Truly, is nothing sacred? If you’ve been grabbing the same vinegar off the shelf for years, not giving it a second thought, it’s time to do a little label reading. Apple cider vinegar? Depending on your brand, it may now be ‘apple cider flavored‘ vinegar. Ditto for what you thought was white wine vinegar.
Heinz doesn’t address the ‘apple cider flavored’ vinegar on its site, but here’s what they have to say about the clear stuff that used to be white wine vinegar:
Heinz® Distilled White Vinegar is made from sun-ripened grain and crystal clear water.
Sun-ripened grain. That sounds nice, doesn’t it? But the picture that accompanies that statement shows an ear of corn. And you can bet that corn is GMO.
I better start reading all labels from now on… I read for other products but had never thought to check on the apple cider vinegar. Thanks for this alert, Kris!
@SoniaR I KNOW! I discovered that the white vinegar is no longer white *wine vinegar some time back, but just spotted this apple cider bait-and-switch a couple of days ago. It’s crazy!
@Attainable Sustainable bummer!
I discovered the apple cider “flavored” vinegar a couple of years ago when preparing to make pickles. I found only one brand in the grocery stores that was really apple cider vinegar. Of course, it can be found in health food stores and coops. I had not thought through the white vinegar issue though. We use white vinegar primarily for cleaning, yet it is still perpetuating the GMO issue. Thanks for the info.
Oh, for pete’s sake. I just checked my Whole Foods 365 brand apple cider vinegar, and it clearly states that it’s certified organic and that the company’s private label products follow the US law that forbids any GMOs in organic foods. So go organic with your vinegar, guys!
White wine vinegar and white (clear) vinegar are two very different things. Heinz doesn’t make a white wine vinegar anymore. And as for their white vinegar, all white non-wine vinegars are made from distilled corn alcohol. I agree that the apple cider-flavored is a bit odd, but as for the white, this is how all white (again, non-white wine) vinegars are made. You are getting the two mixed up. Whether they are GMO or not is a different piece of the puzzle.
I don’t think I’m getting the two mixed up at all. I understand that they’re two different products, but these products have changed over the years. Used to be I could pick up a bottle of Heinz that was a clear liquid and it would be white WINE vinegar. No more. Heinz no longer offers white wine vinegar according to their website; it’s all distilled white vinegar. The do have RED wine vinegar: http://www.heinzvinegar.com/products-red-wine-vinegar.aspx.
The apple cider vinegar change hasn’t made it to their website yet, but based on the image above, clearly they’re making changes to their recipe.
In either case, if you’ve been buying the same brand for years, thinking that you know what you’re getting, you need to pay attention to the label. Things, they are a-changin.
Cripes. We like Dr. Bragg’s apple cider vinegar, which I’m hoping is ok, but I’ll go read the ingredients.
@Jane Boursaw We like and use Bragg’s, too, Jane. Not cheap for cleaning, though!
Grrrr.
Well, the really stupid thing about Hienz is the advertising of the grain being “sun ripened” LOL. Isn’t ALL grain sun ripened? It’s not like a tomato that can be picked green and gassed to make it red! How dumb to they really think we are? Since I use white vinegar mostly for cleaning, I’m not too worried about it being made from GMO corn, although I would like that type of product to go away in general. I don’t think my laundry really cares if the vinegar is GMO or non GMO.
Oh so glad I live down under where having checked my labels ours is ok, agree about always reading labels though as it is interesting what can end up in our foods!
First off, I have to say that corn is a grain so I’m not sure what you take exception with about corn.
Secondly, to address THIS comment:
“Well, the really stupid thing about Hienz is the advertising of the grain being “sun ripened” LOL. Isn’t ALL grain sun ripened? It’s not like a tomato that can be picked green and gassed to make it red! How dumb to they really think we are? ”
As a farmer’s wife, I can tell you that MANY farmers use a chemical dessicant to ripen their crops. Chemical dessicant basically kills the plant and forces it to mature instead of waiting for nature to ripen it. There are many reasons why dessicants are used, mostly to make harvest happen in a timely manner so that crops are not ruined by frost. So no, not all grain is sun ripened, especially commercially grown crops.
@Allison TrebleThanks for weighing in and telling us about the dessicant – is that used on corn, too? I had no idea. Personally, I love corn.
What I DISlike is genetic modification of crops, and an awful lot of corn is GMO.
@Attainable Sustainable
Yes, a dessicant called Reglone is very commonly used on crops such as canola, corn, and field peas along with others I’m sure.
@Allison Treble I don’t like the idea of grain in general being use to make apple cider vinegar, it clearly should be made from APPLES! If I wanted vinegar from grain I would buy white vinegar. However, I did read somewhere that some white vinegar is actually made by diluting acetic acid produced by GM bacteria (rather than the tedious process of naturally fermenting the vinegar and then distilling it). Makes me think I should just make my own vinegar so I know where it comes from.
@farmer_liz I agree that Apple Cider Vinegar should be made from apples but the article above was talking about White Vinegar being made from corn. Unfortunately, it’s true that you need to make things yourself to know what is in them.
Just checked my Trader Joe’s apple cider vinegar and it just has the good stuff in it. Do you have a Trader Joe’s nearby?
Sadly, no.
It’s sure not easy to shop anymore. By the time you read the labels for fat and calories, check out the irradiation symbols and sift through the ingredient list, you’ve spent another hour in the supermarket
And yet something else we didn’t know that we need to! Thanks, Kris.
I just bought a bottle of store brand white vinegar today. I’m going to go check and see what it says.
Brette recently posted..BBQ Meatloaf
Ok I buy the hienz white vinegar just for cleaning and laundry puposes…I get my apple cider vinegar from the farmer`s market so no worries therE. I hate GMO`S but does it really matter for cleaning?
Just how much vinegar are people consuming if they are so concerned about GMO corn? And if you only clean with it, who cares at all? My bottle last for a year or more.