I. 介紹

Vinegar is said to be the first seasoning created by man and is believed to have been in existence as long as salt. The origin of the word vinegar is "vin aigre", meaning sour wine. Vinegar is made in two steps of fermentation process. Firstly, alcohol is made from grain or fruit, then secondly Acetobacter changes the alcoholic substance oxidized. Therefore, wherever there is alcohol, there is always vinegar.

There are many popular kinds of vinegar; 米醋 from Japan, malt vinegar from England, and wine vinegar from France. MUSO produces superb slow processed vinegars made only from organically grown high quality ingredients. The simple sour taste and aroma of these vinegars accentuate any dish of choice. Most of all, vinegar helps improve our lives and health in many ways. MUSO, therefore, is proud to make available their top quality vinegar all over the world.

II. 歷史

Vinegar is believed to be made first by the Babylonians in 5000 BC. According to Old Testament records, however, the first written account of vinegar use was in Israel as far back as 1250 BC. In Japan, vinegar was introduced around the 7th century. Originally, 米醋 was produced from Sake. In the 16th century, large scale production of 米醋 began.

The traditional manufacturing method of brewing the vinegar for an entire year continued until the beginning of the 20th century. Synthetically produced vinegar began to appear on the Japanese market in 1915. With the invention of alcoholic vinegar and the scarcity of food at the time, genuine 米醋 began to disappear. Finally in 1942, the government began to regulate rice for use in vinegar production and traditional Japanese vinegar was replaced with alcoholic vinegar, synthetic vinegar, and vinegar lees. After the WWII, as the food situation improved, 米醋 reentered the market. However, most 米醋 was made by mixing rice with sake lees or alcohol. Genuine 米醋 became a rare product. Before 1969, synthetic vinegar had become mainstream, but brewed vinegar has begun to regain popularity amongst many who are seeking higher quality products. Over 70% of the total vinegar production today is brewed vinegar.