FAQs

Where does vinegar come from?  

Making vinegar may be as old as alcoholic brewing, however, it was the Babylonians who first documented vinegar making and use around 3000 BC. They primarily made vinegar from dates, figs, and beer and used it for both culinary and medicinal purposes. It is said that Cleopatra once dissolved a pearl in vinegar and drank it in order to win a bet with Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony). She wagered that she could spend a fortune on a single meal. Vinegar is mentioned in the Bible and Hippocrates, the Greek physician known as the Father of Western Medicine, often recommended it for a variety of ailments.

When was apple cider vinegar discovered?

This was around 2500 BC when the Aryans, an ancient nomadic tribe, developed a soured apple wine. This soured apple wine recipe was passed to the Greeks and Romans and people started developing apple cider vinegar as a by-product to their soured apple wines.

Where does the word vinegar come from?

The word vinegar comes from the Latin words vinum (wine) and acer (sour) and in essence vinegar is just that: sour wine.

What are the best recipes to enjoy apple cider vinegar? 

The simplest way to enjoy apple cider vinegar and alkalise your body is with a daily health tonic. Mix one tablespoon of ACV with 1 cup of warm water and consume this mixture up to three times a day. In summer replace the warm water with sparkling or soda water. Add a teaspoon of honey to the mixture for taste – or simply use Goulter’s Honeygar which combines ACV with Manuka and Honey Dew Honey into a delicious tonic.

There are so many ways to use apple cider vinegar that we’ve created a separate page with our favourite recipes, check them out here.

How do I use apple cider vinegar around my house? 

There are many ways to use apple cider vinegar around the house, from preserving food, to cleaning and disinfecting surfaces.

Just like other types of vinegar, apple cider vinegar is an effective preservative. Use it when preserving and pickling your summer harvest.

ACV makes a great multi-purpose cleaner too, try our new All Natural Vinegar Cleaner that combines vinegar with citric acid to create a powerful cleaning agent to use on tiles, baths, drains, sinks, bench tops, stove tops, floors and even fireplace glass doors.

Trap fruit flies by simply pouring some apple cider vinegar into a cup, add a few drops of dish soap so that any trapped flies sink and put it in a handy spot.

Make an all natural hair conditioner by mixing 1 part apple cider vinegar with 1 part water. We like to put it in a spray bottle for easy use. Spray on your hair after washing it, leave in for a minute and rinse for tangle-free shiny hair.

Can I use apple cider vinegar to support animal health? 

Farmers have found that giving their stock a small daily dose of ACV is very likely to prevent the onset of worms because of the overall health improvement of their stock. Because ACV contains many wonderful trace elements it helps to lower the PH levels in the gut which in turn assists with digestion. Healthy gut – healthy animals!

In the US trials have been done on sheep to prove that drenching the sheep monthly not only improves the overall health of the sheep but also their wool production. The study also showed that drenching the ewes 3 weeks before the ram went out and 6 weeks before lambing reduced the mortality of lambs at birth.

The causes of itchy skin in dogs can sometimes be hard to pin down. Luckily, ACV’s antibacterial properties can help get rid of skin infections (if there is an infection) and can also help soothe inflammation and balance pH levels to reduce itching To soothe itchy skin, make a rinse of 1 tablespoon ACV per 1 litre of water for your dog after you bathe them.

Apple cider vinegar may help prevent your pet from getting fleas. For a simple repellent, bathe your dog as normal and rinse with a combination of 1 tablespoon ACV per 1 litre of water.

ACV contains several acids with powerful antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, making it excellent for clearing up your dog’s ear infection. To use, make a 5 ml solution of a 50:50 ration of water to ACV. Apply the solution to your dog’s ears and wipe the inside of their ear with a cotton ball. Do this daily for a week.

Goulter’s Organic Cider Vinegar can be used in poultry and is said to increase their egg production. Many a chicken farmer will attest to this hence using a small dose in the water troughs.

Judy Sinner is a horse owner, breeder, trainer and exhibitor. She’s written a great article on using ACV to support equine health, read it here.

And here’s a great recipe for a natural worming alternative for horses from Macalla Farm in Ireland.

What are the health benefits of apple cider vinegar? 

The main substance in vinegar, acetic acid, can kill harmful bacteria or prevent them from multiplying. ACV is the only vinegar which alkalises the body benefiting your all around health.

Use ACV to remove the sting and burn after mosquito bites or bee stings.

ACV can reduce blood triglycerides, cholesterol and blood pressure therefore reducing heart disease.

Apple Cider Vinegar has also shown great promise in improving insulin sensitivity and helping lower blood sugar responses after meals.

Read our blog to find out more. Click here.

Why is it important to keep our gut in an Alkaline state?

Because dis-ease, viruses and bad bacteria all grow in an oxygen-poor and acid-rich environment. Raw ACV is the only vinegar that is alkaline-forming to the body. For a health balanced pH, raw Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the best things to add to your diet.

What’s so special about Goulter’s Apple Cider Vinegar?

Goulter’s produce New Zealand’s only organic, raw, unfiltered and full strength apple cider vinegar – preserving all the natural goodness for you. Our ACV is available by the bottle, in capsules or try our Honeygar tonic which combines ACV with the goodness of Manuka and Honeydew honey.

Why does the colour of ACV matter?

Not all vinegars are equal and for an apple cider vinegar to gain that very dark rich golden colour it has to have been fermented for a very long period of time in oak barrels. During the fermentation process apple juice turns into vinegar and the liquid naturally becomes lighter. Some producers add caramel colouring to bring out the dark colour. At Goulter’s we do not add any colouring (or any additives for that matter) as we believe in supplying an authentic Organic Vinegar.

How do you make your Apple Cider Vinegar?

Apple cider vinegar is made via a two-step process. First, we expose crushed organic apples from Appleby (just south of Nelson on the Waimea Plains) to yeast, which ferments the natural sugars and turns them into alcohol. Next, we add bacteria to further ferment the alcohol, turning it into acetic acid — the main active compound in vinegar.

Read our blog to learn more about how we make our famous Goulter’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar.

What is the Mother?

In short, it is the culture of beneficial bacteria that turns regular Apple Cider into Vinegar in the first place. This is similar to the SCOBY found in Kombucha. In unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar, this beneficial group of bacteria and acids remains and creates the murky web-like Mother.

Does all vinegar contain the Mother?

Clear and Pasteurized Vinegars typically do not contain the mother culture and don’t carry the same benefits. Refined and clear vinegars are great for cleaning as they don’t leave residue. In contrast, raw, unfiltered and unrefined versions contain many more beneficial properties for culinary uses.

What does full strength mean and why is it important?

One of the first things to look for when buying ACV  is to look for a full or double strength vinegar, this means vinegar that has been bottled without having water added to it. Goulter’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar is full strength and has an acetic acid level between 5.9 to 6.5. This range is due to seasonal variations.

Some bulk buying customers and distributors prefer single strength vinegar and we can supply single strength ACV and white vinegar in bulk.

What does undiluted mean and why is it important?

Undiluted is just another way of describing full strength vinegar. It means vinegar that has been bottled without having water added to it. Goulter’s Organic Apple Cider Vinegar is full strength and has an acetic acid level between 5.9 to 6.5. This range is due to seasonal variations.

What does unrefined mean?

Unrefined or raw vinegar has not been filtered or pasteurised, thus preserving all the natural goodness for you to enjoy. It should say on the label ‘raw’ or ‘from the Mother.’ It’s the unrefined or raw ACV that is so good for you so be sure to buy the right one.

In ACV particularly, the Mother is a complex structure of beneficial acids that seem to have health benefits. Unrefined vinegars have a murky appearance and typically still contain the mother culture. Clear and pasteurized vinegars typically do not contain the mother culture and don’t carry the same benefits.

Refined and clear vinegars are great for cleaning as they don’t leave residue. Raw, unfiltered and unrefined versions contain many more beneficial properties for culinary uses.

Why are ‘raw’ apple cider vinegars best? 

Raw ACV is the only vinegar that alkalises the body. It’s important to keep our gut in an alkaline state because dis-ease, viruses and bad bacteria all grow in an oxygen-poor and acid-rich environment.

To make sure you get all the goodness from ACV, it should be raw (that means unpasteurized). The label should say ‘raw’ or ‘from the Mother.’ For a health balanced pH, Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is one of the best things to add to your diet.

What does unfiltered mean and why is unfiltered ACV the best choice?

By filtering vinegar you create a clearer appearance, however it tends to remove the Mother. The Mother is a complex structure of beneficial acids that provides many health benefits so unfiltered vinegar still carries the same benefits.

Most of our vinegar products are organically certified by AsureQuality Kaitiaki Kai’s independent assessors. We are passionate about sharing the health benefits of vinegar. So to truly share the benefits we believe it’s important to start with the best organic ingredients.

Our Apple Cider Vinegar, Honeygar and Kiwifruit Vinegar are all Certified Organic, check out our current certifications.

Please note, if a product is not organic you will see clearly see the word ‘conventional’ being used to describe this product.

All Goulter’s products are available on this website. In addition our products are stocked at a range of retailers around the country. You can find the full list here.

Some stockists sell our products in bulk allowing you to refill your own bottles and helping minimise waste. In a further effort to minimise waste and create a circular economy, we encourage retailers to return empty 20 litre containers to us.

Please refer to the full Terms & Conditions, clause 4.

All orders incur a freight charge depending on the combined weight of the order.

When adding your address at checkout the system will let you know the freight charge when they check out.

Please note:

Rural Delivery:
If you have a rural address the freight can be expensive, so if you can nominate a residential address for delivery the cost will be less. Thank you.

What addresses are determined as rural by our delivery company may vary from the NZ Post Rural addresses.

While we do our best to quote delivery accurately, if the courier later confirms an address as rural for delivery we reserve the right to contact you with a revised delivery price for payment before shipment or to agree shipping to a nominated non rural residential address for you to collect from.

Waiheke Island:
Customers who require delivery to Waiheke Island will need to call us at 03 546 5174 for a freight quote or to designate an Auckland residential address.

Please refer to our full Terms & Conditions, clause 10 and 11.