Whoever said that 'honey attracts more flies than vinegar' obviously never tried making their own apple cider or pineapple vinegar
I usually save apple peels and cores to give to my horse. Cossack is the perfect garburator (right). But back during lockdown 1.0 when I couldn't travel out to see him, I discovered I could use these scraps to make homemade apple cider vinegar and pineapple vinegar.
Below I've included links to other blogs whose recipes for DIY apple cider and pineapple vinegar I have tried, tested, and most importantly, survived (i.e. didn't give myself botulism) #DieAnotherDay #SurvivalOfTheFittest. I'm always slightly afraid I'll inadvertently create a cauldron of everyobdy's favourite Clostridium botulinum so you'll imagine my relief when neither myself, nor the recipients of my homemade vinegars dropped dead.
Apple Vinegar
I followed The Prairie Homestead's steps on how to make my own apple vinegar from scraps. If you want to sanitise the glass jars or vessels that you're fermenting the vinegar in, boil them in water and then put them in a heated oven to dry. To prevent the apple bits on the top layer from getting mouldy, weigh them down with plastic lid from a small tupperware container so all the pieces are submerged. Leaving the skin on the apples will also result in a pretty blush-coloured final product.
Pineapple Vinegar
I followed the Om Nom Ally's steps for making pineapple vinegar from scraps. This is a great way to use of the skin, core and tough bits of a pineapple.
As my jars of vinegar started fermenting, I got some tangy scents wafting out of my closet. Once I confirmed it wasn't a manky sock, I didn't actually mind my room smelling slightly...aromatic. When the vinegars were done fermenting, I bottled them in cute 100mL glass bottles to give as gifts and also saved some for myself.
Use your vinegar just as you would in other recipes; the pineapple vinegar in particular gives a lovely tropical flavour to vinaigrettes. Check out this list of 25 recipes with apple cider vinegar or the 10 best recipes with pineapple vinegar for inspiration.
Happy fermenting!