Gummies made from apple cider vinegar (ACV) have taken social media and health enthusiasts’ pantries by storm but not everyone is convinced by their supposed health benefits. New Zealand’s pioneering organic producer of ACV says the sweet treats just don’t stack up when compared to the liquid version.
CoralTree Organics has been producing the country’s most premium, oak-barrel-aged ACV for 25 years.
“Apple cider vinegar is fermented, and my understanding of fermented foods is that they are both very stable and very delicate. Our ACV is unfiltered and unpasteurised which means the living enzymes that make the vinegar and feed your gut are still intact and alive inside the vinegar,” says Zhana Baker, the founder’s daughter who had recently take over the family business. “Just like us, they cannot survive being heated above about 50 degrees, and to make gummies, liquids have to be heated above that before being set. This means you may still benefit from the alkalization of the ACV in the gummies but any living enzymes will not have survived.”
“A lot of preservatives, colours, flavour enhancers and other additives can be very inflammatory for most people so I believe the benefits of ACV, especially when heat treated and processed, will be negated by the extra additives”.
Zhana says when choosing your ACV in liquid form, it’s also important to choose quality. Lower grade products can use apple juice concentrate, town water with its own chemicals in tow and strong acidic fermentation aids: “A product like that cannot measure up in flavour, quality, living enzymes and benefits to an ACV made from whole, tree-ripened apples that are cold pressed, with the juice naturally fermented then aged in oak, with no water and no other additives.”
While some people may find the taste of high quality ACV challenging, Zhana says it’s easy to get used to it and there are plenty of tips and tricks to help, such as using it in your salad dressings, marinades and sauces or in a hot drink with lemon, ginger and honey – just a teaspoon in a glass of water will be enough to begin with!
“The best time of day is before a meal. Your stomach needs a strong healthy acid to support it to digest your food and efficiently extract all the nutrients and ACV will really help with that.”
