Apple cider vinegar certainly gets a lot of media coverage these days, and it is used in a huge variety foods. From baked goods to drinks and even salad dressings (like our roasted pear & arugula salad recipe) – this vinegar seems to pop up in everything!
It’s touted as a miracle elixir that can do just about anything. If you’ve seen the hype about this product, then you know there are some great benefits from apple cider vinegar, such as:
- Speed up weight loss
- Help control acid reflux
- Reduce blood sugar levels
- Improve insulin resistance
- Control chronic fatigue issues
- Clear sinus infections
- Help with hypertension
- Help with athlete’s feet & nail fungus (seriously)
These are just a few things from the extensive list of apple cider vinegar benefits. To help understand whether or not this vinegar is conducive with a vegan lifestyle, we need to see how it is made.
How Is Apple Cider Vinegar Made?
Before you can properly identify whether or now a product is vegan, you must first know how it’s made. Simply put, apple cider vinegar comes from apple juice. When you crush an apple, fresh juice flows from the inside. Manufacturing companies then ferment this beloved juice so that you can get the product you know and love. To get the juice to ferment, you need to add both yeast and bacteria.
The goal is to change the sugar content of the apple juice into alcohol. Next, the liquid will go through a second step to achieve fermentation: the alcohol will need to be converted into vinegar. This is accomplished by adding an acid-forming bacterium to the mix. Have you ever noticed how apple cider vinegar has a sour taste? The overpowering additives are known as acetic, and malic acid is what you’re tasting.
While the holistic community praises this vinegar for its medicinal uses, it really doesn’t have any nutritional value. The studies are slim on the things that people claim this elixir can do. Still, many individuals swear by its healing properties. It certainly doesn’t hurt you, but whether it helps or not is up to the person and how their ailment responds.
Is Apple Cider Vinegar Vegan?
It’s impressive when you consider all the things that you can do with ACV. You can add it to a sandwich, use it in a dressing mix, and even add it to your water bottle for a zesty flavor enhancer. However, you need to know if it is a vegan product that won’t go against your lifestyle. You will be relieved to know that ACV does not have any ingredients or byproducts that are derived from animals. So yes, apple cider vinegar is usually vegan!
