Traditionally, Chinese vinegar-making uses glutinous rice and regular rice (japonica rice) as the main raw materials in the south, sorghum and millet in the north, wheat in the Central Plains, and wheat bran in Sichuan and Shaanxi. Nowadays, broken rice, corn, sweet potatoes, dried sweet potatoes, potatoes, and dried potatoes are also commonly used as substitutes. The raw materials first undergo steaming, gelatinization, liquefaction, and saccharification to convert starch into sugar. Then, yeast is used to ferment and produce ethanol. Finally, acetic acid bacteria ferment the ethanol, oxidizing it to acetic acid.
Vinegar made from sugary raw materials can use grapes, apples, pears, peaches, persimmons, dates, tomatoes, etc., to make various fruit vinegars. Honey and molasses can also be used. These only require two biochemical stages: ethanol fermentation and acetic acid fermentation. Jia's persimmon vinegar from Shanxian County in western Henan was historically a tribute vinegar.
Vinegar made from ethanol, with the addition of acetic acid bacteria, only undergoes one biochemical stage: acetic acid fermentation. For example, using low-alcohol spirits or edible alcohol diluted with water as raw materials, vinegar can be produced using a rapid brewing method, yielding vinegar in just 1 to 3 days.
White vinegar can be made by diluting edible glacial acetic acid with water, and then adding seasonings, spices, colorings, etc., to create a vinegar with a flavor similar to brewed vinegar.
