Black vinegar

{{Short description|Dark-colored vinegar in Chinese cuisine}} thumb|upright|Black vinegar in a glass '''Black vinegar''' is dark-colored vinegar traditionally used in Chinese and other East Asian cuisine.

== Types ==

===China===

One of the most important types of Chinese "black vinegar" is the Shanxi mature vinegar ({{zh|s=山西老陈醋|t=山西老陳醋|p=lǎo chéncù}}) from the central plains of Northern China, particularly in the Shanxi province (Shanxi mature vinegar).<ref name="donghu">{{cite web| url= http://english.cri.cn/4406/2009/03/05/1981s460791.htm| archive-url= https://archive.today/20160725155931/http://english.cri.cn/4406/2009/03/05/1981s460791.htm| url-status= dead| archive-date= July 25, 2016| title= Sour Story - Shanxi Mature Vinegar | date= 2009-03-05 | publisher= CRIENGLISH.com |access-date=2015-07-17}}</ref> It is made from sorghum, peas, barley, bran and chaff and has a much stronger smoky flavor than rice-based black vinegar. It is popular in the north of China as a dipping sauce, particularly for dumplings.{{Cn|date=May 2021}}

[[File:Black Vinegar.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.5|A bottle of Zhenjiang vinegar.]] Another type of Chinese "black vinegar" is Zhenjiang vinegar ({{zh|s=镇江香醋|t=鎭江香醋|p=zhènjiāng xiāngcù}}) and similar condiments from southern China.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Illustrated Cook's Book of Ingredients|year=2010|publisher=DK Publishing|location=New York |isbn=9780756667306 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=TZdT_Kndq_8C&pg=PA516|author=DK Publishing|access-date=March 21, 2012|page=516|chapter=Oils, Vinegars, and Flavorings: Vinegars}}</ref> The condiment is an inky-black rice vinegar aged for a malty, woody, and smoky flavor.<ref name="webmd">{{cite web|last=Helm|first=Janet|date=March 29, 2012|title=Is Black the New Black in Foods?|url=http://blogs.webmd.com/food-and-nutrition/2012/03/is-black-the-new-black-in-foods.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827104624/http://blogs.webmd.com/food-and-nutrition/2012/03/is-black-the-new-black-in-foods.html|archive-date=August 27, 2012|access-date=2012-08-26|publisher=WebMD}}</ref><ref name="foodrep" /> It is made from rice (usually glutinous),<ref name="OSUgloss">{{cite book| url= http://food.oregonstate.edu/glossary/blackvinegar.html| chapter= Black Vinegar| last= Passmore| first= Jacki| year= 1991| title= The Encyclopedia of Asian Food and Cooking| publisher= Hearst Books via Oregon State University| access-date= 2012-08-26| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140714205516/http://food.oregonstate.edu/glossary/blackvinegar.html| archive-date= 2014-07-14| url-status= dead}}</ref> or sorghum, or in some combination of those, sometimes including wheat and millet.<ref name="livestro">{{cite web| url= http://www.livestrong.com/article/274655-health-benefits-of-black-vinegar/| title= Health Benefits of Black Vinegar | date= October 9, 2010 | first=Christine| last= Switzer | publisher= LiveStrong| access-date=2012-08-26}}</ref> Black vinegar was traditionally aged in clay pots.<ref name="Bon Appetit" />

In Sichuan, black vinegar is made from wheat bran and flavored with traditional medicinal spices. Sichuan's Baoning vinegar (保寧醋 or 保宁醋) is a famous example.

Black vinegar from Fujian is made using glutinous rice and colored red by the infusion of a special fungus.<ref name="Bon Appetit" >{{cite web |author-link=Clarissa Wei|last1=Wei |first1=Clarissa |title=Black Vinegar Doesn't Just Season a Dish–It Transforms It |url=https://www.bonappetit.com/story/black-vinegar |website=www.bonappetit.com |date=29 May 2021 |access-date=30 May 2021}}</ref>

A number of historic vinegars were considered to be among China's first list of intangible cultural heritage, with more added since.<ref>{{cite web |title=国务院关于公布第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录的通知第一批国家级非物质文化遗产名录（共计518项）__2006年第20号国务院公报_中国政府网 |url=https://www.gov.cn/gongbao/content/2006/content_334718.htm |website=www.gov.cn |publisher=中華人民共和國中央政府 |access-date=3 February 2024}}</ref>

===Japan===

The Japanese ''kurozu'', a somewhat lighter form of black vinegar, is made only from brown rice.

According to some reports, Japan's annual per capita consumption of vinegar is 3.5 times that of China's.<ref name="CHvinegarproduction">{{cite book |last1=Tang |first1=Hanlan |last2=Song |first2=Jiankun |last3=Luo |first3=Lixin |title=Vinegar Production in China |date=2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=9781351208475 |edition=1 |doi=10.1201/9781351208475-10 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.1201/9781351208475-10/vinegar-production-china-hanlan-tang-jiankun-song-lixin-luo?context=ubx&refId=d28abca8-ae2a-4963-bb54-c61e03a56cb0 |access-date=3 February 2024}}</ref>

===Korea===

In Korea black vinegar is also made with brown rice.<ref name="Bon Appetit" />

===Taiwan===

Taiwanese black vinegar is the most different, with more in common with worcestershire sauce than other black vinegars. Its base is sticky rice which is then aged with other ingredients.<ref name="Bon Appetit" /> Other ingredients can include fruit, vegetables, spices, and sugar. Taiwanese black vinegar is known as ''wūcù'' and lends its name to dishes like ''wūcù miàn'' (black vinegar noodles). Taiwanese black vinegar is very high in sodium.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crook |first1=Steven |last2=Hung |first2=Katy Hui-wen |title=A Culinary History of Taipei: Beyond Pork and Ponlai |date=8 October 2018 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-0138-4 |page=32 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8RBqDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA32 |access-date=15 July 2025 |language=en}}</ref>

== History == Ancient Chinese laborers used wine as a leavening agent to ferment and brew vinegar. East Asian vinegar originated in China, and there are at least three thousand years of documented history of making vinegar. In ancient China, "vinegar" was called "bitter wine," which also indicates that "vinegar" originated from "wine".<ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-03-23|title=Throughout history, vinegar is more than tasty|url=https://archive.shine.cn/feature/ideal/Throughout-history-vinegar-is-more-than-tasty/shdaily.shtml|access-date=2020-06-10|website=archive.shine.cn}}</ref>

The first written mention of vinegar dates back to BC 1058, during the Zhou dynasty. <ref name="cerealvinegar" />

Initially extremely costly and used only by the elite, vinegar eventually spread into popular usage by the Han dynasty.

Between 369–404 AD, Chinese techniques for making rice vinegar were imported into Japan.<ref name="CHvinegarproduction" />

By 500 AD in the Northern and Southern dynasty era, one book featured 23 different methods for vinegar-making.<ref name="cerealvinegar" />

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the process for creating "smoked vinegar" was developed.<ref name="CHvinegarproduction" />

Though the scale of the vinegar industry in China has greatly expanded since the country's industrialisation, production methods remain largely traditional due to a difficulty in regulating and controlling heat-sensitive microbial growths needed for the vinegar-making process.<ref name="CHvinegarproduction" />

Some manufacturers have replaced the pottery vats and concrete pools with stainless steel tanks, as well as diversified their vinegar offerings to include different raw materials, including jujube, cherry, aloe, buckwheat, sea buckthorn fruit, fig, onion, and bamboo.<ref name="CHvinegarproduction" />

In Chinese medicine, vinegar is considered as a curative effect for acute and chronic hepatitis.<ref name="cerealvinegar">{{cite book |last1=Chen |first1=Fusheng |last2=Li |first2=Li |last3=Qu |first3=Jiong |last4=Chen |first4=Chunxu |chapter=Cereal Vinegars Made by Solid-State Fermentation in China |title=Vinegars of the World |date=2009 |pages=243–259 |doi=10.1007/978-88-470-0866-3_15 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-88-470-0866-3_15#:~:text=It%20is%20reported%20that%20the,2005%3B%20Shen%2C%202007). |publisher=Springer Milan |isbn=978-88-470-0865-6 |language=en}}</ref>

==Uses== Black vinegar has been used as a full-flavored but less expensive alternative to traditional balsamic vinegar.<ref name="foodrep">{{cite web | title= Could Black Vinegar Be The New Balsamic? | url= http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/08/17/could-black-vinegar-be-new-balsamic | first= Jess | last= Kapadia | date= August 17, 2012 | publisher= FoodRepublic.com | access-date= 2012-08-26 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120821043428/http://www.foodrepublic.com/2012/08/17/could-black-vinegar-be-new-balsamic | archive-date= August 21, 2012 | url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="OSUgloss" />

== See also == * Chinese rice vinegars

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

Category:Rice drinks Category:Rice Category:Vinegar Category:Chinese condiments Category:Japanese condiments Category:Chinese drinks Category:Japanese drinks Category:Korean drinks Category:Taiwanese cuisine