Apple Cider Vinegar best before: Does Apple Cider Vinegar go bad? Is there a best before?

Apple cider vinegar is praised by health, fitness and beauty gurus for its positive effects on the body and skin. From triggering weight loss to regulating blood sugar levels, this stuff is reportedly a miracle worker.

Apple cider vinegar is known for its pungency, which makes it difficult to swallow.

After reading all about the benefits of the drink, you’ll realise it’s not just a trendy Instagram thing.

It is made by mixing apples and yeast to make alcohol and then fermenting this into acetic acid.

Many people drink it or mix it into food to reap these benefits since the taste is too strong for most to drink alone.

An article by Harvard Medical School states: “It can be consumed in small quantities or taken as a supplement.

“Its high levels of acetic acid, or perhaps other compounds, may be responsible for its supposed health benefits.

“Although recommendations for “dosing” vary, most are on the order of 1 to 2 teaspoons before or with meals.”

Since you’re drinking it such small shots, it will take you a while to get through a whole bottle. Does apple cider vinegar expire?

READ MORE-Apple cider vinegar: Dietitian warns of health drink side effects

What is the best by date of apple cider vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar can remain in tip-top condition for years with no signs of deterioration.

Despite this, manufacturers will slap a best-by date on the bottle. Why is this?

The best-by date simply tells you how long the ACV will retain its quality.

This date does not tell you how long the liquid will be safe to consume for.

How to tell if apple cider vinegar is bad

If you google which apple cider vinegar to purchase, you will see the phrase ‘the mother’ pop up.

The mother is a bacteria that causes the vinegar to rise.

When apple cider vinegar is made, yeast is added to apple juice to turn the sugars into alcohol.

Then, the mother is added to convert the alcohol into acetic acid. It’s the healthiest and most nutritious part of the liquid.

Many apple cider vinegars will have the mother removed because it is responsible for a cloudy appearance that makes the liquid look unappealing.

If your bottle contains the mother, it will linger at the bottle and can appear dark and slimy. This appearance doesn’t mean it has gone off, it is perfectly normal.

The mother should also be in bottles that say “raw”.

However, if your label states that the liquid is pasteurised or filtered, this means there is no mother present in the bottle.

Apple cider vinegar almost never spoils, but if it has changed colour or smells off you should get rid of it.

The same goes for an ‘off’ taste.