After a few years of flirting with fermentation projects here and there—koji, kombucha, pickles—I’ve come across one with real everyday and everyone potential: apple cider vinegar. I’m sharing it here at Evermine.com because it’s easy to make, easy to love, and it’s made with just the scraps of apples, something you may find yourself replete with a few times a year.
I demonstrated how to make this fermentation at my local farmers market (the robust yet charming Hollywood Farmers Market in Portland, Oregon) and folks were impressed with how accessible it is. On top of that, apple cider vinegar boasts an almost innumerable list of folk uses, including its use as a remedy for heartburn, high blood pressure, disordered metabolism (used for weight loss), dry skin conditions, acne, complexion booster, antiseptic, fever reducer and vitamin and mineral source. Of course, it’s also a food, and can be used alone as refreshing a condiment, or in all kinds of sauces, marinades and dressings. Oh apple cider vinegar. Shall I write a book? Lastly, and impressively, you can make it with just the peels and cores of apples, so if you assemble your fermentation right after that fall pie-making sesh, you’ll be able to eek something fabulous out of every last ounce of apple poundage.
For a lovely batch of holiday gifts, bottle up your apple cider vinegar, anoint it with a loving label, and distribute those sweet bottles of sour panacea. I used the Briar Rose style in spice, in the large oval shape and text label shape (sizes 07 and 05 text), and requested a font change to the main font from the Chalkboard style. Together these labels and the very apothecarian 8 ounce amber bottles from Specialty Bottle really highlight the medicine and the craft of the special vinegar inside.
- Apple cores and peels
- Water
- Sugar
- Wide mouth jar or a ceramic crock
- Jar of water (as a weight)
- Plate that fits into your crock
- Cloth napkin
- Sieve or cheesecloth
- Coffee filter (optional)
[/url]- Place apple peels and cores into a wide-mouth jar or ceramic crock. Dissolve ¼ cup sugar into 1 quart of water, then pour this over the scraps until they are covered. If needed, make more sugar water.
[/url]- The scraps will want to float, so weight the top of the container with a jar of water and/or a plate, so that none of the scraps float to the surface. Cover with a cloth napkin and store for several weeks, periodically scraping away any mold that forms.
[/url]- Taste the liquid as early as 2 weeks and allow the apples to ferment until you are happy with the flavor of your vinegar. Strain out the apple pieces with a metal sieve or cheesecloth. If you want to remove some of the harmless particulates, pour your vinegar through a coffee filter.
Used In This Project:
- Large Oval Labels • I chose the “Briar Rose” style in spice, and requested a font change to the main font from the Chalkboard style.
- Text Labels • I chose the “Briar Rose” style in spice.
More Gift Ideas:
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Lorraine is a medical student, writer and food lover living in her hometown of Portland, Oregon. Sometimes, Lorraine realizes that, for the most part, her family, friends and adored acquaintances are just a bike ride away. This gives her sense of cozy giddiness! Mostly though, she gets psyched about creating and sharing food, particularly the kind of food that is accidentally healthy and delicious. See more of her work at SweetAllium.
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