What Does Apple Cider Vinegar Taste like with Water?
If you are considering trying to drink apple cider with vinegar, you’ve probably heard about its general health benefits, or you are currently sick. At this point, most readers are asking to see if it’s really worth trying to mix the golden brown apple cider with anything to make it more drinkable.
Since you are thinking about it, let’s at least explore what apple cider vinegar does taste like with water.
Apple cider vinegar will produce a strong sour taste of apples and acid. It’s not an especially pleasant taste, and water serves primarily to dilute the level of acidity and add some hydration to the mix.
Your experiences with vinegar, in general, may vary, but it’s an excellent cleaning liquid as a disinfectant. Smelling vinegar is reminiscent of cleaning the counters, bath tubs, sink, and even dishwasher. To make a long list short, vinegar can be used to clean just about anything.
It also leaves behind quite the powerful scent. You’ll know someone was cleaning with vinegar!
What’s in vinegar?
So what makes it smell and taste bad? Vinegar is a mixture of acetic acid (usually around 5-10%) and water (the other percent reaching 100%), and is fermented.
Much like fermentation in alcohol, the process makes the acidic scent and taste much stronger. In French, vinegar literally means “sour wine”.
There are many different kinds of vinegar, but this article focuses on the taste of apple cider vinegar.
In the case of apple cider vinegar, the product consists mostly of yeast added to apple juice. Through a similar fermentation process, the yeast turns the sugar into alcohol. Bacteria within the vinegar then turn the alcohol into acetic acid.
The resulting taste is not especially favorable to most people. Apple cider vinegar actuall smells and tastes better than regular vinegar to most, with some apple flavoring left over. The drink and cleaning product has been known to taste much like apple cider as it’s going bad and you guessed it – fermented a bit.
What is the texture like?
Since apple cider vinegar is a liquid, the answer is basically “smooth.” If you drink apple cider vinegar alone or with water, you are less likely to notice anything about the texture than you will the taste itself.
What does apple cider vinegar look like?
Apple cider vinegar has a bit of a cloudy appearance. The cloudy look comes from a substance called “mother” which is a collection of enzymes, proteins, and good bacteria that swim around in the vinegar during the fermentation process.
What are the health benefits of drinking apple cider vinegar with water?
So at this point you are probably wondering why one would drink apple cider vinegar if it has all the taste of apple cider without the sweet, fun part.
People don’t drink apple cider vinegar for the taste – well, we are sure some do, but that’s definitely not the biggest feature.
Apple cider vinegar is healthy in a large variety of ways.
Immune system
Are you sick with a cold or a respiratory virus? The mix of yeast and good bacteria in apple cider vinegar can give your immune system the boost it needs to help fight off invading germs.
Soothing, loosening smell
Congested or other stuffy nose or sore thread. Rub some apple cider vinegar on your neck or on your nose. Breath as you normally would (if you can…) the strong smell can help clear out congestion and soothe a sore throat.
Blood sugar and diabetes
Having a drink of apple cider vinegar and water can help reduce blood sugar and improve diabetes. The acid is capable of helping better digest sugary foods like white bread.
Makes you feel full
Dieters can use apple cider vinegar because the yeast and bacteria will help make you feel full. Feeling full reduces your appetite and makes you crave less.
Fights cancer
This one is harder to provide in general, but the polyphenols in apple cider vinegar are thought to help prevent the cell damage that causes cancer.
How do I drink apple cider vinegar? Any health concerns?
Drinking apple cider vinegar is possible with or without water.
If you do try to drink apple cider vinegar without water, only try a tablespoon or two at a time. You can also mix the apple cider vinegar in the same quantity with water to dilute the taste.
There are a couple health concerns with apple cider vinegar that will make you use it less, and with dilution.
Apple cider vinegar has a high acidic content of 7% or more. Highly acidic drinks are not good for your teeth or throat and can cause premature wear on your tooth enamel if taken too often.
The highly acidic content and yeast can also cause potential drug interactions. Ask your doctor on this one.
Finally, apple cider vinegar can cause digestive problems. These are actually some of the same problems as drinking too much apple cider or apple juice, which can also cause diarrhea and cramping.
Is apple cider vinegar easy to find?
Apple cider vinegar is actually quite easy to find and is available at most grocery stores, and even at some hardstore stores in the cleaning section. The acid within apple cider vinegar gives it great disinfecting properties while producing a slightly more pleasant smell than regular vinegar.
Conclusion
Apple cider vinegar is admittedly probably not going to taste good, which is probably a positive since you shouldn’t have that much, that often. The sour taste certainly takes some getting used to, but in small quantities the vinegar type has a variety of health benefits and can make you feel better faster with certain illnesses like colds.
