Recipe tips for those with Fructose Malabsorption and more – by Fiona Timmins

For those with fructose malabsorption – I grate the citrus rind (not the juice) and use the equiv of Goulter’s ACV in place of citrus juice in cooking recipes including baking. Delicious! The citrus flavour without the negative effects of citrus juice. 

For those who bake with baking soda and those on special diets like GAPS, I use the apple cider vinegar added last of all to a baking batter, to activate the baking soda to give a better rise to baked goods. Works really well, even with “heavier” ingredients like dates and nuts or seeds. 

To replace a wine flavour in food (we do not drink or use alcohol), I use about one quarter of the wine measurement, with 3/4 of water, and a little organic rice syrup or stevia to give a little sweetness. This works really well in casseroles and stews (or ragout if you like the culinary term better). 

To add “sparkle” to a salad. Once salad ingredients are mixed in a bowl, I mix up 1TB of ACV, 1 TB of water and 1 tsp of rice syrup or 4 drops of pure stevia. Drizzle that over the salad and mix lightly. Then serve with your favourite dressing or mayo on the side. This way, if all the salad is not eaten, you can refrigerate it in a covered container overnight and the salad will be fresh the next morning. The most marvellous plant based mayo’s that keep in a jar in the fridge for more than a week easily.

Probiotic cultured vegetables – I have a pickle recipe using cucumbers that uses some apple cider vinegar and some water and salt. A dill pickle recipe. They are delicious to us, and last a little bit longer than traditional cultured pickles.

Bottling tomatoes. I pick organic tomatoes, cut in pieces, skins still included (I like the fibre and also, remember many nutrients in fruits and vegetables are microscopically just below the skin), with sprigs of herbs into jars. Then press down, not too much strength, but some to compact the tomatoes somewhat and finish off with a sprinkle of Himalayan salt and 1 TB of Goulter’s apple cider vinegar. Then these jars are wiped with a clean towel, lids put on, and water bathed for 30 minutes at boiling point.

Relishes. We are a Kiwi household, which seems to come with a genetic predisposition for tomato sauce. So I have come to a compromise with the family and make a Tomato Relish with low added sweet ingredients and the star of the show Goulter’s Apple Cider Vinegar.

Sun Dried Tomatoes. I grow the tomatoes, a variety which is not too juicy. Then cut the tomatoes and dehydrate them until they are crispy. Then, when I have time after all the harvesting and bottling is said and done, I soak some of these dried tomatoes in a mixture similar to the Salad Sparkle until they are nearly soft again. Then I simply put them in jars and top off with the best olive oil I can afford.

Pininni. This is actually “Faux Pineapple”. Can you guess what it is? Zucchini in pineapple juice, ACV and pure liquid stevia or rice syrup! Shhhh. Don’t tell the family! 

Green Tomato Fruit Mincemeat. Yep Apple Cider Vinegar shines again. The ACV gives sparkle to anything that just seems to miss the “flavour explosion” on the taste buds!

“Cultured” Plant Butter. There are many Plant Butter recipes on the internet. We use Goulter’s ACV to “culture” the plant milk, either almond, cashew and occasionally soy (which works really well, but we have digestion issues with soy). The flavour is amazing. People can’t believe this Plant Butter is homemade!

PERSONAL, MEDICINAL and HOUSEHOLD – ACV contains a variety of acids. That’s what makes it taste acidically delicious! Also happens to make it a weapon against opportunistic (naughty) bacteria. That’s one of the miracles of life with ACV.

Cleaning. Keep a spray bottle of acv handy and spray wherever you need to clean and disinfect. I’ve heard people say ordinary white vinegar smells. But not Goulter’s ACV, it has a fresh, sprightly aroma. As if you were under apple trees in the late summer. 

Soaking anything. Half a cup of ACV in a bucket of warm water will disinfect anything, and make it smell nice again. 

Forgotten about the load of washing in the machine and the fresh clothes have gone stinky? Add 1/2 a cup of Goulter’s ACV (where the washing liquid or powder goes) and put the load through a rinse and spin cycle. Ah, fresh clothes again!

As a toner for the skin. Half ACV half water, a drop or an organic essential oil if you wish, we buy ours from Pure Nature NZ.

To refresh toothbrushes. Soak toothbrushes in a little jar of 1/2 ACV, 1/2 water to neutralise any opportunistic bacteria. Ditto with kitchen brushes and cloths.

Cleaning the compost buckets. A swish and a brush with an old dishwash brush soon gets those compost smells banished!

A hair rinse. If you have choose not to use a commercial hair shampoo, you can use 1 tsp of washing soda dissolved in 1/2 a cup of water, shampoo, rinse. Then finish with a rinse of 1/2 cup of ACV in half a litre of warm water. Shiny hair! Also good to clarify the hair before using those lovely natural colourings – either henna or the various more natural hair dyes you can find at health shops.

To help digestion. Some people can take Apple Cider Vinegar in warm water on an empty stomach and some cannot. Some people have ACV in warm water first thing in the morning. Others have half a glass of water with a splash of ACV before or during meals. That works for me to stimulate hydrochloric acid production. More people have LESS stomach acid than EXCESSIVE acid.

On a similar medicinal and refreshing note, I like to have a tall long glass of sparkling water with a splash of ACV and a few drops of liquid stevia. NZ has its very own liquid stevia business now, based in Nelson and most Binn Inn’s and discerning health shops stock Lynn’s products. Sweet NZ is the name www.sugarfreefood.co.nz In the colder weathers, I favour a mug of hot water with a splash of ACV, a pinch of dried organic chilli powder and a few drops of lemon liquid stevia. Even better, if you can tolerate it a very, very small amount of raw local honey. ACV and raw honey together are incredible. 1/2 tsp is heaps of honey. Amazingness. Warms me up to my fingers and toes!