I am obsessed with homemade vinegar. It is so easy and inexpensive. Granted unless you have an apple tree growing in your backyard and access to spring water it’s not as inexpensive as apple cider vinegar from the store. What I love about this is you can customize the vinegar.

I first learned how to make vinegar from Heidi from Rain Country on YouTube. After I made my first batch I started experimenting.

These are just a few of my experiments. Apple and Chocolate mint, Mint, Apple and Rosemary, and Apple and Lemon Balm.

This is my absolute favorite: Rose Petal Vinegar. It smells like rose wine.

Check out the different colors the different vinegars create.

Base Vinegar Recipe

1/2 gallon jar (glass is best. No metal at all should be used)

1/2 cup sugar (if using a sweet fruit cut back on the sugar a bit since it has natural sugar)

Fruit or herbs of choice (enough for at least 1/3-1/2 the jar)

Water (no tap water, spring water is best)

Fabric pieces

Rubber bands

Make sure jar is clean. Add 2 cups water to jar then add sugar and stir until dissolved. It’s best to dissolve the sugar first because it’s harder to stir when everything is in the jar. Then add the fruit/herbs and fill up the rest of the jar with water stopping about an inch or more from the top. Remember you will need to stir so do not fill up to the top plus it will bubble. Then cover with a cloth and a rubber band. It has to breathe. If there is a lid on the jar it will not create vinegar.

Leave it sit in a warm place for at least 6 weeks stirring every day week one, then every few days. When the fruit is on the bottom and it stops fizzing/bubbling it done. Strain and store.

If you see a little mold it is normal. Just scoop it off the top and throw away (do not compost). If you see black dots in the vinegar then discard everything and start over.

Rose Mint Vinegar

This is my favorite recipe for my hair. It smells amazing and makes my hair soft and shiny. It still smells a little like vinegar but not nearly as much as using apple cider vinegar.

1/2 gallon glass jar

1/2 cup sugar

Rose Petals, washed, about 2-3 big handfuls

Mint Leaves, washed, 1 big handful

Spring Water

Fabric pieces

Rubber bands

Add 2 cups water to jar then add sugar and stir until dissolved. Then add the fruit/herbs and fill up the rest of the jar with water stopping about an inch or more from the top. Then cover with a cloth and a rubber band. It has to breathe. Leave it sit in a warm place for at least 6 weeks stirring every day week one, then every few days. When the fruit is on the bottom and it stops fizzing/bubbling it done. Strain and store.

It’s good for a year normally (but it never lasts that long 😉)