Meet The Master Making One Of The Rarest Vinegars In Japan | Still Standing

[Music] 52 000 ceramic jars hold a Japanese black vinegar known as gurozu that can only be made in this part of the world one batch can take up to five years to age and Brewmasters like Kenji tachiwada keep track of the quality by checking the taste sound and smell um one bottle can cost at least double the price of a regular mass-produced rice vinegar chefs across the country seek it out for its smooth and mellow taste is [Music] one of eight vinegar breweries in the southern Japanese town of fukuyama that still use this 200 year old fermentation method but ramping up production is nearly impossible because it's difficult to find more land to lay out Jaws we traveled to fukuyama Japan to see how this ancient method of making black vinegar is still standing Kenji starts his work at the sakamotokuro zoo facility at 8am he's been working here for the past 40 years brown rice is one of only three ingredients in kuruzu workers harvested from nearby fields they steam their also used to mix this is called Goji and it's the first ingredient to go in the jar foreign it makes the vinegar less Tangy and acidic then he fills the pot with around nine gallons of fresh water from a natural spring [Music] [Music] a final layer of Koji goes on top it will later turn into a thick slab of mold that protects the vinegar from other microbes entering the mixture [Music] Master Brewers usually fill the jars up in the spring and fall when the temperatures are just right this specific region has the perfect climate to make Guru Zoo because of its relatively warm weather year round the natural outdoor heat accelerates fermentation over a three to six month process the mold turns the rice starch into sugar then into alcohol as the vinegar ages it turns darker and richer in taste it takes at least three years to reach its signature brownish hue Genji checks all 52 000 pots to keep track of the Aging foreign each pot ages at its own pace but most reach the dark brown color in three years Kenji selects a few to ferment for up to five and those are the most expensive foreign sells vinegar at all stages of Aging these ceramic pots also play an essential role in the process their dark exterior absorbs heat from the Sun and the porousness of the clay allows the mold to keep fermenting has been buying them from chinjucan Pottery for the past 200 years and they last for centuries the company still has about 1 000 original pots from two centuries ago is a 15th generation Potter running the 420 year old family business doesn't it foreign people have been making black vinegar in fukuyama since the 1800s in the early 20th century there were about 24 kuruzu makers here but many close their doors during World War II when the government implemented food rations and restricted Brewers from using rice sakamotokuro Zoo managed to stay afloat by briefly substituting sweet potatoes for rice today it's one of only eight koruzu businesses left it's also one of the largest covering 35 000 square meters the size of more than six American football fields akihiro Sakamoto is the sixth generation to run the family business it also has a restaurant on site where visitors can taste the vinegar foreign foreign studied the best way to use vinegar in his dishes like miso and soy sauce rice vinegar is one of the basic seasonings used in Japanese Cuisine it's usually aged for three months and some can be ready in just days with modern technology kurosu's years-long natural process gives it a milder and less acidic taste than regular rice vinegar the restaurant's sweet and sour pork is the most popular item on the menu a 1 000 milliliter bottle of kurosu costs around twenty dollars that's double the price of standard mass-produced rice vinegar the older it is the more expensive it becomes but akihiro is not worried about cheaper competitors Japan's Ministry of Agriculture forestry and Fisheries certified gurozu with a geographical indication in 2015. that means authentic uruzu can only be made here in this region using these techniques just like champagne can only be produced in a certain region of France and nowadays akihiro has chefs and customers from across the country seeking his vinegar year round the company expanded its line to include vinegar-based products like jam ponzu sauce and flavored drinks customers by Kuro Zoo for its supposed health benefits like weight loss lower cholesterol and increased energy studies suggest people who use it regularly see benefits but usually when paired with other healthy lifestyle habits [Music] but there's no simple way of expanding most of the land in fukuyama is already taken and moving the business somewhere else would mean losing the geographical indication [Music] the company also needs a flat area to lay out pots and the terrain here is hilly and steep [Music] and there's no way of accelerating the natural fermentation process or changing the size of the pots so for now he's making as much as the 52 000 pots can produce foreign [Music] ensuring that the quality is top-notch is [Music] thank you [Music]

Channel: Business Insider

Views: 1,731,248

Keywords: Business Insider, Business News, cooking, japan, black vinegar, recipes, clay pots, fermentation

Id: 6MkRLqCWyFk

Length: 11min 3sec (663 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 27 2023