The brewing technology of Shanxi mature vinegar, which was founded in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, has a history of more than 300 years, and is well-known throughout the country for its unique flavor and deeply loved by consumers.

The technological characteristics of Shanxi mature vinegar are Daqu fermentation, long alcohol fermentation period, high acetic acid fermentation temperature and smoked semi-mature vinegar. The drenched new vinegar is aged in the summer sunshine in dog days and ice fishing in winter, so it is thick in texture and mellow in vinegar taste, and will not precipitate or deteriorate after long-term storage.

Raw material formula (by weight): sorghum 100% Daqu 62.5% water, 340% water before steaming, 50% water after steaming, 225% water into the tank 65% bran 73% chaff 73% salt 5% spices (pepper, fennel, cinnamon, clove, galangal, etc.). ) 0.05%.

Manufacturing method 1. Raw material processing. Sorghum is ground, so that most of it is divided into 4 ~ 6 petals, and the powder is less. Add water and mix well to make the material wet 12 hours or more (4-6 hours if warm water of 30-40℃ is used). Cooking is very good, not sticky, just undercooked. After taking it out, put it into a pot, add boiling water, mix well, soak for 20 minutes to fully absorb water, and cool it to 25 ~ 26℃ (the shorter the cooling time, the better).

2. Create music. Daqu is made from 70% barley and 30% peas by crushing and adding water. The main process is as follows:

(1) raw materials are crushed and bent. That is, grinding barley or peas, so that powdery fine materials account for about 60% and millet granular coarse powder accounts for 40%. The qu is pressed into bricks, which is convenient for accumulation, transportation and storage. The water content of the starter is 36-38%, and each piece weighs 3.2-3.5 kg.

(2) koji-making culture: the koji-making process focuses on arrangement, and the temperature of koji blank is controlled below 50℃. Before entering the room, adjust the temperature of the chamber to 15 ~ 20℃, and add chaff or rice husk to the ground. The distiller's yeast is placed horizontally in rows with an interval of 2 ~ 3cm and a row spacing of 3 ~ 4cm. Put reed stalks on each layer of qu, sprinkle coarse chaff, and put another layer of qu at an interval of 15cm. After 36 hours in summer and 72 hours in winter, the temperature can rise to 38 ~ 39℃. At this time, doors and windows can be opened to remove moisture, so as to lower the room temperature, and the thermal insulation material covered by the upper layer can be removed. The upper and lower layers of koji were turned over once and piled into three layers instead, and the arrangement spacing of koji blanks was widened to reduce the moisture and temperature of koji blanks, prevent bacteria from overgrowth, and dry the surface, so that koji could be fixed and formed (called mold drying). Dry the mold in time to prevent the flora from growing too thick, the curved skin from wrinkling and the moisture in the curved blank from volatilizing. The drying start temperature of the mold is 28 ~ 32℃, and the mold is dried for 2 ~ 3 days, once a day, and one layer is added. After airing for 2 ~ 3 days, the surface of the curved blank is no longer sticky, and the doors and windows are closed to enter the stage of damp fire. After 5 ~ 6 days in the koji room, the temperature of the product rises to 36 ~ 38℃, and then the reed stalks are removed, and the koji blank is increased from 5 layers to 6 layers with a spacing of 5 cm. Turn the koji once every 1 ~ 2 days, put the humidity twice a day, and open the window twice day and night, so that the product temperature rises and falls twice, and the temperature of the koji product rises from 38℃ to 45℃. Then enter the high-temperature stage, and keep the product temperature at 44 ~ 46℃ for 7 ~ 8 days, not higher than 48℃ or lower than 28 ~ 30℃, and turn 1 time every day. At the end of the high-temperature stage, 50 ~ 70% of the koji can be matured and can enter the post-fire stage, and the product temperature is reduced to 32 ~ 33℃ until the koji is no longer used. In this way, there are 10 ~ 20% tablets with moisture in the center, so it is advisable to evaporate at a slight temperature, and keep the room temperature at 32℃ and the product temperature at 28 ~ 30℃, so that the residual moisture in the center will continue to evaporate, keep the room temperature at 32℃ and reduce the spacing between tablets to 3.5 cm. Dry the song for a few days before playing, which is convenient for storage. Stacked in a cool and ventilated place to prevent fever.

3. Add songs. When the sorghum rice is cooled to 25 ~ 26℃, 62.5 kg of finely ground Daqu powder is added to 100 kg of sorghum, and then it is put into an alcohol fermentation tank, and 65 kg of cold boiled water is added to mix well. The temperature of the water tank is generally controlled at about 20 ~ 24℃.

4. Starch saccharification and alcohol fermentation. Saccharification and fermentation are carried out step by step after being put into the tank. On the third day, the product temperature can reach 30℃, and the fermentation reaches its peak on the fourth day, and the main fermentation is over. Seal the cylinder mouth with plastic film, and then cover it with straw mat to make it airtight. After that, the product temperature will gradually drop. Rake twice a day for three days before fermentation, seal with plastic film after three days, and keep the post-fermentation at 18 ~ 20℃ 15 days or more.

5. Acetic acid fermentation. The fermented mash is mixed with bran and chaff, and then put into a shallow tank for acetic acid fermentation. Seeds can be inoculated with fresh vinegar residue after acetic acid fermentation for three times on the third day, and the product temperature reaches 43 ~ 45℃. Inoculation amount is 10% of the material amount per tank. Put it in the middle and cover it with a straw curtain. After about 12 hours, the product can be heated to 4 1 ~ 42℃ and stirred once every morning and evening. It becomes hot on the 3rd to 4th day, and it starts to cool down on the 5th day, and turns into vinegar on the 8th day.

6. Add salt after ripening. After 8 days of acetic acid fermentation, the acetic acid matured. Adding salt can not only flavor, but also inhibit the excessive oxidation of acetic acid bacteria and reduce the temperature of fermented grains.

7. vinegar smoked. Put half of fermented vinegar residue into a fumigation tank, heat it to 70 ~ 80℃ with slow fire, cover the jar with a clay pot, stir it 1 time every day, and take it out after 4 days. The other half of the fermented grains were first added with the light vinegar that was soaked with vinegar last time, and then added with cold water until the total amount was twice the weight of the fermented grains. After soaking 12 hours, the fermented grains are drenched with vinegar. Add spices to the leached vinegar, heat it to about 80℃, put it in fermented grains, soak it for 10 hour, and then pour the vinegar. Leached smoked vinegar is a semi-finished product of mature vinegar. Every 100 kg of sorghum is controlled to leach about 400 kg of smoked vinegar. The remaining diluted vinegar can be soaked in vinegar fermented grains next time.

8. aging. Put raw vinegar in an outdoor tank, cover it when it rains or blows, expose it to the sun for three days and winter at night to get aged vinegar, and then filter to remove impurities and sell it.