5 types of apple cider vinegar
Refined or raw apple vinegar Most brands refine their vinegar in order to make it look clear. Distilled vinegar is one such example of refined vinegar that has been heated. Only vinegar made from apple cider can be found in its raw form which means it contains mother, is undistilled, unpasteurized and unfiltered. It doesn’t necessarily have a clear appearance but packs the goodness of micro nutrients.
Filtered or unfiltered apple cider vinegar Commercially produced vinegar is passed through several different types of membranes to filter impurities including mother and other enzymes. Although the filtered vinegar looks more appealing, unfiltered apple cider vinegar is healthier and has way more benefits than the filtered one as it has probiotic enzymes that help to keep you healthy.
Pasteurized or unpasteurized acv Unpasteurized vinegar is very similar to the raw acv as it has not undergone a heating process. Once heated, the acetobacter bacteria converts apple sugars to acetic acid is destroyed. In unpasteurized vinegar, the bacteria continues to produce more acid from the available sugar and changes the flavour of vinegar over time.
Inorganic or organic apple cider vinegar Organic apple cider vinegar is all natural while its inorganic counterpart has undergone pasteurization. The latter has a bright colour and is free from cloudiness thus making it more appealing to the customers. But one of the major concerns of this acv variant is the destroying of healthy bacteria by heating. This is why organic acv is a better option even though it may not look the best.
Acv with or without mother The ‘mother’ in acv are the tiny dark coloured bits you can see floating around the bottom of a bottle on organic, raw apple cider vinegar. These are basically the micro nutrients, enzymes and probiotics that are not lost in the manufacturing as the acv was not heated or pasteurized. Pasteurized and refined acv does not have ‘mother’ and is less beneficial than the former.