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Traditional method

Zhenjiang Black Vinegar

镇江香醋 (Zhènjiāng xiāngcù, Chinese) · Zhenjiang black vinegar · Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar · Zhenjiang fragrant vinegar · Zhenjiang vinegar · Zhenjiang Xiang Cu · Chinkiang vinegar · Chinkiang black vinegar · Chinkiang aromatic vinegar · 镇江香醋 (Zhènjiāng xiāngcù, simplified Chinese) · 鎮江香醋 (Zhènjiāng xiāngcù, traditional Chinese) · 镇江醋 (Zhènjiāng cù, Chinese) · 镇江陈醋 (Zhènjiāng chéncù, Chinese, mature Zhenjiang vinegar) · 恒顺香醋 (Héngshùn xiāngcù, Hengshun producer's product) · 中国黑醋 (Zhōngguó hēicù, Chinese black vinegar; broader category) · 黑醋 (hēicù, Chinese black vinegar; broader category) · 黒酢 (kurozu, Japanese; broader black-vinegar category) · 鎮江香醋 (Chinkō kōzu, Japanese commercial designation)

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Zhenjiang black vinegar is a Chinese glutinous-rice vinegar made by mixed-culture fermentation, solid-state acetification, roasted-rice extraction and ageing, giving a dark, savoury, mildly sweet condiment.

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Illustrative finished Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar, clear deep reddish-brown with warm umber highlights; not a specific brand.

What it is

Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar, called Zhenjiang xiangcu in Mandarin and commonly sold internationally as Chinkiang black vinegar, is a dark Chinese cereal vinegar associated with Zhenjiang in Jiangsu Province. It is produced principally from glutinous rice, with wheat bran, rice husks, a cereal-based fermentation starter and roasted rice contributing to its manufacture. The finished liquid is dark reddish-brown to nearly black, with a strong fermented-grain aroma, pronounced acidity, savoury depth and a slight sweetness. Its flavour depends on successive microbial transformations, extraction from the fermented grain mixture, thermal processing and maturation.

The protected Chinese product is defined by the national geographical indication standard GB/T 18623-2011. A corresponding European protected geographical indication, registered in 2012, describes Zhenjiang Xiang Cu as a brewed rice vinegar with glutinous rice as the principal raw material. The registered European specification gives total acidity of 5.00–6.00 grams per 100 millilitres for its defined product range, alongside requirements for nonvolatile acids, amino acid nitrogen and reducing sugars. Those chemical characteristics distinguish it from a simple solution of acetic acid in water. They are product-specification values, not an assumption that every commercial bottle described informally as Chinese black vinegar complies.

The production method combines processes that require different microorganisms. Starch from cooked rice is hydrolysed into fermentable sugars by enzymes associated with cereal starters. Yeasts transform sugars into ethanol. Acetic acid bacteria then oxidise ethanol in a moist, aerated mixture of wine mash, wheat bran and rice husks. Lactic acid bacteria and other organisms contribute additional organic acids and flavour compounds. Finally, the vinegar is leached from the fermented solids, heated, clarified and aged.

Zhenjiang vinegar must be distinguished from Shanxi aged vinegar, which is characteristically associated with sorghum, and from Yongchun aged vinegar, associated with Fujian and red-yeast-rice processes. Chinese black vinegar is a broader culinary category encompassing different raw materials and production histories. Chinkiang is an older romanisation of Zhenjiang and is commonly used on exported products. Hengshun is a producer associated with Zhenjiang, not the botanical or microbial identity of the vinegar. Likewise, the term mature Zhenjiang vinegar describes an ageing category rather than a completely separate fermentation family.

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History

The history of Zhenjiang vinegar must be separated from the much older history of rice vinegar in China. Regional and heritage accounts describe vinegar production around Zhenjiang as extending back approximately 1,400 years, sometimes connecting it with writings from the Liang dynasty. They show a long regional vinegar tradition; they do not show that the present recipe, starters or roasted-rice colouring were in use then. The available evidence for the named commercial speciality is much more secure in the nineteenth century. A county gazetteer printed in 1889 describes fragrant black vinegar from Jingkou, an older name associated with Zhenjiang, as a desirable commodity traded beyond the locality.

The best-known producer, Hengshun, dates itself to 1840, when Zhu Zhaohuai set up Zhu Hengshun Zaofang, at first a small wine-making workshop. A 2002 study in China Brewing, based on surviving business and licensing papers, dates the start of vinegar making to about ten years later, using leftovers from winemaking. A Jiangnan University history gives 1890 for the workshop's founding instead. This gives a more precise chronology than simply saying that Hengshun vinegar was invented in 1840. A Jiangnan University historical account gives 1890 for the workshop's founding, contradicting the documentary study and official heritage record.

During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Zhenjiang vinegar developed from local workshop production into an organised commercial industry. The fermentation technique became associated with glutinous rice, wheat-based starters, solid-state acetic fermentation and the addition of roasted-rice colour. Traditional producers maintained culture between batches by transferring part of an active vinegar fermentation to the next one. As production expanded, mechanical handling, improved vessels, process testing and microbiological selection were introduced. A People's Daily report from 1985 describes heavy investment in Hengshun's equipment, ceramic storage and bacterial research, so mechanisation was already being combined with the regional flavour.

The Chinese authorities granted geographical-origin protection to Zhenjiang vinegar in 2001. Hengshun's traditional brewing technique entered China's first national list of representative intangible cultural heritage in 2006. The European Union registered Zhenjiang Xiang Cu as a Protected Geographical Indication under Regulation 501/2012, dated 13 June 2012. The registration came into force on 4 July 2012. The United Kingdom subsequently carried the name into its own protected geographical indication register from 31 December 2020. These protections recognise origin, method and reputation; they do not show an unchanged recipe over centuries.

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How it works: microbes, enzymes and chemistry

Zhenjiang vinegar is produced through a sequence of biochemical processes involving cereal enzymes, moulds, yeasts, lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria. Brewing yeast cannot ferment the starch in intact glutinous rice. Cooking gelatinises the starch, making it more accessible to enzymes. Traditional cereal starters, including daqu and other forms of qu, supply amylases that hydrolyse starch into dextrins, maltose and glucose. Proteases also break down rice and wheat proteins, releasing peptides and amino acids. The resulting sugars support alcoholic fermentation, principally by yeasts such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which convert fermentable carbohydrates into ethanol and carbon dioxide. Some processes carry out saccharification and alcohol formation concurrently rather than as completely separated stages.

Acetic fermentation begins when the alcoholic rice mash is combined with wheat bran, rice husks and an active vinegar starter. The mixture is called cupei or pei, meaning vinegar fermentation material. Bran provides nutrients and a surface for microbial growth; husks keep the moist mass relatively loose so that air can penetrate. Acetic acid bacteria oxidise ethanol first to acetaldehyde and then to acetic acid. This process requires oxygen because bacterial membrane-associated dehydrogenases transfer electrons through the respiratory system. Turning the solid material helps deliver oxygen and release metabolic heat. A study of the traditional process measured the fermenting material at about 40 to 46 C and 60 to 70% moisture in one industrial setting.

Lactic acid bacteria matter too. Studies repeatedly find Acetobacter and Lactobacillus-related organisms among the main members of the community. In a 2015 investigation of three production batches, the authors found closely matching patterns of bacterial succession and changes in sixteen major flavour metabolites. A 2016 metagenomic investigation identified 88 flavour-related compounds during acetic fermentation, including organic acids, sugars, amino acids and volatile substances. A 2022 study distinguished the contribution of three starters: jiuqu supplied organisms involved in initial saccharification, maiqu supplied important enzymes, and recycled vinegar pei helped establish acetic fermentation. These findings do not mean every detected species is an obligatory starter organism.

The finished acidity is chemically more complicated than a simple acetic acid solution. Lactic, succinic, pyroglutamic and other acids contribute to sourness and taste balance. Ethyl acetate and other esters contribute fruity or fermented aromas, while acetoin, diacetyl and related compounds can add buttery notes. Free amino acids provide savoury and sweet tastes and act as precursors for further aroma reactions. Roasted rice and subsequent heating encourage non-enzymatic browning, including Maillard reactions, which contribute colour and additional aromatic compounds. The sealed fermentation stage permits further changes even after the main oxygen-dependent acid production has ended. This combination of microbial metabolism, oxidation, heating and ageing produces the characteristic dark, complex vinegar.

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How it is made and why each step matters

Traditional production begins with glutinous rice, which is cleaned, soaked and steamed to gelatinise its starch. The rice is cooled before fermentation starter is introduced. The temperature matters because excessive heat can damage the organisms and enzymes needed for subsequent fermentation. Cereal starters break down starch, while yeasts produce an alcoholic rice mash. The Chinese national intangible-heritage description names a special wheat-based qu as a feature of Hengshun production. Jiangnan University additionally describes processes using xiaoqu-derived organisms and wheat qu, so starter practice differs between accounts.

The alcoholic mash is mixed with wheat bran and rice husks to make a moist, porous fermentation material. Mature vinegar pei or selected acetic acid bacteria are introduced, and the mixture is arranged for layered solid-state acetification. The heritage description reports turning the material daily to cool it, admit oxygen and distribute fermentation activity. Acetic acid bacteria progressively oxidise ethanol to acetic acid, while the mixed community produces additional organic acids and aroma compounds. After the main acetic stage, the mature pei is sealed for further conditioning. Sealing changes oxygen availability and favours different microbial and chemical processes.

In its traditional comparison, rice was soaked for 8–14 hours before steaming. Both the traditional and experimental processes used a seven-day alcoholic fermentation, approximately 9% alcohol in the diluted mash, and a ratio of glutinous rice, rice husks, wheat bran and vinegar starter of 1:1.7:0.8:0.5 by mass. The solid-state acetic stage lasted approximately twenty days, followed by seven days of sealed pei fermentation. Roasted rice goes in at 8%, and water leaches the vinegar out of the fermented solids. The raw liquid was boiled for thirty minutes before maturation in ceramic vessels for six months.

Traditional finishing includes adding roasted-rice colour, called chao mise, during extraction. The official Chinese standard describes rice roasted until very dark, then dispersed and cooked in water to produce a concentrated brown liquid. This contributes colour and roasted aroma; it is different from simply adding black food colouring. The extracted vinegar is clarified, heated and placed in storage vessels. The heritage description has the vinegar mature outdoors in pottery containers for at least six months, sometimes much longer. During storage, concentration, ester formation and other chemical changes continue. Industrial producers may modify equipment and starch preparation while preserving elements of the characteristic solid-state process. A named Zhenjiang protected product must still satisfy its applicable geographical and production requirements.

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Regional and historical variations

Zhenjiang vinegar belongs to the southern Chinese tradition of rice-based cereal vinegars, but the protected name refers to a particular geographical product rather than every dark rice vinegar. The protected production area includes Zhenjiang's Jingkou, Runzhou and Dantu districts, together with Danyang, Jurong, Yangzhong and the Zhenjiang Development Zone. The European product specification requires the preparation of fermentation starter and rice-wine broth, fermentation, vinegar extraction, heating and maturation to take place within that area. The use of locally associated rice, cereals and water forms part of its defined geographical character. A similar vinegar manufactured outside the region may resemble Zhenjiang vinegar in flavour without qualifying for its protected designation.

Different producers and production histories exist within the Zhenjiang tradition. Hengshun is the best-known brand; others include Jinshan, Jinshansi and Danyu. An account of Danyu production describes glutinous-rice wine prepared in earthenware vessels, followed by layered solid-state acetic fermentation using wheat bran and rice husks. The material is turned during fermentation, sealed after acid production and later leached with roasted-rice colour. These features overlap with the Hengshun technique, although individual producers may use different starters, equipment, process controls and maturation arrangements. The heritage description of Hengshun lists more than forty production operations, which is why no short recipe captures the commercial craft.

The registered European specification differentiates ordinary Zhenjiang Fragrant Vinegar, stored for more than 180 days, from Mature Vinegar, stored for more than 365 days. Studies comparing traditional and industrial Zhenjiang vinegars found changes in organic acids, phenolic compounds and other constituents during ageing. A 2020 aroma study found stronger caramel and butter notes in aged samples and named the compounds behind them. Longer maturation can change concentration, aroma and taste, but age alone does not guarantee that every batch will be superior.

Modern industrial adaptations include mechanised mixing, controlled cultures and alternative starch-gelatinisation methods. The 2024 dry-gelatinisation study compared a hot-air treatment of glutinous rice with traditional soaking and steaming. Its experimental process improved alcohol conversion efficiency and vinegar yield under the tested conditions, but also changed the balance of lactic acid and volatile compounds. Other Chinese black vinegars are separate traditions: Shanxi aged vinegar is strongly associated with sorghum, while Yongchun aged vinegar from Fujian uses a distinct rice and red-yeast-rice tradition. Japanese kurozu is likewise a broader food category, not an alternative geographical name for Zhenjiang vinegar.

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How it is eaten

Zhenjiang black vinegar is used as a table condiment and as an ingredient in cooked sauces, dressings and braised dishes. One of its best-known applications is as a dipping vinegar for Chinese dumplings. It can be served plain or combined with thinly sliced ginger, especially alongside soup dumplings such as xiaolongbao. Its fermented-grain aroma and mild sweetness complement meat and seafood fillings, while its acidity cuts through the richness of the accompanying fat. Zhenjiang vinegar is also the traditional accompaniment to hairy crab. The combination of crab, ginger and vinegar is especially associated with the cooking and eating traditions of the lower Yangtze region.

In cold dishes, Zhenjiang vinegar is used to dress cucumber, tofu, wood-ear mushrooms, noodles and cooked meat. It may be combined with soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sugar or chilli to suit the dish. The vinegar contributes acidity, roasted-cereal aroma and some residual sweetness, while the other seasonings adjust saltiness and heat. These preparations often require little or no cooking after the vinegar is added. Seasoned rice vinegars that contain Zhenjiang vinegar are different products: they may add sugar, salt or other ingredients.

In cooked dishes, black vinegar appears in sweet-and-sour sauces, braised fish, pork dishes, vegetable stir-fries and noodle preparations. It is useful where the sauce benefits from a combination of sourness and savoury cereal-derived flavour. During heating, some volatile compounds evaporate while nonvolatile acids, sugars and other solutes remain. Extended reduction can change both concentration and aroma. A producer's aged vinegar may therefore behave differently from a lighter, recently manufactured bottle. There is no single cooking temperature or addition time appropriate to every dish. Some recipes heat the vinegar as part of the sauce; others add a portion near the end to retain a more immediate aromatic character.

Zhenjiang vinegar can also be used to acidify vegetables or flavour prepared pickles, but this culinary use must be distinguished from validated preservation. A dressing containing vinegar may be intended for immediate eating or refrigerated storage rather than room-temperature storage. A braise made with black vinegar is not preserved by its acidity either. Its characteristic sourness comes from fermentation, but adding finished vinegar to a dish does not necessarily initiate another fermentation.

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Reading results and problems

Finished Zhenjiang aromatic vinegar is dark reddish-brown, glossy and aromatic, with a clear roasted-rice and fermented-grain character. It tastes sour with some sweetness and a long savoury aftertaste. The protected European specification describes a product with measured total acidity, nonvolatile acidity, amino acid nitrogen and reducing sugars, rather than colour alone. Laboratory measurements of these constituents help distinguish correctly manufactured vinegar from a mixture that merely looks similar. The Chinese national standard also includes sensory requirements, chemical measurements and product grading.

During manufacture, poor saccharification can leave starch insufficiently converted into fermentable sugars, reducing alcohol production. Weak alcoholic fermentation then supplies too little ethanol for the acetic stage. In the solid-state phase, inadequate oxygen penetration can slow acid formation, while excessive heat or uneven moisture can change microbial activity. The traditional practice of turning the pei addresses oxygenation and temperature distribution, but the precise schedule depends on the process. A 2024 experimental study measured fermentation chemistry throughout production, including reducing sugars, total acidity, organic acids and free amino acids. Such measurements are more reliable indicators of process progress than elapsed time or a producer's expectation that the batch is finished.

The flavour profile continues to change during conditioning and ageing. Studies of Zhenjiang vinegar name acetic and lactic acids, acetoin, diacetyl, ethyl acetate, pyrazines and other aroma compounds as important contributors. A 2020 study used aroma recombination and omission tests to find which compounds shape the aroma of aged vinegar, including sotolon and tetramethylpyrazine. A separate 2022 study examined how melanoidins formed or modified during vinegar heating influence the retention and release of volatile compounds.

Commercial quality and safety require attention to raw cereals, cultures, sanitation, heating, contaminants, acidity and packaging. China regulates fermented vinegar as a food produced by microbial fermentation and prohibits describing products merely compounded from glacial acetic acid as brewed vinegar. Testing requirements address parameters including acidity, microorganisms, potentially toxic elements and aflatoxin B1. Wheat bran and wheat- or barley-containing starters also make allergen labelling relevant. Consumers should follow the manufacturer's storage instructions, keep opened bottles properly closed and reject products showing unexpected deterioration. Do not use homemade Zhenjiang-style vinegar for shelf-stable canning or pickling; its acidity and microbial state are unknown.

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History

Hengshun's recorded founding year is 1840, when Zhu Zhaohuai set up a wine-making workshop in the Zhenjiang area. A 2002 study of surviving company records places the move into vinegar about ten years later. A county gazetteer printed in 1889 describes fragrant black vinegar from Jingkou, the old name for the Zhenjiang area, as a traded local speciality. These records date a nineteenth-century commercial tradition, not the start of local rice vinegar; the claim that the modern vinegar is 1,400 years old rests on no dated recipe.

Ingredients

Scaling: keep the mass ratio 1 : 1.7 : 0.8 : 0.5 (rice : husks : bran : starter).

Glutinous riceSoaked 8 to 14 hours, rinsed, steamed until the starch gelatinises, then rinsed with room-temperature water
Amount not stated
Reference quantity of 1 part by mass; no fixed batch weight is given.
Rice husksClean, food-grade; mixed in to make the solid fermenting mass porous
Amount not stated
1.7 parts by mass per 1 part rice. Structure, not seasoning.
Wheat branFood-grade
Amount not stated
0.8 parts by mass per 1 part rice.
Mature vinegar pei starterActive solid-state vinegar culture from an established Zhenjiang producer
Amount not stated
0.5 parts by mass per 1 part rice. No reproducible starter formula exists.
Yeast powderAdded to the gelatinised rice for the alcoholic stage
Amount not stated
Dose and strain are not given.
Saccharifying cereal starter (wheat qu)Traditional starch-degrading starter; the heritage description names a special wheat-based qu
No quantity is given.
WaterFor soaking and rinsing, for diluting the rice wine to about 9% ABV, and for leaching the finished vinegar from the fermented solids
Amount not stated
Amounts depend on the alcohol measured after the wine stage.
Roasted riceRice roasted to give the dark colour and roasted aroma; added after the sealed stage
8 %
Reported as 8%; the reference mass is not stated. Roasting time and temperature are not given.

Method

Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Uncontrolled mixed-culture fermentation

The process uses multiple microbial groups and a mature solid-state starter. The published research characterises particular communities but does not provide a validated household starter preparation or pathogen-exclusion procedure.

Hazard source
Unsafe or incorrectly maintained starter culture

Traditional qu and seed pei are complex microbial materials. A list of microorganisms detected by sequencing is not a reproducible inoculation formula and does not establish the safety of arbitrary environmental moulds or bacteria.

Hazard source
Mycotoxin contamination

Cereal substrates may be exposed to unsuitable mould growth or contaminated raw materials. Chinese vinegar inspection provisions include aflatoxin B1 among the parameters assessed in vinegar production.

Hazard source
Insufficient acidification

A batch may fail to reach the required total acidity if saccharification, alcoholic fermentation or aerobic acetification is inadequate. Sensory sourness and pH do not establish total acidity.

Hazard source
Poor oxygen transfer and excess process heat

Solid-state acetic acid bacteria require oxygen. The traditional heritage method turns the fermentation material to admit air and dissipate heat, but the study does not provide validated operating limits for small-scale equipment.

Hazard source
Contamination during water extraction and packaging

Leaching, filtration, heating, vessel transfer and bottling introduce opportunities for contamination. A published boiling step does not validate the shelf life of every resulting packaged product.

Hazard source
Undeclared cereal allergens

The recipe uses wheat bran and traditional starters that may contain wheat and barley. A finished product cannot be assumed free of gluten or cereal allergens simply because starch has been fermented.

Hazard source
Misuse in shelf-stable preservation

Homemade vinegar of unverified acidity must not replace the specified commercial vinegar in tested home-canning or pickling processes.

Hazard source

Use food-grade raw materials and established, traceable production starters under an appropriate food-safety management system.

Control source

For the documented laboratory process, adjust the alcoholic mash before solid-state acetification.

Control source

Maintain appropriate aeration and temperature management during the solid-state acetic fermentation stage.

Control source

Monitor the fermentation using suitable tests for alcohol, total acidity and relevant microbial and chemical quality parameters.

Control source

For a product intended to comply with the registered European Zhenjiang Xiang Cu PGI specification, verify the stated total acidity analytically.

Control source

Apply the registered maturation periods for the named product categories.

Control source

Where following the 2024 experimental method, heat the extracted raw vinegar as described by the researchers.

Control source

Use commercial vinegar of the acidity required by the tested recipe when preparing shelf-stable pickles or canned foods.

Control source

This describes an industrial and research workflow, not a tested household recipe.

Do not collect wild moulds, substitute arbitrary koji or build a starter from a list of organisms found in studies.

Boiling for 30 minutes and ageing in pots do not make a home batch sterile or shelf stable.

The recipe uses wheat and may involve other cereal allergens in the starters.

A homemade imitation made outside the defined area cannot be sold as Zhenjiang Xiang Cu PGI.

Do not use homemade black vinegar for shelf-stable pickling or canning.

  1. Soak glutinous rice in water at room temperature for 8 to 14 hours, then rinse it.
  2. Steam the soaked rice until the starch gelatinises, rinse it with room-temperature water and check its moisture.
  3. Add a saccharifying cereal starter (wheat qu in the traditional method) and yeast powder to the cooked rice to start saccharification and alcoholic fermentation.
  4. Ferment the rice for about 7 days. One published account reports 6 days for the traditional method; use the rice wine, not the clock, to judge the end.
  5. Dilute the rice-wine mash with water to about 9% ABV.
  6. Mix in rice husks, wheat bran and mature vinegar pei starter in the proportions glutinous rice : rice husks : wheat bran : starter of 1 : 1.7 : 0.8 : 0.5, to make a moist, loose solid mass.
  7. Run the solid-state acetic fermentation for about 20 days at ambient temperature. Turn the mass daily so air reaches it and heat does not build up. Acetic acid bacteria turn the ethanol into acetic acid while other microbes add further acids and flavour.
  8. Measure total acidity and reducing sugars during this stage rather than relying on elapsed time.
  9. Seal the mature pei for 7 days.
  10. Add roasted rice at about 8% to the pei.
  11. Leach the pei with water to recover the raw vinegar.
  12. Bring the raw vinegar to the boil and hold it there for 30 minutes.
  13. Mature the vinegar in ceramic vessels for six months. The protected product is called fragrant vinegar after more than 180 days and mature vinegar after more than 365 days.
  14. Check colour, aroma, acidity and microbiology before bottling. Protected Zhenjiang Xiang Cu is dark reddish-brown with a strong roasted-rice and fermented aroma.

Conditions

Temperature controlAmbient, monitored

Places

Zhenjiang

Traditional preparation · Locality evidence
See Zhenjiangon the mapLocation source 1 → · Location source 2 → · Location source 3 →

Jingkou

Historical attestation · Locality evidence
See Jingkouon the mapLocation source 1 →

Dantu

Historical attestation · Locality evidence
See Dantuon the mapLocation source 1 →

Runzhou

Documented preparation · Locality evidence
See Runzhouon the mapLocation source 1 →

Danyang

Historical attestation · Locality evidence
See Danyangon the mapLocation source 1 → · Location source 2 →

Jurong

Documented preparation · Locality evidence
See Jurongon the mapLocation source 1 →

Yangzhong

Documented preparation · Locality evidence
See Yangzhongon the mapLocation source 1 →

Zhenjiang Development Zone

Documented preparation · Locality evidence
See Zhenjiang Development Zoneon the mapLocation source 1 →

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