Vinegar · Beginner

How to Make Apple Cider Vinegar at Home (From Juice or Apples)

Homemade apple cider vinegar in two fermentations: turn apple juice into dry hard cider, then add raw vinegar and leave it covered with cloth for 4–8 weeks. Quantities per litre, temperatures, how to tell it is ready, and how to test its strength.

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Cider ferment and cloth-covered vinegar jar beside apples

Updated October 2026 · 9 min read

Real apple cider vinegar is just apples, yeast, bacteria and time. Yeast turns the sugar in apple juice into alcohol, and acetic acid bacteria then turn that alcohol into vinegar. Doing the two stages separately, with a little help from a raw vinegar starter, gives a cleaner, stronger vinegar than leaving juice on the counter and hoping. This guide is the full home method; for the science behind it, see how vinegar is made.

What you need

1 L apple juice or fresh cider, no preservatives
200 mL raw, unpasteurized vinegar as starter
6–10 wks from juice to finished vinegar
Juice 100% apple juice or fresh-pressed cider. Check the label for potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate; either one stops fermentation.
Yeast a pinch of cider, wine or champagne yeast for pasteurized juice. Fresh unpasteurized cider can ferment on its wild yeast.
Starter raw vinegar with the mother (the cloudy kind), or a piece of mother plus some of its vinegar.
Equipment a jar or bottle with an airlock for stage one; a wide glass jar or lead-free crock, tightly woven cloth and a rubber band for stage two. Avoid metal containers.

Stage one: apple juice to hard cider

  1. 1
    Pitch the yeast Pour the juice into a clean jar or bottle, leaving a little headspace. Add a pinch of yeast (about 1 g per 4 litres is plenty) and fit an airlock or a loosely screwed lid.
  2. 2
    Ferment 1–2 weeks Keep it at 18–24°C. It will bubble for several days, then slow. Fresh, unpasteurized cider fermenting on wild yeast may take a few days longer to start.
  3. 3
    Check it is dry It is ready for stage two when the bubbling has stopped and it tastes dry, not sweet. A hydrometer reading near 1.000 confirms it. Leftover sugar is fine but makes a softer, sweeter vinegar.

Apple juice usually starts around 1.045–1.055 specific gravity and ferments to about 5.5–7% ABV, which is ideal for vinegar. If you would rather drink this stage, the full method is in how to make hard cider.

Stage two: hard cider to vinegar

  1. 1
    Add the starter Pour the hard cider into a wide jar, filling it no more than three-quarters full so there is plenty of surface area. Stir in 200 mL of raw vinegar per litre of cider (about 1 part to 5). More starter lowers the pH faster, which keeps mould away.
  2. 2
    Cover with cloth Secure a tightly woven cloth or a coffee filter with a rubber band. Acetic acid bacteria need air; fruit flies must stay out.
  3. 3
    Keep warm and still Leave it somewhere dark at 20–30°C (68–86°F); around 27°C is fastest. Do not stir or move it once a film starts forming on top.
  4. 4
    Wait 4–8 weeks A thin, cloudy film appears within 1–2 weeks and thickens into a mother. From week four, taste a little by slipping a straw beneath the mother.
  5. 5
    Bottle When it is sharply sour with no alcohol smell, strain it into bottles and cap tightly. Keep the mother and some vinegar to start the next batch.
Vinegar titration sample beside a syringe, reagents and protective goggles

Related calculator

Vinegar Acidity Calculator

Work out the acidity of homemade vinegar from a titration test, and how much water dilutes it to a target strength.

Open calculator

How to tell when it is ready

Smell sharp and clean, like store-bought cider vinegar but fruitier. Any boozy or nail-polish smell means alcohol is still being converted.
Taste sour enough to make you wince, with no warmth of alcohol.
Test a titration kit gives the actual acidity. Homemade ACV is usually 4–6%.

Once bottled with the lid on, the vinegar stops developing because the bacteria run out of air. It keeps indefinitely in a cool cupboard, and a new, thin mother may form in the bottle; that is harmless. Heating the vinegar to about 60–70°C before bottling stops this if you prefer a clear vinegar, but it also kills the live culture.

Other ways to start

From apple scraps peels and cores in sugared water ferment into a lighter vinegar. See fruit scrap vinegar.
From whole apples chop apples, cover with water and 75–100 g of sugar per litre, and follow the fruit scrap method.
From cider that went sour a hard cider that has picked up a vinegar smell is already in stage two. Add raw vinegar, cover with cloth and carry on.

Troubleshooting

Watch for

  • Fuzzy, raised mould on top Discard. Next time use more starter vinegar so the liquid is acidic from day one.
  • No film after three weeks Too cold, too little starter, or a pasteurized starter. Move it somewhere warmer and add more raw vinegar.
  • Still smells of alcohol after eight weeks The jar is too narrow or too full. Pour into a wider vessel to give it more surface.
  • Weak and watery The cider was low in alcohol or the jar sat somewhere hot and the alcohol evaporated. Use it for dressings rather than pickling.
  • Fruit flies or vinegar eels The cloth was too loose. Strain, heat to 60°C to kill eels, and cover with a tighter weave.

The mother itself, how to keep it and how to tell it from mould are covered in the vinegar mother guide.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How long does homemade apple cider vinegar take?
About 6–10 weeks in total: 1–2 weeks to ferment the juice into hard cider, then 4–8 weeks for the vinegar stage at 20–30°C. Cooler kitchens take longer. It is ready when it tastes sharply sour and you cannot smell any alcohol.
Can I make apple cider vinegar from store-bought apple juice?
Yes, if the label lists only apple juice (vitamin C is fine). Preservatives such as potassium sorbate or sodium benzoate stop the yeast. Pasteurized juice has no wild yeast, so add a pinch of cider or wine yeast for the first fermentation.
Do I need a mother to make apple cider vinegar?
No. Raw, unpasteurized vinegar such as Bragg contains the live bacteria you need, and a new mother will form on its own. A piece of mother from a previous batch simply speeds things up.
How strong is homemade apple cider vinegar?
Usually 4–6% acidity. Apple juice ferments to about 5.5–7% ABV, and each 1% of alcohol becomes up to about 1% acetic acid, minus a little lost to evaporation. Test it with a titration kit before using it in canning recipes, which need at least 5%.
Why does my apple cider vinegar smell like nail polish?
That is ethyl acetate, which forms when acid and alcohol meet partway through. It is normal in the middle weeks and fades as the remaining alcohol is converted. Give it more time.
Is it fuzzy mould or a mother?
A mother is smooth, wet and gelatinous, and lies flat on or in the liquid. Mould is dry, fuzzy and raised, often green, blue, black or white spots. If you see fuzz, discard the batch and start again with more starter vinegar, which lowers the pH faster.
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