harvest. The community would come together and gather the apples, do cider pressing, listen to a live band and have a gal ole’ time…pre pandemic. Unfortunately, my girls and I never experienced it…but once a year the orchard allows anyone willing to come in and harvest apples from unadopted trees. There aren’t many, but the trees are loaded with organic, naturally grown apples from trees that are very mature and have been around for almost 100 years! Needless to say, this is quite an amazing experience and after harvesting for under an hour, we collected a large basketful of apples (they were more interested in tackling apples in the tops of the trees as these glorious trees had the best climbing branches that make even The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein book lovers dream about trees like these)! When we came home, I made a lot of apple goodness, but one that I love was Apple Cider Vinegar, or ACV for short. I did notice, you can use bruised apples, but not those that have bugs or maggots as it just doesn’t make ACV. So, if you are just using peels and the apple cores, that’s great, but if you have an abundant supply of apples, you can slice them up (and check for any bug infestations).
PREPARATION
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Wash and scrub the apples and check for any bug infestations (like a dark path winding around—just cut these parts out and compost them).
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Slice apples or use scraps like the peels, core, and seeds.
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Add into a wide mouth jar.
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Add the quartered lemon (if using) or the leftovers of a few lemons.
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Add the sugar and water to cover the apples and lemons.
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Give the mixture a nice stir.
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Place a glass bowl or fermentation weight to help weigh down the fruits so they are below the water. This helps get all the goodness from the apples and helps decrease any unwanted bacteria/fungus from growing.
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Place a coffee filter or flour sack towel over the jar.
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Secure with a rubber band.
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Allow the mixture to ferment i.e. become vinegar for the next two weeks. You may notice bubbles will be created and some off gassing may occur. This is perfectly normal and a sign telling you it’s fermenting!
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You may stir the mixture every day, but it can rest as well during this time.
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If the water starts to evaporate below the fruit level, remove the glass bowl/weights, add more water and stir the mixture. Replace with a clean glass bowl/weights, cloth cover/coffee filter, secure and continue to ferment.
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The goal is to let it ferment for at least 14 days as this is when the ideal bacteria is formed.
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You may notice some vinegary smell throughout this time, but after 14 days or you can no longer handle the smell, uncover the jar and strain the mixture over a large glass bowl that you can easily pour from.
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Strain this mixture multiple times through a filter to catch any additional sediments.
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Once the vinegar has been filtered to your liking, place in a glass jar with a lid.
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Place your apple cider vinegar preferably in a dark cupboard or pantry. You may need to “burp” the jar as it’s a fermented product and it may continue to build up gas and instead of having it explode, you’ll need open the jar to release the pressure every week or two weeks.
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This can be used in cooking, salad dressing concoctions, drinking (diluting with water), or even cleaning. The possibilities are endless.
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Enjoy!
TIPS
*You will want to scrub your apples and lemons really well to prevent any contamination for occurring i.e. bacteria, fungus, yeast overgrowth
*Using really clean jars, weighs, spoons are helpful at decreasing contamination
*If you don’t feel comfortable with the result, throw it out
*Any green, blue, black growth is not good and throw it out
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Welcome to Health-Crush Home Tips label for this concoction. See how it fits into your daily needs and as you create your own label. From my herbalism education, I always recommend you include a few things for your own label. Check it out and use at your convenience, and happy days to you and yours! As always, should you have any questions, please consult with me and/or your medical professional(s).
