Apple cider vinegar has earned a good name for itself in the natural health community. It claims to provide a tonne of benefits which include weight loss, lower blood sugar, reduced cholesterol, etc. It’s generally synthesised by squeezing out the juice of apples, then adding bacteria and yeast to trigger the fermentation process. In the last step, the alcohol, thus formed, is converted into vinegar by the acetic acid-forming bacteria. It is quite famous among health freaks and is known to be their best weight loss buddy.
At the production floor of Downeast Cider House, East Boston, Angelina Choy narrates her experience working there. She is a Northeastern University graduate in chemistry and now works at Downeast as an assistant cidermaker. For Choy, this was absolutely not what she was expecting when she thought of pursuing a job in college. However, she has grown to love this work dearly.
Choy works on the production floor where tens of thousands of gallons of apple juice are produced, daily! The atmosphere is quite loud because of the various machines running altogether on the same floor. Choy functions mainly as a scientist who takes care of the amount of yeast to be put into the juice to commence the fertilisation process. The process induces the breakdown of the sugar in apple juice, turning it into ethyl alcohol and subsequently, producing apple cider vinegar.
Choy also looks after the density of sugar and acidity in the juice. She thoroughly enjoys her job working amongst complex chemistry. She had initially planned to become a pharmacist or a doctor, but her plans took a different turn. After her graduation, she joined Downeast right away. Even though it’s not one of the glamourous works, she loves the physicality of it. She says, “What’s funny is that I didn’t drink a drop of alcohol until I turned 21; I just wasn’t into it and now I make alcohol for a living. What are the odds?”
Subarna Basu