How do our friends in Suffolk make the Raw, Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar with the Mother that we use in our capsules?
First, what does it mean to be “raw”, “unfiltered” “with the mother”?
We hear these terms, but we don’t really know their significance.
I didn’t know when I started researching supplements 10 years ago.
I have to begin by saying that there is a certain obsession with apple cider vinegar in Suffolk.
The makers ferment it from the juice of a special blend of dessert and cider apples, all raw, nothing is cooked, and the vinegar is formed by the fermentation of alcohol to acetic acid.
They do NOT filter it to retain the natural living organisms that develop during fermentation.
These organisms are known as the mother.
It’s what gives the vinegar a cloudy, mysterious appearance.
What happens is that the juice goes through a “vinification” process which is completely natural.
It’s what happen when your old wine tastes a little bit vinegary in the kitchen.
There are some people who actually make their own vinegar using the same process, vinification.
But what goes wrong is that the natural vinegar-forming bacteria do not convert all the alcohol to acetic acid, and the two then chemically react with one another to form something called ethyl acetate.
It's pretty bad smelling stuff, trust me! It smells like nail polish remover!
So a key factor in the fermentation of excellent vinegar is ensuring that as much of the alcohol is converted to acetic acid.
This is the epitome of apple cider vinegar artistry in Britain.
I remember a very knowledgeable consumer once asked me about the percentage of alcohol in our capsules.
I think he was hoping for loads!
There might be faint traces!
