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General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: Cook for Good on March 13, 2013, 03:11:07 PM

Title: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: Cook for Good on March 13, 2013, 03:11:07 PM
There's practically nothing I like better (in the kitchen at least) than discovering a new Something-for-Nothing recipe. I'm now using delicious, practically free organic apple cider vinegar in my salad dressings. My local Harris Teeter is selling 16 ounces for $4.49 and I can make that much in 5 minutes for the cost of a 1/4 cup of sugar: less than six cents! That's like making $88 an hour! Here's the recipe:

http://www.cookforgood.com/recipe/homemade-organic-apple-cider-vinegar.html

Use as desired for salad dressings, cooking, homemade vegetable spray, and cleaning. I'm going to post this to the MMM thread on homemade skin wash, too.
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: Nancy on March 14, 2013, 09:56:20 AM
Awesome! Thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: anastrophe on March 14, 2013, 10:08:12 AM
I have a bottle of vinegar that is organic and seems to have a mother floating in it. Have you ever made it that way? I want to try but I'm a bit wary of growing something unknown (though I have no problem with making sourdough, I dunno).
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: blueeyetea on March 14, 2013, 11:08:22 AM
I've read you can also make red wine vinegar from leftover wine you don't drink.  If you google, you find some that are precise, i.e. add 2 cups of wine a week to a crock, and other where you just dump anytime you have wine.  It looks like fun.
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: KimAB on March 16, 2013, 04:55:54 PM
Raw cider vinegar is SO good for you, too. 
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: Kazimieras on March 17, 2013, 12:06:17 AM
Raw cider vinegar is SO good for you, too.
Using it as a dressing is great if it subs out a higher calorie dressing, but be careful on the health claims as there is little to no evidence to back this up.
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: grantmeaname on March 17, 2013, 06:49:14 AM
I don't know, this kinda seems like making your own yogurt, where you don't really come out ahead by a meaningful amount. Our Kroger has 2 gallon jugs of apple cider vinegar for $3.18, which comes out to under $.20 for effortless already-made vinegar the same volume as your $.06 of sugar. Maybe if the quality or flavor were better I'd understand the appeal, but isn't this the kind of tip that would only save a bulk vinegar buyer like $1.50 a year?
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: anastrophe on March 17, 2013, 08:27:49 AM
I don't know, this kinda seems like making your own yogurt, where you don't really come out ahead by a meaningful amount. Our Kroger has 2 gallon jugs of apple cider vinegar for $3.18, which comes out to under $.20 for effortless already-made vinegar the same volume as your $.06 of sugar. Maybe if the quality or flavor were better I'd understand the appeal, but isn't this the kind of tip that would only save a bulk vinegar buyer like $1.50 a year?

It probably depends on how much you like good vinegar. I think for vinegar you cook with, where flavor really matters, it might be worth it--I've had some excellent artisanal vinegars and some truly abysmal ones, and the better ones are much more expensive than the run-of-the-mill stuff. For cleaning or everyday things, meh.

But then, I *love* yogurt and do make my own because it is that much better IMO. So, .02.
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: KimAB on March 18, 2013, 11:20:00 AM
Using it as a dressing is great if it subs out a higher calorie dressing, but be careful on the health claims as there is little to no evidence to back this up.

Sorry.  It wasn't intended as a health claim.  I'm just enthusiastic about homemade ferments.
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: Kazimieras on March 18, 2013, 12:26:39 PM
Sorry.  It wasn't intended as a health claim.  I'm just enthusiastic about homemade ferments.
It's okay, I just have seen way too many people misconstrue things that I am quite naturally weary. Homemade stuff just rocks in general :) You should see my wife and I with our pressure canner!
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: mobilisinmobili on March 19, 2013, 02:27:47 PM
Good to know. I need to cut down on the 0.00547945205 dollars a day I've been spending on Apple-Cider Vinegar. The savings!!


:P
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: Katnina on June 26, 2013, 03:12:42 PM
This looks awesome!!  I recently found out that the standard Heinz distilled white vinegar that I used to use for canning likely has GMO ingredients....boooo.  I sucked it up and paid $5.99/each for 2 32 oz bottles of Spectrum organic distilled white vinegar, but given I just blew an entire bottle on 4 pint jars of pickled beets, I'm looking for a cheaper, non-GMO alternative. 
So, this will be a project for me for next year's picklemaking-I'll make organic apple cider vinegar this fall with cheap bruised farmers market apples, BUT, has anyone tried testing their homemade vinegar for acidity strength to use it for preserving? Would litmus paper strips be a safe way to test for acidity accurately to make sure my homemade vinegar is safe for preserving?  Any other suggestions?
Thank you!
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: Jamesqf on June 26, 2013, 04:10:29 PM
  I recently found out that the standard Heinz distilled white vinegar that I used to use for canning likely has GMO ingredients....boooo.

If it is white vinegar, it has nothing in it but water and acetic acid, both of which are simple chemicals, absolutely identical regardless of whether the raw material came from an organic farm or a chemical factory.
Title: Re: Practically free homemade apple-cider vinegar
Post by: Katnina on June 27, 2013, 08:17:07 PM
Thank you for the face punch, jamessqf! I needed it :).  I'll still try making my own ACV but won't stress as much about using non-organic vinegar for this season's pickles.