Apple cider vinegar, otherwise known simply as cider vinegar, is a type of vinegar made from cider or applemust and has a brownish-yellow color. It often is sold unfiltered and unpasteurized with the mother of vinegar present, as a natural product. It is very popular, partly due to alleged beneficial health and beauty properties. Due to its acidity, apple cider vinegar may be very harsh, even burning to the throat. If taken straight (as opposed to use in cooking), it can be diluted (e.g. with fruit juice, honey, or sugar) before drinking.1 Others dilute it with warm water and add some honey.2 When taken as a supplement, the main side effects are irritability, nervousness, and palpitations; other side effects can occur, and it may interact with certain medicines.3 There have been reports of acid chemical burns of the throat in using the pill form.4
Apple cider vinegar is also an old folk remedy used to clear ailments such as gout, poor complexion and acne, arthritis, candida, high cholesterol and other ailments.
Apple cider vinegar is commonly used in cooking and is staple in any well-stocked kitchen.
Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar and organic may have a cob web, congealed appearance. This is is natural formed during the last stage of the fermentation process. This substance is often called "Mother of vinegar" which is actually bacteria and yeast cells that have died.
Apple cider vinegar is made by crushing apples and squeezing out the liquid. Sugar and yeast are added to the liquid to start the fermentation process, which turns the sugars into alcohol. In a second fermentation process, the alcohol is converted by acetic acid-forming bacteria into vinegar. Acetic acid gives vinegar its sour taste. 5
^ Hill, L., et al (2005). "Esophageal Injury by Apple Cider Vinegar Tablets and Subsequent Evaluation of Products". Journal of the American Dietetic AssociationVolume 105 (Issue 7): 1141–1144. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2005.04.003.
