Apple vinegar

Generality

L "apple cider vinegar (in English Apple Cider Vinegar - ACV), otherwise known as cider vinegar, is an edible vinegar made from cider or apple must.

The apple cider vinegar has a medium or pale amber color. The unpasteurized or raw one contains the so-called "mother of vinegar", that is a filamentous sediment made up of a real bacterial colony. The mother of vinegar has a similar appearance to a spider's web or an opalescent film and can give the vinegar greater density, as well as less transparency.
Apple cider vinegar is widely used in dressings for raw vegetable salads, in marinades, in vinaigrettes, as a food preservative and in chutneys (typical South East Asian dressings).

Production

Apple cider vinegar is made by fermenting the juice of crushed and squeezed apples. Yeasts are then added to the liquid to start the alcoholic fermentation process, so the sugars can be converted into alcohol.

In a second moment another fermentation process starts, for which the alcohol is converted into vinegar by the acidifying bacteria (Genus Acetobacter); by doing so, apple cider vinegar acquires the right content of acetic acid and malic acid.
Apple cider vinegar has always been considered a health product and its fields of application (many of which are only theoretical, not to say imaginative) are different: anti-flu, anti-wart, disinfectant of the oral cavity and skin (for topical use) , digestive, strengthening of the immune defenses, stimulation of blood circulation, preventive on stones, mucolytic (in vapors), mildly anticancer etc.

How to take it?

Apple cider vinegar can be used as a food supplement, both in natural form, enjoying its probiotic characteristics, and in dehydrated form.
Natural apple cider vinegar should not be drunk directly; it is so acidic that it could damage the enamel of the teeth and, more rarely, the esophagus. It is also essential not to use too much. It is advisable to dilute 1-2 tablespoons in a glass of water to sip with meals once or twice a day.
Various apple cider vinegar supplements are available on the market; most are in capsules, tablets and soluble powders. However, there is no regulation that establishes the minimum or maximum level of these products, which is why there is considerable heterogeneity between the products; also for this reason, it is recommended to strictly follow the indications mentioned on the label.

Does it make you lose weight?