Food Family Lifestyle Beauty Sustainability Health Immunity

Apple Scraps Vinegar

Name: Apple Scraps Vinegar
Ingredients: 1 cup (250 mL) apple wood chips; 1/2 cup (125 mL) honey; 4 cups (1 L) filtered water, plus extra; Peels and cores from 12 lb (5.4 kg) apples; 1 - 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) wide-mouth jar*; 1 - 1/2 cup (125 mL) Mason jar to use as a fermenting weight; 3 - 12 in (30 cm) square pieces of cheesecloth

Joel MacCharles and Dana Harrison

Updated Sep 23, 2016

Cooking with autumn’s bounty of apples—whether you make a big batch of applesauce or a bumper crop of apple pies—can result in a lot of peels and cores destined for the compost. Knowing how to make apple cider vinegar at home is an easy way to repurpose the scraps! Because the amount of acidity in homemade vinegar is inconsistent, it should not be used for other canning projects, but it’s delicious anywhere else you’d use apple cider vinegar. (Try it in the Broiled Scallops with Apple Gastrique recipe.)

*If you don’t have a 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) jar, use a food-safe bucket and a plate to weigh down the apple scraps.

Preserving technique: Ferment
Yield: 1 1/2 to 2 qt (1.4 to 1.9 L)
Time to make: 10 minutes
Time to wait before eating: 4 to 6 weeks
When to eat: Within 1 to 2 years

Quick Applesauce

Don’t worry about apples rotting on your shelf ever again! Peel, core, and chop 2 or 3 apples and toss with 1 Tbsp (15 mL) honey and 1 tsp (5 mL) lemon juice. Blend ingredients, add more honey and lemon to taste, and store in airtight container in fridge for 3 weeks or longer. Cook to thicken if desired. If you use a high-speed blender, you can de-stem and quarter the apples and purée with skin and cores intact.

Apple Scraps Vinegar

Ingredients

1 cup (250 mL) apple wood chips
1/2 cup (125 mL) honey
4 cups (1 L) filtered water, plus extra
Peels and cores from 12 lb (5.4 kg) apples

Additional materials

1 - 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) wide-mouth jar*
1 - 1/2 cup (125 mL) Mason jar to use as a fermenting weight
3 - 12 in (30 cm) square pieces of cheesecloth

Directions

01

In well-ventilated kitchen, toast wood chips in large frying pan over high heat, moving pan frequently until wood just begins to smoke. Lay 2 pieces of cheesecloth on clean counter (in layers), place wood chips on top, and tie into a u201ctea bag.u201d Make sure all wood is secure so none escapes into your vinegar.

02

Dissolve honey in water.

03

Fill 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) jar with apple scraps. Place wood chip bag on top to prevent apple scraps from floating. Pour in honey water, adding more water to fully submerge apple scraps if necessary. Place 1/2 cup (125 mL) Mason jar on top to keep scraps submerged. Cover with clean piece of cheesecloth and place in warm spot in kitchen.

04

Skim off any residue that appears daily. Taste after 1 month, and ferment for up to 4 weeks more. Itu2019s done when you like the taste. Store in fridge for maximum life.

Like this recipe?

This recipe is part of the Why Preserve? collection.

Joel MacCharles and Dana Harrison

Joel MacCharles and Dana Harrison are co-authors of Batch: Over 200 Recipes, Tips and Techniques for a Well Preserved Kitchen

Tags:

READ THIS NEXT

Food

Tamari Roasted Kabocha Squash with Ginger and Chili

In Japan, it’s a custom to eat kabocha squash on the day of the winter solstice as a symbol of good health. In fact, kabocha squash contains cancer-fighting antioxidants such as beta carotene and lutein. It’s also full of fibre and vitamins A and C. We’ve made a roasted version dressed in a sweet and tangy marinade that’s sprinkled with sesame seeds before roasting in the oven. The remaining marinade, full of ginger, tamari, and red pepper flakes, is used as a dressing to further flavour the squash. Know your squash You’ll recognize kabocha squash by its dark green rind and round shape. Its yellowish-orange flesh is sweeter than other types and has been likened to a cross between sweet potato and pumpkin. The rind is quite hard but is edible when cooked. Wash squash well and take care while cutting. You can microwave the whole squash for 4 to 5 minutes prior to cutting to help soften the rind and make things a bit easier.

Spicy Poached Eggs with Spinach and Yogurt

This homage to the sun plays out visually as well as nutritionally. To celebrate the return of the vitamin D-giving sun, this dish of eggs, spinach, and yogurt with a hint of spice is a vitamin D party on a plate. A single serving of these eggs contains 12 g of protein and more than 70 percent of the RDA of vitamin D. Taking inspiration from the Turkish egg dish çilbir, the creamy yogurt is drizzled with a little bit of olive oil that’s been flavoured with chili flakes and sweet paprika. Lay out components separately and then mix them up to savour the creamy texture and delicious smoky flavour. Eggs and a drop of vinegar Adding acidic vinegar to the poaching water changes the structure of the protein (as does cooking) and helps the egg hold its shape by making that process happen more rapidly.

Food

Warming Blueberry Orange Tea

This is a spin off the classic, without the Grand Marnier. The depth of orange is derived from a generous piece of orange peel simmered in the tea.

Food

No-Bake Chocolate Raspberry Tart

Tarts are timeless, and a good tart is always a people-pleaser. And who doesn’t love something with chocolate in any form? This classic tart is so easy to make with fresh fruit and hints of orange in a delicious chocolate crust. Once firm, it cuts like a dream into 16 easy slices. Fruity faves This remarkable tart lends itself well to a bevy of flavours. We conjoined raspberries with chocolate and orange in our tart. But you can stretch the boundaries with all sorts of fruits such as mango, pineapple, and papaya. If you’re longing to go somewhere tropical but the opportunity has scooted away, make this timely tart and fill it with the flavours of the tropics.