Homemade Apple Cider Vinegar (Plus Pear and Peach)

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I love when nothing goes to waste — especially during harvest time. Whether you’re swimming in apples or just have a few leftovers from canning, making your own homemade apple cider vinegar is one of the easiest and most satisfying ways to use up every bit of fruit. It’s one of those homestead staples that connects you to a slower, more intentional way of living — and it feels good knowing exactly what’s in it.

We’ve been making our own apple cider vinegar for the last year now, and I can honestly say, once you start, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought again.

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Why Make Your Own Apple Cider Vinegar?

First off, it’s so easy — and incredibly budget-friendly. You can make it from apple scraps (the peels and cores you’d normally toss) or whole apples if you’d like. Pro Tip: Freeze scraps until you have enough to make a batch. Homemade apple cider vinegar has all the good bacteria and enzymes that help with digestion, cleaning, and even skincare. Plus, it just feels right to make something from scratch that your great-great-grandmother probably did too!

I love using it for:

• Homemade salad dressings
• Natural cleaning around the house
• As a hair rinse
• Immune-boosting tonics
• And even baking (yes, really!)

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What You’ll Need

• Apple scraps or chopped apples (peels, cores, or whole apples diced — organic is best)
• Filtered water (You can boil your water for 15 minutes to filter it)
• Sugar (about 1 tablespoon per cup of water)
• A clean glass jar
• A coffee filter or cheesecloth and a rubber band

That’s it! Nothing fancy — just simple, wholesome ingredients that work together naturally.

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How to Make It

1. Fill your jar:
   Add your apple pieces or scraps to a clean jar until it’s about half full. Don’t pack them in too tightly — you want the water to move freely.
2. Add sugar water:
   Dissolve your sugar in room-temperature filtered water and pour it over the apples until they’re fully covered. The sugar helps feed the natural fermentation process. You can also add a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar with the mother to help start the fermentation, but this is not needed.
3. Cover and store:
   Place a coffee filter or piece of cheesecloth over the top and secure it with a rubber band. This allows air in while keeping bugs out.
   Store your jar in a warm (at least 70 degrees), dark place (like a pantry) for about 2 weeks. Stir every day to keep things mixed. This will help keep bad bacteria from growing. You can also get a weight to keep the fruit under the sugar water if you do not want to stir everyday.
4. Strain:
   After the two weeks, strain out the apples and pour the liquid back into a clean jar.
   Cover it again with the cloth and let it sit for another 2-3 months in a cool dark room. Root cellar and a basement cold room works perfect. — this is when it transforms into vinegar. Leave it to long and it will have a stronger flavor. Those I use for cleaning or laundry.
5. Taste and store:
   After a month feel free to taste it. When it smells and tastes like vinegar, you’re done! Store it in a sealed bottle or jar, and keep it in your pantry.

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Tips and Notes

• If you see a white jelly-like blob forming on top — that’s called the mother! It’s a natural part of the fermentation process and full of probiotics. You can keep it in or even use it to start your next batch.
• Keep the apples fully submerged to prevent mold. If any mold appears, just toss it and start fresh.
• The longer it sits, the stronger the vinegar becomes.

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Pear and Peach Vinegar

How to make pear cider vinegar is exactly like making apple cider vinegar. Has the same health benefits and act similar to apples

Making peach cider vinegar is a little bit tricky. Do the same things as you would do with apple or pear, but you need to have a weight with peaches. If you don’t they develop a white mold like film over the top no matter if you stir it everyday. When that happens I use that strictly for cleaning. DO NOT DRINK MOLD VINEGAR!

My theory why peaches do this is because they are softer and mold faster. Pears and apples you can keep in the root cellar for months without molding.

A Few Thoughts from My Heart

I think one of my favorite things about making apple cider vinegar (and most homemade things, honestly) is how it slows you down. There’s something sacred about creating something useful from what was once considered waste. It reminds me of how God can take the simple, overlooked parts of life — and turn them into something healing and good.

This process takes patience, but that’s part of the beauty. You can’t rush it. It’s a small act of trust — that nature and time will do their work.

So next time you’re peeling apples for a pie, save those scraps. You might just end up with a jar of golden vinegar sitting on your counter — a little reminder of how good things grow from what we often throw away.

Let me know how it went for you?

Check out my other post on how to make your own cleaning supplies using vinegar!

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