Apple Cider, Apple Sauce and Apple Cider Vinegar from one recipe and a bag of apples

In our family's quest for sustainability, I've embraced the humble apple to keep our family healthy throughout the colder months. With this recipe, nothing goes to waste and it provides three products in one.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

The apple is truly Mother Earth’s superhero, combating germs and viruses at an incredible rate. A straight 5% solution of apple cider vinegar kills 99% of bacteria, 82% of common mold and 80% of germs & viruses.

Apple Cider Vinegar contains minerals you’re your body needs to thrive. It has potassium, phosphorus, natural organic sodium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, copper, natural organic fluorine, silicon, trace minerals, essential amino acids and many other powerful nutrients including pectin, a fiber that helps reduce bad cholesterol and helps regulate blood pressure. It even helps your body take the calcium out of fruits and vegetables so that your body can absorb it better.

After purchasing a hobby farm with several apple trees; chasing off the cockatoos and kangaroos that were competing for fruit; chasing off my daughter who was feeding the neighbor’s alpacas and horses, I still ended up with 100 kilos of apples, but was in a race with what to do with them before they would spoil.

If you don't have a hobby farm, never fear! While certain fruits and vegetables may come and go in the grocery store, you can normally find apples. I have developed and tested a 3 –in 1 recipe that makes apple cider, apple sauce, and cold pressed apple cider vinegar – all from one bag of apples.

We have our own apple trees, but if you don't have a tree, just visit the grocery store and grab a bag of apples when they are in season.

Apple Master Recipe

Ingredients:

• 10 apples

• 1 lb sugar

• 1 tsp allspice

• 1 tsp nutmeg

• 2 tsp cloves

• 1 orange

Tools:

• Slow cooker

• Paring knife

• Apple corer (optional)

• Canning Jars and lids: 3 large for the cider, 2 large for the apple cider vinegar and 4 small for the apple sauce

• Cheesecloth

• Canning pot and tools (if you plan on preserving the sauce)

• Colander

• 2 Large bowls that fits the colander

• Ladle

Directions

1. Wash, peel, and core the apples and quarter the orange

2. Separate the peels and cores from the rest and do not throw away!!!! Keep them on the counter while you process the rest of the recipe. We will get back to it later.

3. Set the Crock Pot (slow cooker) to high

4. Place the peeled and cored apples and orange into a crock pot.

5. Cover the apples with 12 cups of water.

6. Add allspice, nutmeg, and cloves on top of the apples.

7. Close the lid of the crockpot and cook on high for 3 hours.

8. Lift the lid of the Crock Pot and using a potato masher, mash the apples for 2-3 minutes.

9. Close the lid and allow it to cook on high for 1 more hour.

10. Time to sterilize your jars! If you are canning, you can use the water bath method. If you are planning to use all of your products, then washing the cans in the dishwasher will do.

Apple Cider Vinegar Preparation

• Grab the peels and cores of the apples. Split the peels and cores between 2 large jars.

• Place 1 cup of sugar in each jar on top of the apples.

• Fill the jars with purified (no chlorine from tap water please) water and cover with cheese cloth. Affix the cheese cloth with a rubber band.

• Place this in a closet or laundry room – still in site.

• Once per week, for 4 weeks, remove the cheesecloth and using a wood spoon, mix your apple mixture. It first turns into hard cider from the natural yeasts in the air. It will be bubbly on top as the yeasts eat the sugar.

• After 4 weeks, you can strain the apples out of the liquid and you have vinegar. Seal and use as needed.

Apple Cider Preparation

• Turn off your crock pot and allow to cool for 20 minutes.

• Add 2-3 cups of sugar into the crock pot and mix until it is dissolved.

• Place the colander over a large bowl. Cover it in cheesecloth

• Start ladling the apples and juice into the colander to separate the juice from the pulp.

• When the colander is fairly full, gather the edges of the cheesecloth and squeeze the liquid from the pulp.

• Dump the pulp into the other large bowl.

• Ladle the cider into the large jars and continue the process.

Applesauce Preparation

• Sort through the pulp in the large bowl and remove the cloves and orange peel.

• Taste and add sugar to the mixture if necessary.

• Mash the pulp until you have the desired consistency.

• Place in clean jars.

• If you plan to store your applesauce, you can use a water bath method of canning.

This one batch of apple sauce, apple cider vinegar, and apple cider only cost us around $1 in sugar and spices, but we were able to get over $50 in value compared to what we would have paid for in the store. Just imagine how much more we saved by staying fit and healthy! After all, none of us have needed to visit the doctor or miss a day of school or work over the cold months after making and consuming this recipe.