Nutritional value
Whole apples, while being crushed to be transformed into cider vinegar, do not lose any of their healthful properties and contain a dozen minerals, vitamins, numerous essential acids, enzymes and a good dose of pectin.

Buying cider vinegar
True cider vinegar is made from natural apple juice; it is then aged in oak casks for 10 to 12 months at a controlled temperature and is not pasteurized.

It is important to buy 100% pure cider vinegar. The sediment of vinegar "mother" that forms at the bottom of the bottle is a guarantee of authenticity. This sediment is edible but may be filtered out if desired.

Other cider vinegars come from cider that has turned to vinegar or are made by a 48-hour industrial process, or are pasteurized (and have no vinegar "mother" sediment.) They can contain artificial colour and chemical preservatives. Even if they contain the same basic elements, they do not have the properties of true cider vinegar.

Storing cider vinegar
100% pure cider vinegar is a product that doesn't spoil at all over time, whether it is refrigerated or not, since vinegar itself is a preservative. Nonetheless, it is best to store it away from light.

Use
An ingredient in numerous world cuisines, cider vinegar combines aperitive, digestive, disinfectant and antioxidant properties with the more gastronomic properties of refinement and flavour.

• enhances the flavour of salads and crudités
• an excellent preserving agent for vegetables such as capers, tiny onions or cucumbers, garlic, fresh herbs, pickles and chutneys
• adds nutritional value to sauces; you need only add a few drops to deglaze the bottom of a pan
• used in marinades, it tenderizes meat
• 1 or 2 tbsp. of cider vinegar added to beans or lentils during cooking makes them more digestible
• milder than wine vinegar, it is excellent when you don't want to mask the subtle flavours of foods like fish, seafood and fruit
• try it in pastry-making as well: puff pastry will stick less