How To Add A Tangy Twist To Regular Store-Bought Applesauce

Store-bought applesauce is the perfect topping for pancakes or ice cream, and a great addition to meats like pork chops or steak. You're not alone if you eat applesauce straight out of the tub either, since the comfortingly sweet and fresh taste is hard to resist. Whichever brand of applesauce is your favorite, if you're repeatedly buying the same one, you might feel the need to spice things up. You only need one ingredient to do so, and it can be added straight into your store-bought tub. All you need is a splash of apple cider vinegar and you've just given your applesauce a tangy boost.

Apple cider vinegar will help brighten the fruit flavors in applesauce and give it a more complex taste. Vinegar can be strong, so start with a little splash and add more accordingly. If you don't have any on hand, lemon juice can bring a similar tartness. For a perfect mix of sweet and sour, you can add a little maple syrup into your applesauce to really bring out the sweet apple flavor.

Adding apple cider vinegar is common in dressings and marinades, but it deserves a place in your applesauce as well. This type of vinegar is made out of only apple juice which goes through a natural fermentation process. ACV has around 5% acidity while white vinegar has substantially more. This is why it is considerably milder and less sour, with a unique fruity taste that comes from the apples. ACV is the perfect addition to sauces like applesauce, as it gives just the right amount of tang to brighten up the flavors without overpowering it like a more acidic vinegar would.

There's another reason that people add ACV to sauces and baked goods and it has nothing to do with flavor. This type of vinegar is often used as a home remedy and is known for its possible health benefits such as reducing cholesterol and helping with weight loss. While some seem to consider apple cider vinegar as magical, there's still not enough research to support all of its health claims. Still, if there's a chance of making your applesauce healthier and definitely tastier, it might be time to test the theory.