Apple Cider Vinegar at Safeway
Apple cider vinegar (ACV) is vinegar made from apples. Apple juice is fermented twice: yeast turns the sugar into alcohol, then bacteria turn the alcohol into acetic acid, the sour part of every vinegar. Most bottles are about 5% acidity. It's a kitchen staple for dressings, marinades, and pickles, and the one health claim with good evidence behind it is a smaller blood sugar spike after a starchy meal.
How apple cider vinegar is made
Apple cider vinegar starts as crushed apples or apple juice. In the first fermentation, yeast eats the sugar and makes alcohol, the same step that makes hard cider. In the second, acetic acid bacteria turn that alcohol into acetic acid. That acid is what makes vinegar sour and what does the work. Unlike white vinegar, apple cider vinegar is made from apples, so it tastes fruitier and milder.
If a bottle is cloudy with a stringy clump floating in it, that's the mother, a harmless film of cellulose and bacteria that forms during fermenting. You only find it in raw, unfiltered vinegar. It doesn't change what the vinegar does.
Does apple cider vinegar have alcohol in it?
Alcohol is a step along the way, not the finished product. The second fermentation turns the alcohol into acetic acid, so only a trace is left in the bottle. Apple cider vinegar isn't an alcoholic drink, and in the amounts used for cooking the trace doesn't matter. If you avoid alcohol completely for religious or medical reasons, check with the brand.
Apple cider vinegar vs. apple cider vs. apple juice
They all start with apples, but they stop at different points. Apple juice is pressed, filtered, and usually pasteurized. Apple cider is pressed juice that hasn't been filtered, so it's cloudy and sweet. Hard cider is fermented once, into alcohol. Apple cider vinegar is fermented twice, until the alcohol becomes acid. At Safeway, apple cider vinegar is with the other vinegars in the condiments aisle, while apple juice and cider are in the juice aisle.
What people use it for
In the kitchen, apple cider vinegar goes into salad dressings, marinades, slaws, quick pickles, and barbecue sauce, and a spoonful brightens soups and braises. Outside the kitchen, people drink it to bring down blood sugar, lose weight, "detox" or cleanse the body, and lower cholesterol, and dab it on acne, warts, and skin tags. Almost all of those come from social media and old home remedies, not from doctors. Only one of the claims holds up.
What apple cider vinegar actually does
The one claim with good evidence is about blood sugar. A tablespoon or two in water, taken with a meal, lowers the blood sugar spike afterward. A 2004 study at Arizona State found that drinking vinegar before a high-carb meal improved how people processed blood sugar, with the biggest benefit in those who were already insulin resistant. A 2005 study in Sweden gave 12 people white bread with and without vinegar and found lower blood sugar and insulin after the vinegar meal. And finally a 2007 study had 11 people with type 2 diabetes take it at bedtime and wake up with blood sugar about 6% lower. A 2017 review pooled these studies and reached the same result.
The acetic acid slows how fast your stomach empties, so starch turns into blood sugar more slowly. That's why it works with a starchy meal, or right before one. But these are small studies, often a single meal with a dozen people. Vinegar lowers the spike, but it doesn't treat diabetes. If you take diabetes medication, it can push your blood sugar too low, so check with your doctor first.
The evidence for weight and cholesterol is much weaker. The most-cited weight study followed 155 people in Japan for 12 weeks in 2009. The ones who drank vinegar lost about two to four pounds more than those who didn't. The difference was small, and a vinegar company paid for the study. A 2024 study that showed a bigger effect was retracted in 2025 for unreliable data. A few studies also show small drops in cholesterol or triglycerides, but those results are inconsistent. People do report feeling a little fuller in the short term, but vinegar isn't an appetite suppressant and won't make you lose weight on its own. Any effect is small.
The rest of the claims are either wrong or risky. Vinegar doesn't detox or "alkalize" anything. Your liver and kidneys clean your blood, and your blood pH stays around 7.4 no matter what you drink. It can briefly shift the pH of your urine, but that does nothing for you. On skin, it can hurt you. There's no good evidence it clears acne or eczema. It's acidic enough to burn, and there are real cases of chemical burns from putting it on undiluted, including on children. When people say it burned off a skin tag, that's acid burning skin.
How to use it safely
The same acid that lowers a blood sugar spike also wears down your teeth and burns tissue. Almost all the harm comes from drinking it straight, or drinking a lot every day for years. It dissolves tooth enamel: one 15-year-old who drank about a cup of undiluted vinegar a day ended up with badly eroded teeth. Water it down, drink it through a straw if you can, rinse your mouth after, and wait about half an hour before brushing. Straight vinegar can also burn your throat. Pills are worse: in at least one case an ACV tablet got stuck and injured someone's esophagus. Take any pills with plenty of water.
Taking large amounts doesn't help and can hurt. One person who drank about a cup of diluted vinegar daily for six years was hospitalized with dangerously low potassium and weakened bones. It's rare and took years, but it's the reason to keep the amount small. Vinegar can also lower your blood sugar and potassium enough to interact with insulin and other diabetes drugs, water pills, and the heart medication digoxin, so check with your doctor if you take any of those. A safe amount is one to two tablespoons a day, always in a big glass of water, with a meal or just before. Never drink it straight.
Buying apple cider vinegar at Safeway
Apple cider vinegar is in the vinegar section, next to the white, balsamic, and red wine vinegars. Safeway carries three brands, each in more than one size:
Brand | Style | Sizes |
|---|---|---|
Signature SELECT | Standard | 16 oz, 32 oz, and 128 oz (1 gallon) |
O Organics | Organic, raw, unfiltered, with the mother | 16 oz, 32 oz, and 1 gallon |
Bragg | Organic, raw, unfiltered, with the mother | 16 oz and 32 oz |
Ingredients Vinegar Made from the Juice of Apples*, Diluted with Water to a Uniform Pickling and Table Strength of 5% (50 Grain) Acidity. *Color Changes and Naturally Occurring Sediment May Appear Throughout the Life of the Product.
Ingredients Vinegar Made from the Juice of Apples*, Diluted with Water to a Uniform Pickling and Table Strength of 5% (50 Grain) Acidity. *Color Changes and Naturally Occurring Sediment May Appear Throughout the Life of the Product.
Ingredients Apple Cider Vinegar, Diluted with Water to 5% Acidity.
Ingredients Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Diluted with Water to 5% Acidity.
Ingredients Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Diluted with Water to 5% Acidity.
Ingredients Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Diluted with Water to 5% Acidity.
Ingredients Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Water.
Ingredients Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Water.
A 16-ounce bottle holds about 32 tablespoons, so at a tablespoon a day it lasts about a month. Within each brand the bigger bottles cost less per ounce, and the gallon jugs make sense if you also pickle or clean with vinegar.
Most of the words on the label make little difference to the effect. "Raw," "unfiltered," and "with the mother" describe the same cloudy style, which is what O Organics and Bragg sell. Signature SELECT is the standard style without those labels. What does the work is the acetic acid, and no study has shown the mother adds anything, so pick whichever you like. The number to check is the acidity. 5% is normal for vinegar you drink or cook with. "Cleaning vinegar" is 6% or higher and isn't meant for drinking.
The bigger choice is liquid versus gummies or pills. The studies that found an effect used liquid vinegar in water, where one to two tablespoons gives you about 750 to 1,500 mg of acetic acid, the amount the studies used. Gummies are made from dried vinegar powder with added sugar, and their labels list "mg of apple cider vinegar," which isn't the same as acetic acid, so you can't tell how much you're getting. Pills can injure the throat and hide the acid amount too, and a study that compared them found vinegar tablets didn't match the liquid. The liquid is the form with evidence behind it.
If you still want them, Safeway carries one of each in the supplements section: Nature's Truth Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies, with 600 mg of apple cider vinegar in a serving of three gummies, and Nature's Truth Triple Strength capsules, with 1,200 mg of apple cider vinegar powder in a serving of two capsules. Neither label lists acetic acid, so there's no way to compare them with a tablespoon of the liquid.
Ingredients Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Pectin, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Sodium Citrate, Vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopheryl acetate), Natural Palm Leaf Glaze, Palm Oil, Black Carrot Juice Concentrate Color.
Ingredients OTHER INGREDIENTS: Gelatin Capsule, Rice Powder, Vegetable Magnesium Stearate, Silica.
Common questions
Does apple cider vinegar have alcohol?
Only a trace. Fermentation turns the alcohol into acetic acid, so apple cider vinegar isn't an alcoholic drink.
Is apple cider vinegar the same as apple cider?
No. Apple cider is unfiltered apple juice. Apple cider vinegar is that juice fermented into alcohol and then into acid, so it's sour, not sweet.
How much should I drink a day?
One to two tablespoons, about 15 to 30 mL, always in a big glass of water. More isn't better.
When's the best time to drink it?
With a starchy meal, or right before one. That's where the blood sugar evidence is strongest.
Will it help me lose weight?
Barely. The best study showed two to four pounds over 12 weeks, and a vinegar company paid for it.
Do I have to mix it with water?
Yes. Straight vinegar can wear down your teeth and burn your throat.
Are the gummies as good as the liquid?
The studies that found an effect used liquid. Gummies add sugar and don't tell you how much actual acid is inside, so you can't match the studied amount.
Does "with the mother" matter?
Not for the blood sugar effect. The mother is a harmless leftover from fermenting, and filtered and unfiltered have about the same acid.
Can I use it on my skin or for acne?
Better not to. It can irritate or burn skin, and there's no good evidence it helps.
