Chinkiang vinegar

[Shel_B]

There's a recipe for Hot and Sour soup I'd like to try which calls for Chinkiang vinegar. I've not used this type of vinegar before and am unfamiliar with it. This morning, I picked up a bottle at the nearby big Asian market that many people use. Unfortunately, and surprisingly, they only had one brand on their shelves and it was inexpensive (not that that's a disqualifier), so I couldn't try a couple of options at different price points or (presumably) different quality or flavor points.

 

What qualities should I look for when buying this type of vinegar? Are there any brands that you'd recommend? Does it matter much when using a small amount in a soup.  This is what I ended up with:

 

[liuzhou]

The main thing to look for is "Is it real?"

 

"Chinkiang vinegar" is actually known as "Zhenjiang Vinegar" in China as it comes from "镇江 or 鎮江* (zhèn jiāng)" a city in Jiangsu Province near Shanghai. "Chinkiang" is a prehistoric transliteration only used in America and unknown in China.

 

The vinegar is a strictly controlled product, having a geographically protected status, meaning it can only be legally sold under that name if it is made in Zhenjiang. Yours appears to be.

 

Brand choice is not really a worry. They are all made to the same standard, as they have been for around 1,400 years. Ingredients should only be water, rice, with small amounts of wheat and barley.

 

There are other Chinese black vinegars which are cheaper but acceptable when used in small amounts like a splash in some soups.

 

There is more information on Chinese vinegars in this topic here.

 

* The first is Simplified Chinese as used in Mainland China; the second Traditional Chinese as used in Hong, Kong, Taiwan and among much of the Chinese diaspora.

[Shel_B]

Thans for your helpful and informative post. I'll check the link to Chinese vinegars when I get home. I suspect it will prove quite helpful as well.

[liuzhou]

One thing I intended to mention but forgot is that Zhenjiang vinegar is aged for at least three years (not the three months Wikipedia ridiculously suggests) but can be much longer. If no age is given on the bottle, it is 3 years. The oldest I've had was 10 years. The older the better. 

 

The number may be in Arabic numerals or Chinese characters, the most common being:

 

3 year old - 三年陈

6 year old - 六年陈

8 year old - 八年陈

10 year old - 十年陈

 

 

[Shel_B]

12 hours ago, liuzhou said:

One thing I intended to mention but forgot is that Zhenjiang vinegar is aged for at least three years (not the three months Wikipedia ridiculously suggests) but can be much longer. If no age is given on the bottle, it is 3 years. The oldest I've had was 10 years. The older the better. 

 

The number may be in Arabic numerals or Chinese characters, the most common being:

 

3 year old - 三年陈

6 year old - 六年陈

8 year old - 八年陈

10 year old - 十年陈

 

 

 

 

I appreciate all the information you've presented. It does, indeed, look like I grabbed a decent, if not great, bottle of vinegar from the shelf. It should work fine for its intended purpose. Certainly a good starting point for future explorations.

 

 

Edited Saturday at 06:43 PM by Shel_B
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