Pineapple Vinegar

Are you a fan of home fermentation like I am? I want to share with you today a simple technique for making your own vinegar. Not just any old vinegar – pineapple vinegar!

The great part about this is that you’re putting to use the leftover rind and core from when you slice a pineapple for serving. Make sure you save those leftovers, so you can turn them into a new, homemade, FREE byproduct. (I mean, you were just going to throw them away, right?)

So if you don’t feel like composting them, then grab these ingredients and materials and jump right in. 😀

Homemade Pineapple Vinegar

Ingredients:

• the core and rind leftover from serving 1 pineapple (Please be sure to read notes section before making this recipe for best results.)
• Sugar water at a ratio of 1/4 cup sugar dissolved in 1 quart non-chlorinated water, as much as you need to mostly fill your jar
• Store bought Apple Cider Vinegar – the RAW kind, which contains the “mother” – you will need to add 3 tablespoons ACV per quart of water you add to the jar. This serves as a starter culture and helps with acidity. Do NOT purchase vinegar that is not labeled raw, it won’t work for you. 🙂

Equipment:

• a large glass jar – I use this amazingly adorable 3-quart jar I found at World Market, but feel free to use 1/2 gallon or even 1 gallon jars, whichever you prefer.
• knife and cutting board for chopping rind and core
• Coffee filter or cloth towel to cover jar opening, and rubber band to secure it
• You won’t need it yet, but be sure you have a jar with a lid for storing it after fermentation.

Instructions:

1. Chop the core into small pieces, about 1 x 1 inch or so. Also slice the rind into 1 inch wide slices, and then chop those slices into about 1 inch pieces as well.
2. Place pineapple pieces into jar.
3. Add enough sugar water to nearly fill the jar. (Be sure to leave enough room to add the ACV starter.)
4. Add your apple cider vinegar to the jar. You’ll need to remember how many quarts of sugar water you added, so that you can add the correct amount of ACV to the liquid.
5. Cover the jar with your coffee filter/towel and secure well with rubber band. Leave in a dark place (pantry is good) at room temperature for one week.
6. After 1 week, you’ll need to strain out the fruit. Return the juice/liquid to glass jar, cover the same way, and allow to ferment for another two weeks. Stir every couple of days. When finished, transfer to a glass bottle of your choice.

Notes:

• Make sure before you start the process that your pineapple is well-washed. Make sure there is no mold on the bottom of the rind.
• Try your best to find organic pineapples for better results (organic will not have pesticide residue that could affect the culture).
• After a while you will start to notice a strange, ugly, rubbery BLOB forming at the top of your vinegar – it’s forming its own mother! That is a good sign. 
• Feel free to use your favorite granulated sweetener to make the sugar-water, but it has to be an actual sugar. (No stevia, xylitol, etc.) This can be pure white sugar or a less-processed sugar like evaporated cane juice or sucanat. It’s there to feed the microorganisms and will be consumed by the time it turns to vinegar.
• You can use raw honey but please note: since raw honey has its own particular mix of microbes, it will change the culture a bit. It might take longer as well. (I have never tried it.)
• You can actually do this with many different types of fruit! Try it with organic peaches, pears, cherries, apples, grapes, etc.
• If you end up with a moldy batch, toss it, no exceptions. Try using more ACV as a starter next time.
• Homemade vinegars vary in strength. You can expect a homemade vinegar like this one to be around 6 percent acetic acid or stronger.
• You can re-use old glass ACV bottles to keep it in when it’s finished. I also love using glass swing-top bottles. Using a non-metal lid is preferred; vinegar corrodes metal.
• Want to make more? Keep that rubbery, blobby mother. Add more sugar water, fruit, and ACV and keep it going!

What do you think? Was that simple enough? Sometimes when I try to explain things I feel it gets wordy, but the process is really very simple: slice and chop, add sugar water, add raw ACV, and cover. Later strain and re-cover.

I think the waiting is the hardest part. 🙂

Love,

Danielle

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