Cuyama Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar
Our organic raw apple cider vinegar has a bright, clean, full-bodied, cider flavor, with hints of American bourbon aged oak, and heirloom apple tannins, on the finish. We think you will agree, our raw ACV is in a class by itself. Perfect for culinary use, it is also a great and delicious natural tonic, and has a vast range of other uses.
We craft our vinegar in our own vinegar works, from our own carefully selected apples, and carefully manage each step of the process from orchard to bottle. Our vinegar is crafted in very small batches and bottled at full strength. As such there will always be some variations in flavor profile and acidity from batch to batch. Acidity will usually be around 7%.
How It's Made
Cuyama Orchards vinegar is made exclusively from our own organic apples grown on our estate in the upper elevations of the Cuyama Valley of California. Which means we make our vinegar with some pretty awesome apples! We are able to select and blend from our most highly flavored fresh, specialty, and hard cider apples to make an unequalled fruit “must” (juice) from which we start the process.
After washing, sorting, crushing and pressing out the apple juice, we allow a natural primary fermentation to occur where yeasts convert the sweet juice to a dry cider. Our Cuyama apples are rich in polyphenols, and tannins, and sugars, and we typically get a rich dry cider base that is around 9% alcohol.
We then slowly ferment the dry cider in oak bourbon barrels using the traditional “Orleans Process” of vinegar production which allows the vinegar to capture and reflect the quality, character, and richness of the underlying fruit.
What is the Orléans Process?
The ”Orléans Process,” or “Slow Process” for vinegar production, dates back to the Middle Ages. In this traditional method of small batch vinegar production, vented oak barrels are used as production vessels to slowly ferment cider to vinegar over a period of months. The fermentation takes place only on the undisturbed surface of the batch under the “Mother.” A process that cannot be rushed.
Louis Pasteur noted that the slow surface fermentation process of the “Orleans Methos” of vinegar production was superior to the new rapid fermentation processes introduced in the 19th century.
The Orléans process captures and reflects the quality and character of the underlying fruit in the finished vinegar. This slow, natural fermentation process allows for a depth of flavor that cannot be replicated with modern methods of vinegar production which aim at producing faster and cheaper vinegar
Recipes
Honey-Ginger Switchel
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup chopped ginger
- 3 cups water
- 2 tablespoons Cuyama Apple Blossom Honey
- 2 tablespoons Cuyama Apple Cider Vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions:
- Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add ginger. Remove from heat and let steep until completely cool.
- Pour water and ginger into a 1-quart jar. Add the remaining water, honey, apple cider vinegar, and lemon juice.
- Close the lid, shake well, and store overnight. Serve cold.
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