Vinegar is called acyl, also known as vinegar. There is a record in Zhou Li that "an acyl person holds an acyl substance", which shows that there was fermented vinegar in the Western Zhou Dynasty. Jinyang (now Taiyuan) is the birthplace of China vinegar. According to historical records, there was a vinegar workshop in Jinyang in the eighth century BC, which spread all over urban and rural areas in the Spring and Autumn Period. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, Qi Shu Yao Min described 22 ways to make vinegar. At that time, making vinegar and vinegar has become a major topic in Shanxi people's lives. There are many records about vinegar in ancient books such as Compendium of Materia Medica, and there are also many folk allusions about vinegar. After Tang and Song Dynasties, Daqu, Xiaoqu and Hongqu appeared in Ming Dynasty due to the progress and development of microorganism and koji-making technology. Shanxi vinegar uses red hearts as vinegar starter, which integrates beneficial microbial populations such as Daqu, Xiaoqu and monascus.
Shanxi mature vinegar is one of the four famous vinegars in China. It has a production history of more than 3000 years, and there are more than 1000 vinegar producers in Shanxi. Shanxi mature vinegar is known as one of the four famous vinegars in China. It is famous for its unique flavor of cotton, sour, fragrant, sweet and mellow and its long brewing history. It ranks ahead of Zhenjiang balsamic vinegar, Baoning balsamic vinegar and Fujian monascus vinegar in China. As early as 1930s, the late famous microbiologist Fang summarized and affirmed the process of "Meiheju" Shanxi aged vinegar. He published an article in Yellow Sea magazine, pointing out: "When the fermentation temperature of Qingyuan vinegar is above 40℃, its butyric acid bacteria and lactic acid bacteria will play a role, and the unique fragrance of Shanxi vinegar can prove the role of bacteria other than acetic acid bacteria." He also said: "China has four famous vinegars, and Shanxi mature vinegar is the first." The late famous biologist Mr. Chen Jusheng clearly pointed out in various works: "Shanxi mature vinegar is the most famous vinegar in northern China."
1959 The book "Shanxi Qingxu Mature Vinegar" published by Youth Industry Publishing House said: "Mature Vinegar, a national famous specialty in Shanxi, is said to have been brewed here during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period." Some people say that Jia Sixie, a great agronomist in the Northern Wei Dynasty, summed up 20 methods of fermented vinegar in Qi Yao Min Shu. Among them, the "glutinous rice vinegar" (that is, vinegar) method notes: "Clear it in August, don't keep the urn, and close the pot for several years." Jia Sixie made an investigation in Shaanxi, and the method he introduced was basically the process of producing aged vinegar in Qingxu area.