Homemade Organic ACV

AmericanMom

Songster
6 Years
Aug 10, 2013
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Oregon
I have heard many times in my last year of serious chicken farming that Organic ACV is very good for your birds... I am tired of paying $5+ a bottle for the stuff, Have an over abundance of apples that just get tossed so thought I would try it myself.. Mind you, it takes 2-4 months doing it this way but I figured if I always have it brewing (I have 4 apple tree's) I wont have to buy it next year...


So here is the recipe I found on my local Homesteaders website..

1 Gallon jar, Fill jar with apple peels, add 2TBSP sugar and cover with water... Double cheese cloth the top and secure with a rubber band.. Let sit in a warm dark place for 2-4 months.. Strain and fill quart jars and secure with lids..
 
Sounds great, let us know how it turns out! Love the resourcefulness. I've never made it that way, never had that many apple peels. I usually just use fresh apple juice. This winter I am going to try it also with frozen apple juice concentrate and see how that turns out.

If you get mold on top, don't worry, this happens all the time and hasn't ruined it. Just scoop off the mold and the fermentation will take care of any spores that get in the liquid.
 
Sounds great, let us know how it turns out! Love the resourcefulness. I've never made it that way, never had that many apple peels. I usually just use fresh apple juice. This winter I am going to try it also with frozen apple juice concentrate and see how that turns out.

If you get mold on top, don't worry, this happens all the time and hasn't ruined it. Just scoop off the mold and the fermentation will take care of any spores that get in the liquid.

How do you do it with frozen apple juice and how long does it take? I figured we used all the good apples (wish I would have known about this before I dumped all the peels in the chicken run!) and these were just going to get tossed, to wormy and small for anything else.. I know its organic because we didn't spray this tree lol and thanks for the tip about the mold, I didn't know that
 
Sounds great, let us know how it turns out! Love the resourcefulness. I've never made it that way, never had that many apple peels. I usually just use fresh apple juice. This winter I am going to try it also with frozen apple juice concentrate and see how that turns out.

If you get mold on top, don't worry, this happens all the time and hasn't ruined it. Just scoop off the mold and the fermentation will take care of any spores that get in the liquid.

whoops, double post...dumb computer
wink.png
 
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. I usually just use fresh apple juice. This winter I am going to try it also with frozen apple juice concentrate and see how that turns out.

Im trying the same with apple juice and bought scobies from my local cider maker. How do you know when it no longer has sugar in?
Thanks to another member I know it doesnt contain any alcohol but no idea if it is now without sugar!
 
How do you do it with frozen apple juice and how long does it take? I figured we used all the good apples (wish I would have known about this before I dumped all the peels in the chicken run!) and these were just going to get tossed, to wormy and small for anything else.. I know its organic because we didn't spray this tree lol and thanks for the tip about the mold, I didn't know that

As far as i know, it will work with frozen apple juice, though it might take a bit longer to get started because anything from a store has most likely been pasteurized. I haven't tried it yet though
 
Im trying the same with apple juice and bought scobies from my local cider maker. How do you know when it no longer has sugar in?
Thanks to another member I know it doesnt contain any alcohol but no idea if it is now without sugar!

You bought vinegar scobies from the cider maker? If so, those will speed up the process, but they're not necessary.

Stage 1: apple juice (mostly sugar)
Stage 2: hard cider (mostly alcohol)
Stage 3: vinegar (little to no sugar or alcohol)

It can take 2-3 months to go from stage 1 to stage 3. And it's not like a flip of a switch from stage to stage, but a gradual process.
 
You bought vinegar scobies from the cider maker? If so, those will speed up the process, but they're not necessary.

Stage 1: apple juice (mostly sugar)
Stage 2: hard cider (mostly alcohol)
Stage 3: vinegar (little to no sugar or alcohol)

It can take 2-3 months to go from stage 1 to stage 3. And it's not like a flip of a switch from stage to stage, but a gradual process.
They were the size of the top of a smallish bucket! I put one in each of kilner jars and poured on store bought organic apple juice and a fresh thick scoby formed on top of both jars in no time!
There seems no sign of it turning to alcohol, but straight to vinegar in about 2 weeks!
Could this be possible? Seems so unlikely from what Ive read but there is no sign of alcohol in it at all.
 
They were the size of the top of a smallish bucket! I put one in each of kilner jars and poured on store bought organic apple juice and a fresh thick scoby formed on top of both jars in no time!
There seems no sign of it turning to alcohol, but straight to vinegar in about 2 weeks!
Could this be possible? Seems so unlikely from what Ive read but there is no sign of alcohol in it at all.
There's no sign of alcohol because the Acetobacter are eating it as fast as the Saccharomyces are producing it - basically means your acetobacter colony is larger than your yeast colony, which is to be expected when you added a ton of acetobacter.
 
They were the size of the top of a smallish bucket! I put one in each of kilner jars and poured on store bought organic apple juice and a fresh thick scoby formed on top of both jars in no time! 
There seems no sign of it turning to alcohol, but straight to vinegar in about 2 weeks!
Could this be possible? Seems so unlikely from what Ive read but there is no sign of alcohol in it at all.


Sounds plausible, with a SCOBY as large as that!

I'm trying a different method this time, more equipment involved and will take longer, but I'm curious to see if it will turn out better than my previous attempts. And I already have the equipment. It involves turning the juice into a more pure hard cider first, then into vinegar, rather than a gradual process. My previous attempts turned into vinegar, but some of the sugars did not convert and it was a much sweeter vinegar than I am used to.

Also, this way I will better be able to tell the % of vinegar concentration by measuring specific gravity with the hygrometer (you inspired me to find mine!)

http://www.apple-cider-vinegar-benefits.com/homemade-apple-cider-vinegar.html
 
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