Easy DIY Apple Cider Vinegar Recipe
I was introduced to apple cider vinegar while Luke and I were living in Guatemala. Our friend was animatedly retelling the (horror) story of when she was stung by a scorpion (pretty standard in San Marcos La Laguna) just before she was due to teach a yoga class! Crisis averted after topically applying apple cider vinegar to the bite.
Apart from treating nasty scorpion bites, apple cider vinegar has a long list of health benefits ranging from aiding gut health and digestion, suppressing your appetite, to giving you gorgeous clear skin and glossy locks. If you want to know more about all of the benefits of this wonder elixir check out Body & Soul and Mind Body Green. If you suffer from poor sleep, check out this great article about combining raw honey and apple cider vinegar before bed.
Even better is that it's SUPER easy and cheap to make at home and we're going to share with you our recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar (I use rapadura because I had a bunch of it in the pantry, but you can use, brown, white, coconut sugar - it will all work the same)
Apple Scraps (or whole apples, but we love using scraps. You can use any type of fruit scraps. Our faves are apple and strawberry vinegar)
Purified water
Steps:
Dissolve the sugar in 1L of (purified) water. NB. I boil my water. If you want to do this, make sure the water has cooled down enough that you can stick a finger in there before you dissolve the sugar.
Chop up your fruit and add to the sugar water.
Cover with a cloth to keep bugs out.
Stir once a day and watch the bubbles start to form (which means you've caught yourself an ACV bug! Yay!)
After a week, strain out the fruit scraps and compost.
Allow the liquid to ferment 2-3 weeks more, stirring every now and then.
Ta-da! You've made your very own batch of apple cider vinegar! how easy was that!
On a side note - I drink 1-2 capfuls in water first thing in the morning, however, if you're going to do this you need to drink 1-2 large glasses of water first to wake up your saliva glands and I would also recommend investing in a glass straw - gotta look after those pearly whites!
** If you're interested in learning more about fermentation, gut health and adding some amazing probiotic recipes to your repertoire (such as kombucha, sauerkraut, and sour dough) we highly recommend you check out Love Probiotics in San Marcos La Laguna. Online courses coming soon! We were lucky enough to take one of their course and our tummies have never been happier!