Fu Vinegar

Fu Vinegar

　　Produced in Zhengyang, Henan. The making of Fu Vinegar begins at Mangzhong (Grain in Ear). First, barley and wheat are selected, then the chosen barley is boiled in water. Once it flowers, it is taken out and steamed in a basket. It is then spread out to dry and mixed with ground wheat bran — one jin (500g) of the mixture is combined with three liang (150g) of ancient well water to form koji bricks, which are placed in a fermentation pool. The pool is covered tightly with fresh wheat straw to allow natural fermentation. After fifteen days, the mixture is taken out of the pool. It is then crushed and transferred into jars at the start of the first dog days (Fu). Ideally, this transfer begins at 2 a.m., when there are no mosquitoes. All jars must be sealed by 9 a.m. the next morning. The sealed sand jars are then moved to the courtyard to be sun-dried and dewed for half a month. After that, the jar lids are opened one by one to check the fermentation progress. If the fermentation is good, the jars are resealed and continue to be sun-dried and dewed. By the time of Frost’s Descent, the first pressing of vinegar — known as “first vinegar” — is extracted. This is the highest quality. After this extraction, water is added, the mixture is resealed, and it undergoes another month of sun-drying and dewing before the second pressing, yielding “second vinegar.” After further water addition and sealing for some time, the third pressing yields “third vinegar.” Fu Vinegar, besides being used for consumption, can also be blended with traditional Chinese medicinal ingredients such as frankincense and borneol to make plaster. It has special therapeutic effects on treating fractures and bone fragmentation. Using Fu Vinegar to stir-fry wheat bran and warm it up provides significant relief for arthritis, abdominal pain, and bloating. Regular consumption of Fu Vinegar can strengthen the stomach, lower blood pressure, prevent encephalitis, and treat influenza. Applying Fu Vinegar to insect bites, boils, swelling, bruises from impacts, and other affected areas yields very good therapeutic results.