Apr 10, 2013

Which one is vinegar?

Hi everyone!
Yesterday I wrote about salt, and I decided to pick up vinegar today.
Vinegar is 酢(す)in Japanese, pronounced just "su" (only one syllable!)


The most commonly consumed vinegar in Japan is probably rice vinegar 米酢. It is pronounced either yonezu (よねず) or komesu (こめす).  Yonezu sounds more correct, but it seems like many people today prefer to call it "komesu" .



This is the rice vinegar I'm using now. You can find various kinds of rice vinegar at any supermarkets and grocery stores, but to be honest, I don't see any big difference in taste between them. Maybe I don't have a keen sense of taste, but if you are not a professional cook, don't worry too much about which one to choose. Even the cheapest one in shop is not bad at all.

Cereal vinegar  (こくもつす 穀物酢 kokumotsu-su) made of corn, wheat and other cereals is also commonly used for cooking here. It tastes similar to rice vinegar but rice vinegar is a bit milder and more expensive. 


Apple vinegar  (りんごす りんご酢 ringo-su), imported white wine vinegar (ワインビネガー wain binegaa) and Barsamic vinegar are available at any big supermarkets here,  but it is not easy to find good red wine vinegar for some reason.

I personally miss red wine vinegar and I might be able to find it at "high-class" international supermarkets like Kinokuniya, Meijiya, Seijo Ishii and National Azabu, but I feel reluctant to spend too much on what you can buy for 2 euros in Europe.

Today's useful expressions:
す は どれですか。 Su wa dore desuka?  = Which one is vinegar?
す は どこですか。 Su wa doko desuka? = Where is vinegar?

Please correct my English if you find any errors. Thank you !

 

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