【Reading】す

【English Name】Vinegar

Su (vinegar) is a sour seasoning containing 3-5% acetic acid, and along with salt it is one of the most ancient basic seasonings. It is born when sake changes through the action of acetic-acid bacteria, and in Babylonia around 5000 BC there are records of brewing it from dates. The method of making rice vinegar was transmitted to Japan from China around the 4th-5th centuries, and it appears in Nara to Heian-period documents as kushu (karasake, bitter sake). In the Edo period, hayazushi flavored with rice vinegar was devised, but because rice vinegar was expensive, Nakano Matazaemon, founder of Mizkan, developed kasuzu (red vinegar, akazu), boosting the spread of nigiri sushi. At sushi restaurants, rice vinegar or red vinegar seasoned with sugar and salt is used on the rice as sushi vinegar (sushizu).