MEET THE PRODUCERS
New section: Meet the creators of Daily Organics Apple Cider Vinegar.
Daily Organics’ latest product is the fruit of a year-long process. The duo behind it explain why
Hailed as a miracle worker for everything from healthy hair to heartburn, apple cider vinegar has for centuries been a go-to household remedy.
Now the people who gave us the delicious Daily Organics kombucha have branched out to produce this wonder elixir using 100 percent certified organic apples from the Hawke’s Bay.
“My family had always bought apple cider vinegar from the US, but we thought this was crazy when we have the most delicious organic apples growing here, using less food miles and supporting New Zealand orchardists,” explains Delwyn Ward, co-owner with Brad Gwynne of Daily Organics.
After three years in the making at their boutique brewery in Matakana, north of Auckland, Daily Organics’ first vintage of apple cider vinegar is on shelves. Delywn describes it as “life enhancing”. Indeed the liquid has been prized through history for its wellbeing benefits. From easing indigestion, heartburn and bloating to being a great gargler for sore throats and leaving hair super-shiny, it’s a one-stop solution for health and beauty.
“We source our organic apples from the Hawke’s Bay – Granny Smith, Royal Gala, Pacific Rose and Braeburn, the old favourites,” explains Brad, Delwyn’s business partner since 2015.
The product – on sale in specialist food shops, health stores and some supermarkets – takes over a year to make. The apples are handpicked and crushed with their skins on. Soft artesian water is added to the juice in holding tanks and left to ferment. The sugars convert into alcohol, and at the next level of fermentation, the alcohol converts into vinegar thanks to acetic acid-forming bacteria. The vinegar then rests in French oak barrels for 12 months before bottling.
For mum-of-two Delywn, who studied at Ilam art school in Christchurch, turning apples into vinegar is an art form in itself. “It’s certainly not a speed date. Our fermented products are crafted slowly, traditionally, seriously.”
And it shows. Theirs is a soft, rounded – almost ‘full bodied’ – vinegar, easier on the palate than the typically tart offering. The care and attention to detail goes into the bottling too; each label traces the vintage of the apple harvest, says which varieties were crushed to create that particular bottle, and offers recipe ideas. Crucially, each bottle bears the Biogro organic stamp of approval.
Delwyn has come a long way since launching Daily Organics in 2014 with her wild-fermented kombucha, when she used jugs and funnels in a tiny commercial kitchen. Now her kombucha is stocked in almost all major supermarkets and she has a small, dedicated team. So what’s next? “We plan to continue our kombucha, grow our old-world apple cider vinegar brand and I’ve got some other ideas brewing.” dailyorganics.com