【Reading】こめず

【English Name】Rice Vinegar

Komezu (rice vinegar) is a food vinegar made mainly from rice; under the JAS standard it is defined, among grain vinegars, as one using at least 40 g of rice per liter. Containing 3-5% acetic acid, it is characterized by a mild tartness and a faint sweetness, and is an indispensable seasoning for making vinegared rice for sushi. Its origins are said to trace to its transmission from China around the 4th-5th centuries, and records of it remain in documents of the Nara to Heian periods under the names karasake and kushu (bitter sake). In the Edo period, hayazushi (quick sushi) made with rice vinegar was devised, but because rice vinegar was expensive, Nakano Matazaemon, founder of Mizkan, developed kasuzu (red vinegar, akazu), greatly contributing to the spread of nigiri sushi. Today it is used as sushi vinegar and throughout Japanese cuisine, such as in vinegared dishes (sunomono).