Apple Cider Vinegar For Health

While excellent Apple cider vinegar is widely available there is something very satisfying about making your very own homemade cider vinegar.

This is the recipe I use . Before you start you must take these two factors into consideration. Firstly, temperature. The fermenting vinegar must be kept between 60 and 80 degrees ( f). If the temperature is lower then the vinegar will be of much poorer quality and if the temperature is higher it interferes with the formation of ' mother of vinegar' which is the base that forms on fermenting wine that has gone bad.
Secondly, oxygen. This is necessary and is spread thro' the mixture by stirring daily and the use of a porous lid, such as cheesecloth, to allow the circulation of air.
Do not use a metal container when making or storing vinegar as the vinegar will corrode the metal.

There are four main steps in making cider vinegar.

1. Making Cider

Cider is made from autumn apples as these have the highest quantity of sugar. Crush the apples to produce a pulp the n strain this thro' a cheesecloth to produce a nice clear liquid. Adding yeast is not essential but will speed up the process of fermentation. These can be bought in chemists or wine making shops. Please note that bread yeasts should not be used. Quantities and instructions will come with the yeast.

2. Making the alcohol and acetic acid

Pour the cider into a container but only fill to three quarter capacity. place a porous lid on and stir daily. Fermentation will take up to three or four weeks and you will smell a strong vinegar smell when it is complete.

3. Filtering

This can be done through any type of filter but I tend to use coffee filters as they are cheap and disposable. This removes the mother of vinegar preventing any further fermentation.

4. Storing your vinegar.

Your vinegar is now ready to be stored in a capped container. It can be stored for many months if pasteurised. To do this heat the vinegar and then pour into sterilized bottles or jars. The temperature of the vinegar should reach about 140 (F) and you can use a cooking thermometer to check this-carefully of course!!

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