【Reading】くろず

【English Name】Black Vinegar

Because adding it to sushi shari brings a distinctive mellowness and deep richness, kurozu (black vinegar) is prized at some sushi restaurants. One of the vinegars made by fermenting grains, it is a seasoning characterized by a deep blackish-brown color and complex flavor.

Japanese kurozu uses only rice, rice koji, and water as raw materials, and Fukuyama Town in Kagoshima Prefecture (present-day Fukuyama Town, Kirishima City) has long been widely known as a traditional center of production. The traditional method prepares the ingredients in earthenware pots under the sun and ferments them over several years while waiting for saccharification, alcohol fermentation, and acetic acid fermentation to proceed naturally within the pot; the alternative names "tsubo-zu" (pot vinegar) and "kome-kurozu" (rice black vinegar) arose from this.

Chinese-born black vinegar, on the other hand, is distinctive in using a wide range of grains such as barley and sorghum, and is often handled domestically under the name "kozu" (fragrant vinegar).

It has an exceptionally high content ratio of essential amino acids, and expectations are placed on fatigue reduction through citric acid and the promotion of amino acid metabolism. In experiments administering it to animals, a significant blood-pressure-lowering effect was confirmed in proportion to the amount of black vinegar extract.