How to choose vinegar? Is vinegar really nutritious?

I have talked with friends before about how to choose soy sauce. I told them to look at the key indicator of amino acid nitrogen , as well as the sodium content, and then choose soy sauce based on their own cooking needs and price acceptance.

Then someone asked:

How should we choose vinegar? As the saying goes, "rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea", vinegar is also an important condiment that we need to use every day. What are the key indicators of vinegar that can be used as a reference?

So, today I’m going to talk to you about how to choose vinegar.

Making vinegar is a long chemical reaction process

The principle of making vinegar from grains is to first steam the grains (microorganisms can digest them better after adding water and boiling them), inoculate them with mixed strains of bacteria (qu), use the various amylases secreted by the microorganisms to convert the starch in the grains into sugar (saccharification), then use yeast to anaerobically ferment the sugar into alcohol (ethanol), and then use acetic acid bacteria to convert the alcohol into acetic acid.

Middle school students have all learned about this chemical reaction process. So theoretically speaking, making vinegar is more laborious than making wine, with a longer process and greater labor consumption.

There are many different raw materials for making vinegar.

The raw materials for making vinegar are quite diverse, and each place has its own special vinegar. For example,

The north traditionally produces a variety of small grains , such as sorghum, millet, buckwheat, barley, etc., which can be called the main raw materials for making vinegar. Some products also add some starch beans . The rich-flavored aged vinegar is a typical example of multi-grain vinegar.

There was an abundance of wheat in the Central Plains, so wheat became the main raw material for making vinegar.

Jiangnan is a rice-rich area, and glutinous rice and rice are mainly used to make vinegar. The mellow and sweet glutinous rice vinegar belongs to this category.

Rice is cultivated in the Beijing-Tianjin area, and rice vinegar made from rice is also very popular.

In addition, starchy raw materials such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and corn can also be used to make vinegar. Bran is often added when making vinegar. Using these "waste scraps" from grain processing to make vinegar is also beneficial when added in appropriate amounts. Because bran contains a large amount of B vitamins and minerals, it is beneficial to promote the growth of vinegar-making microorganisms and also to increase the content of trace nutrients in the vinegar liquid.

Fruit vinegar is made from fruit or dried fruit, such as apple vinegar, grape vinegar, persimmon vinegar, jujube vinegar, etc. Fruits and dried fruit are rich in sugar, which saves the troublesome step of starch saccharification. At the same time, fruit vinegar also adds other organic acids such as citric acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, etc. contained in the fruit itself. The sour taste is different from grain vinegar, and it has some fruity aroma, so it is unique and delicious.

Some vinegar is made partly or entirely from alcohol . Using low-alcohol liquor or edible alcohol as raw materials, the two steps of saccharification and alcohol fermentation are omitted, so the vinegar is brewed super quickly and can be completed in two or three days.

The vinegar made in this way does not go through the complicated fermentation process in the early stage, and does not have the "browning" caused by the Maillard reaction, so the color is very light and the acetic acid content can be very high. The white vinegar bought on the market is often made directly from alcohol, or made from a small amount of rice and alcohol .

In the past, vinegar made with glacial acetic acid was called "prepared vinegar". Now, any product called "vinegar" must be brewed vinegar. Therefore, consumers no longer have to go through the trouble of identifying whether a brown vinegar is made by fermentation or made with glacial acetic acid + caramel coloring + salt + sugar.

So is there still the "prepared vinegar" of the past? This type of product still exists, but it can only be renamed "vinegar-flavored sauce". It is an acidic liquid compound seasoning produced using a compounding process. Therefore, when buying vinegar, you must confirm whether you are buying vinegar or some kind of sour "sauce" or "compound seasoning" .

Does vinegar really have nutritional value?

In the process of making vinegar, B vitamins and minerals such as calcium, iron, and zinc in grains can all run into the vinegar. This is because most B vitamins prefer acidic environments, such as vitamin B1 and vitamin B2, which are substances that prefer acid and fear alkali. At the same time, most of the insoluble calcium, iron, and zinc compounds in grains will dissociate into ionic states in acetic acid and dissolve in the vinegar. In addition, various polyphenol antioxidants contained in grains will also run into the vinegar and remain stable in the vinegar for a long time.

Therefore, compared with beverages, the nutritional value of vinegar is much higher. Especially the old vinegar made from grains and beans , which is rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium and B vitamins, which is comparable to milk. However, milk can be drunk in large cups, while vinegar can only be taken by the spoon, so the actual daily nutritional value is not that much. Even so, the nutritional value of high-quality vinegar is enough to surpass other condiments.

Additives in vinegar

In addition to the vinegar-making raw materials mentioned above, some non-essential ingredients are often added to vinegar.

In order to make the sour taste less pungent, a small amount of sugar, syrup or sweetener is often added to make the taste softer and richer. In particular, the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar that southerners love to eat is relatively strong, because a lot of white sugar is added. Of course, vinegar is not a drink that can be drunk in large cups, so even if a little sugar is added, there is no need to worry about consuming a lot of sugar.

At the same time, salt needs to be added during the brewing process. In addition to seasoning, it also has the function of regulating the fermentation effect of microorganisms. However, compared with soy sauce, vinegar contains much less salt. Therefore, there is no need to worry about excessive sodium intake due to adding two spoons of vinegar. On the contrary, adding vinegar can make low-salt dishes taste more vivid and can help people reduce salt happily.

In order to make vinegar more delicious, some vinegar products will add flavor enhancers, such as monosodium glutamate (MSG) . In fact, under the acidity of vinegar, monosodium glutamate cannot play the greatest role in flavor. However, when vinegar is made into sauce or added to cold dishes, the acetic acid is diluted and the acidity of the dish may be in the weak acid range. At this time, monosodium glutamate can fully play the role of flavor.

Products that do not have an acetic acid concentration sufficient to inhibit bacteria at room temperature need to add a small amount of preservatives permitted for use in China, such as potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, sodium dehydroacetate, etc. , just like soy sauce. In addition, some other condiments that do not contain enough oil and salt often add these preservatives. Products with an acetic acid content of 6% or a large amount of salt added do not need to add preservatives.

Some vinegars are also added with other flavor ingredients to make "dumpling vinegar" with garlic, "ginger vinegar" with ginger, "seafood vinegar" with ginger, cooking wine and seafood seasonings, etc.

When buying vinegar, you can choose according to the following points

1 First, pay attention to the type of vinegar.

If you want a softer and sweeter taste, you can choose glutinous rice vinegar; if you want a stronger and richer taste, you can choose aged vinegar; if you want a lighter taste, you can choose rice vinegar.

Different places have their own taste habits. People in Beijing and Tianjin like to dip dumplings in rice vinegar, people in Shanxi like aged vinegar, and people in the Yangtze River Delta prefer fragrant vinegar. Shaanxi has bran vinegar, Fujian has red vinegar, and each place has its own famous products recognized by residents.

When cooking, some dishes must be made with specific vinegar. West Lake vinegar fish is delicious only with fragrant vinegar, hot and sour soup is flavorful only with aged vinegar, and mixed shredded lettuce and purple cabbage are refreshing only with brewed white vinegar. Some Western food must be made with grape vinegar or apple cider vinegar to give it an authentic exotic feel.

The quality of different types of vinegar cannot be directly compared. The quality can only be compared between different products of the same vinegar.

However, in terms of nutritional value, old vinegar is an insurmountable height. Its calcium, iron and other minerals, B vitamins and antioxidants are all first-class, because it concentrates the trace nutrients in grains. Those vinegars with lighter tastes usually have lower nutritional content. However, after all, the amount of vinegar used is limited, and providing nutrients is not its primary function.

2 Secondly, pay attention to the "total acidity" indicator.

Vinegar is sour because it contains acetic acid and a small amount of other organic acids. These acids can dissociate hydrogen ions, making the tongue feel sour. According to Chinese regulations, the total acidity of vinegar products must reach 3.50% or more before they can be sold as qualified vinegar.

Generally speaking, except for white vinegar, the higher the acidity of the vinegar in the same product, the better the quality, because it means that the product has a high concentration of flavor components or has been aged.

Although vinegar is not as salty as soy sauce, and its salt content is similar to that of everyday heavy dishes, it also has "natural antibacterial ingredients" that inhibit the reproduction of microorganisms, namely organic acids such as acetic acid. Therefore, the higher the total acidity, the stronger the antibacterial ability.

3 Pay attention to whether it has been aged and how long it has been aged.

After the vinegar mash is brewed and the vinegar juice is poured out, it can go through a long aging process to allow the water in it to slowly evaporate, and some of the acetic acid with a pungent smell will also evaporate. The various non-volatile organic acids in the vinegar, as well as the sugars and amino acids in it, are constantly "concentrated", and the resulting product is aged vinegar.

As vinegar ages, its acidity gradually increases. When the total acidity exceeds 6%, it can be stored at room temperature for a long time without the problem of microbial proliferation and the need for preservatives.

The longer the vinegar is aged, the more concentrated the umami and sweet substances are, the less pungent acetic acid taste is, the richer the composition of organic acids is, and the longer the aftertaste of the vinegar is. At the same time, the trace nutrients in the vinegar are also concentrated.

Aging not only takes years and months, but is also a space-consuming and labor-intensive process that requires constant reduction in volume and weight. Therefore, for vinegar of the same type and brand, the longer the aging time, the higher the price.

Generally speaking, vinegar aged for 3 to 6 years is of very good edible quality. Vinegar aged for ten to dozens of years is quite expensive, just like aged fine wine, and is beyond the scope of daily cooking for ordinary consumers.

Finally, you can take a look at the product’s certification mark.

It costs a lot to meet the production standards of organic food and green food and pass the relevant certification. Therefore, these certified products will be more expensive than similar products under the premise of the same aging time. Products with these certifications are more guaranteed in terms of pesticide residues and toxic element pollutants. However, this does not mean that they taste better. The main pollutant residues of qualified products sold in large supermarkets must meet the standards. Besides, vinegar is only a product that is consumed in small quantities, and the total amount of environmental pollutants it can bring is limited.

Some products have "geographical indication" certification, indicating that they are high-quality products unique to the local area.

As for whether it is "zero additives", "no sucrose", "gluten-free", etc., you don't have to care too much. These are all hype concepts and do not mean that the product is better or more delicious.

After all, vinegar is a condiment. As long as it is safe, the better its flavor, the more meaningful it is to buy it . For some concepts or to save money, buying low-quality vinegar or "sour seasoning liquid" that does not even meet the standards of brewing vinegar is fooling yourself and your family. Buying a bottle of better quality vinegar will not make anyone go bankrupt.

Further reading:

A complete explanation of additives in soy sauce

Things to consider before buying salt

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