Apple cider vinegar is easy to buy for a small price. But making your own is even easier. If you buy organic fruits, the skins are perfectly safe to eat. We’ve got a few ideas for using up your fruit peelings, which might just help neutralize your global footprint, but we’ll start with healthy and fermented vinegar. We can sip apple cider vinegar diluted with water to start every day, but there are hundreds of other wonderful ways it can be used.
Tip
Cider vinegar is delicious splashed into many recipes, from soups to meats to seafood. We’ve created a Maple Apple Bear Butter that also lends itself well to a little added splash of cider vinegar.
Fruit Peel and Apple Cider Vinegar
Ingredients
- 4 cups (1 L) mixture of apple peels, cores, and bruised and chopped apples
- 2 in (5 cm) piece fresh unpeeled ginger root, sliced
- 2 Tbsp (30 mL) raw sugar
- Distilled water
Nutrition
Per serving:
- calories14
- protein0g
- fat0g
- saturated fat0g
- trans fat0g
- carbohydrates4g
- sugars3g
- fibre1g
- sodium0mg
Directions
01
Clean and sterilize 1.5 L canning jar. Press and mash down apple peels, cores, and bruised chopped apples along with ginger root into jar.
02
Dissolve sugar in enough distilled water to cover apples. You will need to press downu2014apples need to be completely submerged. Add a little more distilled water if needed. Weigh down apples with a heavy sterilized weight that fits into jar. Cover with cheesecloth and secure with rubber band.
03
Leave in a dark place at room temperature for about 3 weeks. Check on it every couple of days to make sure fruit is still submerged and no mold is growing. Apples exposed to air will cause mold. Be quick to scoop out mold and discard. The mold will not spoil the vinegar unless it goes deeper inside the jar.
04
Note: do not mistake mold for the u201cmother,u201d which is the culture of beneficial bacteria that makes fermentation work more quickly.
05
After 3 weeks, the apple mixture will smell rather sweet. Strain and return liquid to jar. Cover with cheesecloth and rubber band and allow it to rest at room temperature for another 3 weeks. Stir every few days.
06
It will turn in scent and suddenly reach a tartness, at which time itu2019s ready. Apply canning lid on top and refrigerate before use.
READ THIS NEXT
SEE MORE »
Tempeh and Mango Curry
The stars of this delicious curry dish are yellow and orange fruits and vegetables, which are high in a form of carotenoids called xanthophylls. These compounds have more of a yellow pigment as opposed to their orangier cousins, the carotenes. While a powerful antioxidant, xanthophylls are mostly associated with maintaining good eye health. Mix and match This curry is easily adaptable to whichever vegetables you have on hand. Experiment to find your favourite combination.
Maple Butternut Apple Salad with Granola Croutons
Here, the breakfast favourite, granola, serves as a crunchy topping for this salad featuring seasonal delights, including sweet butternut and apple. The maple-date dressing is sure to be kid-approved. You can add cooked lentils to move it from side dish to complete plant-based meal. If desired, swap out butternut for pumpkin or sweet potato and add a creamy touch with feta or soft goat cheese. Date night Soft and oh-so sweet, Medjool dates are a great way to add natural sweetness to everything from baked goods to DIY energy bars and dressings. You’ll also benefit from their fibre and nutrients, including vitamin B6 and potassium, which aren’t found in refined sugar.
Orange Carrot Cake
What better way to celebrate healthy eating than with cake? Thanks to a healthy dose of orange fruits and vegetables, this cake is chock full of carotenoids, a compound that converts to vitamin A in the body and is essential for proper immune health and good eye health. Nibble-size it! Can’t wait to eat cake? Skip the frosting and roll the cake base into balls to create nibble-sized cake bites.
Halibut Poached in Tomato Red Pepper Sauce
Red vegetables and fruits are rich in lycopene. This plant nutrient is a potent antioxidant that also happens to provide foods such as tomatoes, watermelon, red peppers, and grapefruit with their characteristic colours. Lycopene has been linked to a range of health benefits including promoting optimal heart health and potentially preventing or slowing down certain types of cancers. Time saver You can cut your prep time for this recipe by using jarred fire-roasted red peppers instead of making your own and 3 cups (750 mL) jarred marinara sauce.