Make Apple Cider Vinegar Actually Taste Good

A few years ago, my coworker and I would take shots in the break room at work. Don't worry, we weren't downing alcohol. We were shooting apple cider vinegar (ACV)! We heard that it was good for weight loss, clear skin, and other too-good-to-be-true benefits.

Of course, taking shots of ACV was terrible on many levels. It tasted bad and we were apparently messing up the enamel on our teeth. So we decided to dilute it with water and honey. This just prolonged the terrible process. Bleh!

Recently, I've been wanting to give ACV a try again. I've searched and searched for ways to "make ACV taste good." I stumbled upon some recipes that called for apple juice and cinnamon to make ACV taste like apple pie. I can assure you that combination does not taste anything like apple pie. In fact, the sweetness of the apple juice clashes with the ACV and the whole thing just tasted rotten to me. Maybe other people are less sensitive than I am, who knows.

Then I came across an article about a gal who started adding ACV to sparkling water because she tried Bragg's apple cider vinegar blended drink, which she said was basically like sparkling water with ACV. She claimed that "The bubbles seem to amplify the vinegar’s fruity notes, the acid adds spunk, and the seltzer’s flavoring adds character." So I had to try it for myself.

I got two options: mango flavored Bubly sparkling water and Walmart's Fuji Apple sparkling water. First I added ACV to a cold glass of the Bubly sparkling water. It was not great. Not as terrible as the apple juice/ACV combo, but the faint flavor and powerful carbonation just wasn't enough flavor for me. Yes, the ACV wasn't as potent but the drink tasted like a long-ago memory of a mango. No thanks.

Then, I filled an 8oz glass of the Fuji Apple sparkling water and added 1/2 teaspoon of ACV. And I'm happy to report it was completely palatable, dare I say delicious. The flavored sparkling water is good on its own and the addition of the ACV adds a pleasant depth of flavor.

Since I stupidly bought a case of the mango Bubly, I decided to add a little bit of it to the Fuji Apple sparkling water/ACV combo. That way, the memory of the mango is overpowered by the deliciousness of apple. I'm just glad the case of Bubly won't go to waste.  

I'm not sure if I'll try other flavors of sparkling water since I feel like I hit the jackpot with the Fuji Apple water, but you never know. Maybe one day I'll feel more adventurous.  

Nay on the apple juice and Bubly + Apple Cider Vinegar combos. Yay for the Fuji Apple + ACV combo!