Cider vinegar - health properties in abundance...and it tastes great too!

Most of the orange juice consumed in this country is imported from Brazil and the carbon emitted per litre, getting it here, is heavier than the juice itself. We have many cider makers in this country and most of them make apple juice.

Instead of drinking imported orange that’s travelled thousands of miles to get here, we should be considering swapping to locally produced apple juice.

Pat and Catherine McKeever and their family produce cider, apple juice and vinegar from the orchards beside their home just outside Portadown under the name Long Meadow.

They also make a proper cider vinegar that’s produced by adding yeast to the apple to break down the sugars and turn them into alcohol. Bacteria is added to convert the alcohol into acetic acid. The bacteria is known as the “mother” and consists of strains of good bacteria known as probiotics.

Mass produced, commercial vinegars will remove the mother by filtration because it causes the liquid to cloud over. In doing so they’re getting rid of the bit that does all the good.

Taking regular doses of proper cider vinegar can help to keep the digestive system running smoothly and the probiotics are great for the immune system.

Consuming this raw vinegar daily has been shown to help maintain healthy blood sugar levels.

Drinking four teaspoons of good vinegar before a high carbohydrate meal has been shown to help prevent blood sugar spikes. It’s good for joint pain and arthritis. Always dilute the vinegar in cold water before drinking.

Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used cider vinegar to clean wounds and relieve coughs and its consumption has remained popular since the 4th century BC.

Last year during the spring lockdown I bought a ten litre drum of Long Meadow cider vinegar. It wasn’t long before I’d used most of it for pickling and making chutneys. I now have pickled red currants, cucumbers, tomatoes, courgettes, wild garlic buds, beetroot, green elderberries, padron peppers and apples alongside green tomato chutney, carrot jam and spiced tomato ketchup. When there’s a glut of fruit and vegetables it’s a good idea to preserve some for the colder days and the hungry gap.

For a basic pickling liquor combine one part vinegar with one part water, half a part of sugar and season with salt.

Bring to a simmer, cool and then pour over what you want to pickle in a clean jar and seal. Local carrots are superb at the moment and my first recipe is for carrot jam. It’s sweet, sour and spicy and great with grilled meats, fish or cheese. Potato salad is a classic but I’ve included a recipe for a lighter version without the usual mayonnaise.

Hot potatoes are sliced and tossed in a mustardy vinaigrette, using the Long Meadow cider vinegar, with horseradish, parsley and scallions. The potatoes really soak up all the flavours of the dressing and you get the benefit of warm potatoes for a cool day.

Along with carrots, turnips are just fantastic at the moment. I buy locally grown ones and they come in varying sizes. The other recipe is for chicken breasts roasted over cider braised turnips. It requires the turnips to be thinly sliced so they cook at the same time as the chicken.

The turnips are cooked with cider, cider vinegar, a toot of honey and lots of onions.

As the chicken roasts the juices meld into the braising juices. I’m a life long lover of turnips and think this would convert the most dedicated cynic.

Don’t sweat the small things. While the supermarkets shelves are less packed, look for things that are grown and produced here.

Find your local farm shop, deli, greengrocer and butcher and support them instead.