A local flavoring in Shanxi.

The first acidic condiment used by our ancestors was "plum". Since plums are not available all year round, plum sauce was produced, which was called "醯" in ancient times. The use of plums predates vinegar by more than a thousand years.

There are many varieties of vinegar, and mature vinegar is its representative product. Others include original balsamic vinegar, mature vinegar, common vinegar, double vinegar, special vinegar, famous vinegar, mellow vinegar and many other varieties. For example, according to the raw materials for vinegar production, there are sorghum vinegar, corn vinegar, millet vinegar, persimmon vinegar, fruit vinegar, distiller's grain vinegar, powdered residue vinegar, sweet potato vinegar, etc.

Mature vinegar has the characteristics of acidity, alcohol, strong taste, and long taste of ordinary vinegar. At the same time, it also has the characteristics of fragrance, consistency, and no sedimentation. In addition, the longer the aged acid is stored, the more fragrant, sour and delicious it will be. Moreover, it does not get moldy in the summer, does not freeze in the winter, and is deep orange in color. It is a unique and excellent product among Shanxi vinegars.

Shanxi mature vinegar is one of the four famous vinegars in China. Its production has a history of more than 3,000 years. There are more than 1,000 large and small vinegar production companies in Shanxi. Known as one of the four famous vinegars in China, Shanxi mature vinegar ranks ahead of Zhenjiang vinegar, Baoning vinegar and Fujian red yeast vinegar in China due to its unique flavor of soft, sour, fragrant, sweet and mellow flavor and a long brewing history. World. It is known as "the best vinegar in the world". According to statistics, the export volume of Shanxi mature vinegar in the first quarter of this year has reached more than half of last year's total. With excellent quality, it has fully entered the Japanese market and is sold to more than ten countries in Europe and Asia.

Mature vinegar uses sorghum as the main ingredient. First, a large amount of distiller's yeast is added, fermented with low-temperature alcohol, and then rice bran is mixed in and fermented with acetic acid. Half of the vinegar fermented grains are smoked, and the other half is drenched with vinegar. The resulting vinegar liquid is used to soak the smoked fermented grains to obtain new vinegar. The new vinegar is finally made through long-term aging and concentration processes of sun-drying in summer and ice fishing in winter. Aged vinegar is thick brown in color, clear in liquid form, and has a mellow taste. It has the characteristics of less precipitation, long storage time, and resistance to deterioration. Not only is it a good seasoning, but it can also be used as medicine and has certain curative and preventive effects on hypertension, hepatitis, and skin diseases. Nowadays, many people have misunderstandings. Vinegar is sour. In fact, it is not. Real mature vinegar has the characteristics of soft, sour, fragrant, sweet, and fresh. There are many manufacturers of mature vinegar now, which is somewhat similar to the "*" of the wine industry. "*year-old wine" has become widespread. Shuita is a "Chinese Famous Trademark" and "Chinese Famous Brand", and Donghu is a "Chinese Famous Brand". However, various places in Shanxi have their own famous brands, and the quality is also very good. For example, Taiyuan's Ninghuafu Vinegar. The vinegar in Shanxi is indeed a good thing. It is recommended to buy brand vinegar. The quality is good and you can buy it with confidence. Among the old vinegars, the one produced in Qingxu County, Qingxu County, Shanxi Province is the best. At the 1924 Panama International Exposition, Qingxu County The mature vinegar won the first prize for high-quality products in one fell swoop and has since become famous at home and abroad. There are more than 100 vinegar-making companies in Taiyuan. The time-honored brands "Meiheju", "Yiyuanqing" and several major vinegar factories are all in Taiyuan and Qingxu. Qingxu is located in the southern suburbs of Taiyuan and can be reached by a journey of more than 30 kilometers. "Since ancient times, vinegar has been brewed in Shanxi, and Laoji comes from Gengyang." Gengyang is Qingxu County, Shanxi, and was called Gengyang during the Spring and Autumn Period of the Jin Dynasty. Juxiang Street in Qingxu County is a small alley more than 100 meters long, very deserted. Out of the alley, you will find the world-famous Shanxi Old Mature Vinegar Factory, which produces the "Meiheju" brand. The predecessor of Shanxi Old Mature Vinegar Factory was Qingxu Old Mature Vinegar Factory. In 1949, in order to gather strength, the best vinegar-making workshops in Qingxu County included "Meiheju", "Juqingcheng", "Yongquanyu", etc. 21 time-honored brands jointly established Shanxi Old Mature Vinegar Group with "East Lake" as the brand, because East Lake is a lake in Qingxu. The group company is located on Madaopo Street in Taiyuan City, where company management, sales, storage and production are integrated. There is also a vinegar museum that displays old vinegar-making tools and inscriptions of celebrities, including those of national government officials. The most valuable The calligraphy should be written by Mr. Fang Xinfang. Fang Xinfang is the founder of Chinese microbiology. 70 years ago, he rode a donkey to Shanxi Old Vinegar Factory to inspect and wrote the famous book "Shanxi Vinegar".

Guanlu Mountain is an alpine area. The food produced here includes oats, peas and potatoes, and is rich in sea buckthorn. The average annual temperature is only 6℃. Ningwu’s folk customs particularly pursue green food. They still pursue green food. Water-powered stone mills are still used to grind the noodles, and the water from the source of Fenhe River is clear and sweet, and can be drunk raw. In the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty came here specifically to build Fenyang Palace.

In the past long years, the people of Shanxi relied on the Fen River for drinking and watering. Now, all the water used for Shanxi mature vinegar comes from the ground. The water veins of this groundwater originate from Tianlong Mountain. Tianlong Mountain, formerly known as Fang Mountain, is a branch of the Luliang Mountains, with an altitude of 1,700 meters. It is located 36 kilometers southwest of Taiyuan City. Tianlong Mountain has tall peaks, pines and cypresses, and streams and streams. There are many sandy shale in the mountain, and the forest coverage rate reaches 70%. The water quality is Well, it is now a national forest park. Making vinegar is like wine, you must have good water to produce good vinegar.

As the hometown of vinegar, there is still a tradition of making vinegar among the people. If you go to the remote rural areas of Shanxi in midsummer, you will find that the fellow villagers are under the scorching sun. There is a large vat covered with hemp paper, and "Lao Xi'er" (the fermented wine used to make vinegar) is used to dry the vinegar, and the vinegar vat needs to be moved constantly, because the vinegar vat must follow "Grandpa" (the sun). Seeing this scene, the scene in Shanxi in the past where "every family had a vinegar vat and everyone was a vinegar maker" will definitely come to mind. It is true that Shanxi is the base camp for vinegar production. There are now more than 100 vinegar factories in the province. In addition to Qingxu mature vinegar, the famous ones include Lingchuan Yuquan mature vinegar, Huguan Xinzhai mature vinegar, and Yuci Nanbao mature vinegar. The varieties include old mature vinegar, famous special vinegar, double vinegar, mature vinegar, special vinegar, Jin vinegar, flavored vinegar, smoked vinegar, etc. Vinegar of the same variety depends on the raw materials and raw materials used. Different production techniques can be divided into various varieties and categories, which are really dazzling and each has its own characteristics.

People say that Shanxi is a good place, and the fertile land, water, and vinegar make it more fragrant. Shanxi people are good at making vinegar, because Shanxi people love to be jealous, and Shanxi people are the most jealous in the country. There is a saying among Shanxi people that vinegar is not a good taste. Shanxi people are good at wine and love jealousy, so they are known as "Lao Xi'er". In ancient times, vinegar was called fermented wine, the person who made vinegar was called "醯人", and the fermented wine brewed with vinegar was called "老醯". Therefore, being jealous is not called jealousy, but "eating sugar". Due to the special contribution of Shanxi people to vinegar making, coupled with the fact that Shanxi people are addicted to vinegar, and the coincidence that "醯" has the same pronunciation as the word "西" in Shanxi, people from other provinces respectfully call Shanxi people "Shanxi Lao Xi".

"Old Xi'er"'s contribution to vinegar should be especially praised, because vinegar has so many functions. In addition to containing a large amount of acetic acid, vinegar also contains calcium, iron, lactic acid, glycerin, amino acids and aldehyde compounds. Vinegar is not only the best seasoning to add flavor, but it is also a good product for human body fitness. In terms of consumption, it can dissolve calcium and iron in food, making it easy for the body to absorb. It can also be used to defecate radish, cabbage, garlic and other foods. In medical terms, vinegar is used as medicine for hair growth and beauty. It has the effect of lowering blood pressure and losing weight. In the fourth year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in the Qing Dynasty, the Capital Hospital gathered famous doctors from all over the country to prepare the "Dingkun Dan" for the treatment of Gong Fei Yu's leukemia. More than 20 traditional Chinese medicines used in it were all prepared with mature vinegar. For thousands of years, people have I discovered that vinegar has many wonderful uses, and being jealous is indeed a good living habit.

Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, gave Fang Xuanling several beauties as concubines, but Fang did not dare to accept them. Li Shimin expected. The wife of Fang was a shrewd woman and refused to agree, so Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty sent a eunuch with a pot of "poisonous wine" to convey the message to Lady Fang. If she did not accept these concubines, she would drink the poisoned wine without fear. After drinking the "poisonous wine", she did not die. It turned out that the pot was filled with vinegar. The emperor used it to test her and made a joke. The story of "jealousy" has become an interesting story in modern life. , some people feel jealous when they see others being praised or rewarded, which is also jokingly called "jealousy".