This year, most summer residents have harvested an unprecedented harvest of apples! If you still have supplies (for sure!), Be sure to prepare a couple of bottles of natural apple cider vinegar - it will definitely come in handy in the kitchen and will bring a lot of benefits.
Apples are traditionally used by housewives as an addition to tender chicken or duck meat, as well as filling for a fragrant pie. Also, many people love apple jam or jam, for example, actress Larisa Guzeeva recently shared a recipe for jam with apples, lemon zest, cinnamon and vanilla and convinces that it tastes amazing! It is readily believed in this, especially such a preparation is priceless with the onset of the autumn blues.
However, not only pies and poultry can please apples, but also a fermented product - apple cider vinegar. Along with homemade sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar will help strengthen the immune system, stimulate metabolism and prevent aging processes.
In the process of fermentation, all the nutrients from apples pass into vinegar. The finished apple bite contains amino acids, a large amount of pectin, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium (which contribute to the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis), easily digestible iron, which is important for people with anemia, beta-carotene is a powerful antioxidant, as well as vitamins E, A and group B.
Also, apple cider vinegar has a powerful antibacterial effect and suppresses the growth of the number of pathogenic bacteria in the intestines, reduces the concentration of glucose in the blood (people with type 2 diabetes are recommended to include apple cider vinegar in their diet, but it is strictly forbidden to replace therapy with it!), Helps to overcome chronic fatigue syndrome and improves digestion.
Of course, there are those who are not advised to consume apple cider vinegar. If you suffer from diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gastritis with high acidity, ulcers, pancreatitis, hepatitis in the acute phase), as well as exacerbation of kidney and liver diseases, it is better to refuse to take vinegar.
How to use apple cider vinegar? There is an opinion that the use of a small amount of vinegar (1 teaspoon), diluted in a glass of water, reduces appetite and promotes weight loss. There is no scientific confirmation of this data, but if you do not overdo it with vinegar, such water will invigorate the body and you will receive the beneficial substances it contains.
Apple cider vinegar can be used to make salad dressings, to season mushrooms and raw fish with it, and to add vinegar to bone broth - with its help, there will be more collagen in the broth.
To make homemade apple cider vinegar, you will need homemade apples, sugar or honey, a jar and cheesecloth. And patience in general.
For a liter jar you need 3-4 apples, if they were small, large ones can be 2. Do not cut off the skin. Place the cut apples in a clean and dry jar, dilute 1 tablespoon of sugar (or 1 tablespoon of honey) in drinking water and pour over the apples. Leave a place in the jar on top! The apples must be in liquid, so place a load on them. Cover with clean gauze and store in a dark place. Look for future vinegar every day and gently stir the apples with a wooden spoon. The first two weeks there should be an active life.
After about three weeks, when the activity in the jar subsides, it is necessary to strain the contents. Separate the apples and pour the vinegar into a clean bowl. Put it in a dark cabinet under cheesecloth for 3 weeks. Stir every few days.
The whole process will take 5-6 weeks - taste it and close the jar with a lid. Keep refrigerated.
Tip: You can experiment with slicing apples (grate them) or squeezing out the juice - this will make the fermentation process faster.
