Human consumption of vinegar has a very long history, some people think it is about 10,000 years. Vinegar has a recorded history of at least three thousand years, making it the oldest condiment along with salt. Therefore, just like tea culture and wine culture, vinegar is also a culture.

Our country has been able to master the technology of making vinegar from grains thousands of years ago. The book "Zhou Rites" written by Duke Zhou in 1058 AD contains records about brewing. Special vinegar brewing workshops appeared in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. "Essential Art of Qi Min: The Method of Making Sauce", "Vinegar is now vinegar". In ancient my country, vinegar was called vinegar, anhydride, bitter wine or fermented wine. There are detailed records of the vinegar-making process in "Qi Min Yao Shu". Historian Hao Shuhou believed after researching Taiyuan that there were vinegar makers when Jinyang City was established in 479 BC. Outsiders call people in Shanxi "Lao Xi'er". This "Xi'er" is the homophony of the ancient word vinegar. Using the ancient word vinegar as a synonym for Shanxi people also reflects the early time and the large number of people who brewed vinegar in history. Therefore, it can be said that Shanxi is the birthplace of vinegar making, which has a history of at least 2,480 years.

In the Spring and Autumn Period of the Zhou Dynasty, vinegar-making workshops in Jinyang had spread throughout urban and rural areas, among which the vinegar from Gengyang (now Qingxu) was the best. In the first year of Shunzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1644), the "Meiheju" vinegar workshop in Gengyang created its own unique production process by combining the characteristics of the vinegar brewing process at that time. Because the entire production process takes a long time and the vinegar produced is as mellow as aged wine, people named the vinegar produced by "Meiheju" as old vinegar, and "Meiheju" developed into a prominent business name. It was not until the 1930s that Mr. Feng Xinfang, the originator of microorganisms in China, rode a donkey to Qingxu for field inspection and wrote a book calling mature vinegar the best vinegar in China.

In the urban area of ??Taiyuan, there are still iron steamers built in July of the 22nd year of Jiaqing. Legend has it that the time-honored brand "Yiyuanqing" was opened in the Ming Dynasty. It was a workshop dedicated to wine making, flour grinding and vinegar production for the palace of Ninghua King Zhu Jihuan, the grandson of Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty. The vinegar brewed by "Yiyuanqing" pays attention to the ingredients, is finely made, has a sweet and sour taste, and will not deteriorate for a long time. In addition to being eaten by King Ninghua himself, he also regarded it as a treasure and kept it in the royal palace. By the time of the Republic of China, "Yiyuanqing" vinegar was still a good product given to relatives and friends by dignitaries. It was known as "Official Ritual Vinegar" and was commonly known as "Ningning Vinegar". "Huafu" vinegar, until the eve of liberation, its products were still favored by the upper class and social celebrities, such as Yan Xishan's "eight senior cadres", and the famous Shanxi opera masters Ding Guoxian and Ding Qiaoyun consumed "Yiyuanqing" vinegar all year round.

Shanxi has a long history of vinegar production, and Shanxi people are famous for being jealous. "Shangshu" records such a story: In order to hire a man named Fu Shuo to be his prime minister, Wu Ding, the emperor of the Yin Dynasty, said: "If you want to make wine and sweet wine, you can use the tillers; if you want to make soup, you can use the salt and plums." "The plums mentioned here are sour plums, which were used as vinegar at that time. The meaning of Yin Wuding's words is: How outstanding your talents are - if it is to make sweet wine, you are the key tune and tiller; if it is to make soup, you are the indispensable salt and vinegar. It can be seen that as early as the 12th century BC, Shanxi people not only had the habit of being jealous, but also regarded jealousy as a symbol of praise for a person's superb character and outstanding talents.

The etymology records: "The original name of vinegar is '酢', which is an acidic condiment." Vinegar "is a bitter wine, which was called fermented wine in the Zhou Dynasty and vinegar in the Han Dynasty" ("Wu Yuan Shi Kao" ). In the Zhou Dynasty, there were officials called "醯人", who were also called jealous. "醯人" is an official in charge of making vinegar. Vinegar was still a relatively expensive condiment during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and it was not widely produced until the Han Dynasty. Sima Qian's "Historical Records: Biographies of Huozhi" and Cui Shi's "Four People's Monthly Order" also have records of vinegar production. Therefore, historian Professor Hao Shuhou inferred that there were vinegar brewers at least before 497 BC, that is, before the "Ancient City of Jinyang" was established.

Due to the method of brewing, Shanxi vinegar not only has a wide variety of varieties, but also has exquisite quality, becoming an indispensable condiment in the lives of Shanxi people. It is divided into old mature vinegar, mature vinegar, regular vinegar, double vinegar, special vinegar, famous vinegar, flavor vinegar, etc. from the brand; from the production process, it is divided into smoked vinegar, yellow vinegar, reflux vinegar, sealed vat vinegar, pouring vinegar, etc.; The main raw materials used include sorghum vinegar, corn vinegar, millet vinegar, persimmon vinegar, fruit vinegar, sweet potato vinegar, etc.; according to the type of koji used, there are also Daqu vinegar, Kuaiqu vinegar, and natural hair vinegar.