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Welcome back to the "Chai Rice Oil and Salt" channel, this is the last article of Chai Rice Oil and Salt, Xiaobian left it to the most special vinegar.
Why is vinegar special? This is because vinegar is the only kitchen item that is inextricably linked to wine compared to rice, salt and sugar.
First of all, like wine, the main raw materials for making vinegar are grains, fruits and other foods; secondly, it also needs to be fermented, almost all vinegar is converted from wine; finally, according to historical records, ancient Chinese originally used wine as a starter to make vinegar.
There are many kinds of wine in the world, such as wine, whiskey, liquor, etc., usually we often drink several kinds, so is vinegar the same? It is better to take a look at the main vinegars around the world, some of which are the same as wine, and can actually sell for tens of thousands of yuan.
White vinegar - the most popular vinegar
White vinegar is the most common vinegar, all over the world have a wide range of use, in foreign supermarkets, you may not be able to find aged vinegar, but there must be white vinegar.
White vinegar is mainly composed of acetic acid and water, of which water accounts for the majority, and acetic acid only accounts for 5% to 10%, so this is why white vinegar looks as clear and transparent as water.
The raw material of white vinegar can be potatoes, corn, or sorghum millet, as long as it is rich in starch, the raw materials that can be converted into alcohol can be used to make white vinegar.
After people convert starch into sugar through various methods, yeast converts sugar into alcohol, and finally, under the action of acetic acid bacteria, alcohol is slowly "eaten", and the rest is vinegar, so the production of white vinegar has to go through a total of 2 fermentations: alcoholic fermentation and acetic fermentation.
The application of white vinegar in life is very wide, from cooking to cleaning, there are many white vinegar beauty "small remedies" circulating on the Internet, such as whitening with white vinegar, hair growth with white vinegar, etc., using this white vinegar.
Aged vinegar - the most Chinese vinegar
Aged vinegar is a vinegar unique to China, the most famous of which is the Shanxi old vinegar. The process of making Shanxi old aged vinegar is complex, and it is necessary to go through the process of steaming, fermentation, smoking, pouring and drying, which lasts as short as 3 or 5 years and as long as more than ten or twenty years, which is not simpler than making wine.
The raw materials of Shanxi chen vinegar are mainly sorghum, plus barley and other auxiliary materials, the "steaming" and "fermentation" of step 1 and step 2 are the same as white vinegar, but to get the aged vinegar we usually buy, it is inseparable from the next 3 steps of smoking, pouring and steaming.
Smoking: The fermented mixture is called "pickle", "smoking" is to put the pickle into the smoking tank, smoked for 5 to 7 days, this step can add color, flavor, fat, and inhibit the growth of bacteria.
Drizzle: Then the sterile water is added to the smoked pickle, the acetic acid, flavor substances and beneficial ingredients are filtered out, this step is called vinegar, and the finished product can be called vinegar after the shower.
Sun: But since it is called chen vinegar, it must not be less aged, in the step of drying vinegar, the water is evaporated, the aged vinegar is further concentrated, it becomes more mellow, there is a saying of "winter fishing ice, summer sunning", which means that the ice in the vinegar is fished out in the winter, and in the summer, the water will evaporate by the sun. It takes at least 3 years of drying vinegar to get real aged vinegar.
Chinese will not be unfamiliar with the use of aged vinegar, whether it is stir-frying, mixing noodles, mixing cold vegetables or eating dumplings, aged vinegar is an indispensable spice, with it, the dishes on the table have a soul.
Rice vinegar - the representative of Asian cuisine
Rice vinegar, like aged vinegar, is also an invention from China, but it goes further than aged vinegar, is widely used in Asian countries, and has become one of the representative spices of Asian cuisine, and even countries have developed many different styles of rice vinegar.
Rice vinegar is made from rice, which is first fermented into rice wine, and then fermented into rice vinegar by rice wine, which is the same fermentation process as white vinegar. Among the many rice vinegars in China, Zhejiang rice vinegar is the most famous, and Zhejiang people's favorite is the Zhejiang time-honored "Yufeng" rose rice vinegar, it is said that Yufeng Sauce Garden was founded by the grandfather of the famous poet Xu Zhimo. This vinegar has a delicious and slightly sweet taste and a long aftertaste, making it ideal for pairing with seafood.
In other Asian countries, the most commonly used rice vinegar is Japan, and many of the dishes we are familiar with, such as sushi, have added Japanese rice vinegar.
Japanese rice vinegar is mostly brewed in the middle of winter, and the harvest of new rice in that year began shortly after, and the winter was chosen because the temperature was low at this time, which was conducive to maintaining the best fermentation environment. Traditional hand-made fermentation takes about 4 months, while industrial methods take only a few days, but the resulting rice vinegar is far less fragrant than handmade.
Red wine vinegar - aged vinegar in Western food
Red wine vinegar is a kind of vinegar widely used in France, Spain, Italy and other European countries, its color is bright, the taste is slightly sweet, with a slight aroma of red wine. In addition to red wine, white wine, rosé wine, champagne, etc., as long as it is fermented with acetic acid, it can be made into vinegar, but in contrast, red wine vinegar is most frequently used in daily life.
We always say that if the wine has a vinegar taste, then it is mostly broken, and since the red wine vinegar is fermented by red wine, can the vinegar-flavored wine be put away and turned into vinegar? The answer is no, red wine vinegar can be made, but it is never changed by bad wine.
In the case of Vinaigre d'Orlean in France, it needs to be placed in oak barrels, placed in a ventilated cellar for acetic fermentation, and then aged like aged vinegar. In addition, in France, if the red wine used to make red wine vinegar comes from a certain region, it will also be marked on the vinegar, such as a bottle of vinegar that reads: Vinaigre de vin de Bordeaux (vinegar made from Bordeaux wine) indicates that the raw material of this bottle of vinegar is Bordeaux wine.
Red wine vinegar is used in a variety of ways, and some French families use it to make Vinaigrette, the main ingredients of this sauce are olive oil, yellow mustard and red wine vinegar, which are used to mix salads. Following the principle of "red wine with red meat", this vinegar is also very compatible with beef, duck and so on.
Italian black vinegar - the most extravagant vinegar
Strictly speaking, Balsamic vinegar is also a kind of wine vinegar, but due to its complicated production method, Italian black vinegar has become the best in vinegar, known as the "black gold" in the mouth, the most expensive 100 ml price of more than 10,000.
Just as not all sparkling wines can be called champagne, not all Italian wine vinegar can be called Italian black vinegar. Authentic Balsamic vinegar comes only from modena and Reggio Emilia, using 7 locally produced grape varieties as raw materials. detail
In addition, balsamic vinegar is graded like wine, one is Geographical Indication Protection (PGI) and the other is Origin Protection (POD). Making PGI-grade balsamic vinegar requires four steps of cooking, cooling, fermentation with aged balsamic vinegar and aging in oak barrels, while making POD-grade balsamic vinegar is more complex, requiring a mixture of ripe grape juice, wine and aged balsamic vinegar, followed by the fermentation of the vinegar in 5 different oak barrels, which can be more than 25 years old.
Italian balsamic vinegar can be used in salads, as well as in cooking dishes, freshening soups, etc., with a mellow, complex and interesting taste.
Malt vinegar (English, German)
Malt vinegar is mainly popular in England and Germany, and it is closely related to a certain kind of wine we drink when we skewer it, can you guess what it is?
That's right, beer, or rather, ale. The raw material used to brew malt vinegar is barley malt, which is first fermented, and the yeast converts the sugar in the malt into alcohol, which becomes malt wine, then ferments into malt vinegar after acetic acid, and finally ages slightly, which gives malt vinegar and ale beer a slight lemon, nut and caramel aromas.
I don't know if it is because of beer, malt vinegar always has a relaxed and casual taste, in daily life, it is a perfect match with the British "national dish" fish and chips, in addition, it is also very suitable for pickled vegetables, and can also be used to mix salads like other vinegars.
Apple cider vinegar - the most "healthy" vinegar
The apple cider vinegar mentioned here is much more sour than the "Heaven and Earth No. 1" we usually drink. Apple cider vinegar comes from apples, which are first pressed into juice, then fermented into cider, and finally converted into apple cider through acetic fermentation.
Compared with white vinegar, apple cider vinegar is milder in acidity, with a burst of apple aroma, and the method is simple, which is a must for many families in Western countries. However, as one of the kitchen spices, its most common use is not for cooking, but for health.
In 400 BC, Hippocrates, the "father of medicine", used apple cider vinegar mixed with honey to treat various diseases such as colds. We also often say that apple cider vinegar has various effects, such as detoxification, beauty, weight loss, treatment of diabetes, promotion of trace element absorption, etc., which is simply a cure for all diseases. Although there is currently no scientific evidence of the efficacy of apple cider vinegar, it does not stop people from pursuing it.
In addition to being used to drink, apple cider vinegar can also be used to mix salads, which can bring a fresh apple flavor to dishes.
Chai rice oil and salt channel ended here, these small things in the kitchen are the most commonly used, but the most easy to ignore, I hope this series can enhance everyone's understanding of them, to help you.