前言
大家好呀，今日我和大家分享一下我對糖醋理解
希望大家看完之後，可以自己自由調配出屬於自己和家庭味道的糖醋
其實每一個廚師對每一個菜式都有不同見解和理解
就好像你做數學解題一樣，每個學生解題方式都可能不同
就好像川菜裏面的糖醋，和港式粵菜裏面的糖醋做法都各有不同
糖醋的主題就是甜和酸，你只要調到一個甜酸味道，從某程度上已經成功
有些人喜歡比較甜，有些人喜歡比較酸，就要看你自己和家人喜歡食什麼
粵菜中常用到糖醋的菜式有：番茄炒蛋，廈門炒米，咕嚕肉，生炒骨，咕嚕魚塊
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
開始之前
我們先參考一下中國菜譜
根據1975年
由當時廚藝學校的教師和現職廚師編寫的中國菜譜
糖醋汁份量配料如下
糖醋
材料
白醋 500g
片糖 300g
鹽 19g
茄汁 35g
喼汁 35g
好啦！這個1975年版本，比較適合當時人的口味
今日是2024年，時代會進步，人對食物味道追求亦都會有所提高
我們只是作為參考。
我就分享一下我對這個配方的理解，純粹個人理解
白醋和片糖，屬於主材料
鹽是百味之母，在裏面的角色是中和作用
因為要突出酸和甜，所以鹽份量就不要多，只要有，但食不出鹹味就可以
就好像煲湯時候，你還未下鹽，甜味就是清甜
下鹽後產生中和作用之後，甜味會有所變化
川菜的看法，鹽有定味的作用
粵菜就講求和味，中和作用
喼汁 或稱英國黑醋，
最著名的是李派林品牌，在裏面的角色是增加複合性和層次感
茄汁
增加果酸和果糖，增加糖醋的顏色紅色，茄汁同時含有含有穀氨酸（Glutamic acid）起到提鮮的作用
這個屬於簡單版，
如果你追求傳統或者簡單，可以用這個版本去調配糖醋
至於甜味和酸味可以根據個人口味不同而改變
鹽的份量就要按片糖的比例增加或者減少
接著下來到自由創作時間
要自由創作不同口味的糖醋的話，就要先認識糖和醋
以下資料部份來自：<On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen> ，維基百科，百度百科
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
首先先認識糖的特性
糖分為許多類別，常用的有：
葡萄糖，蔗糖，果糖
葡萄糖和果糖都是簡單的單糖
食糖（蔗糖）就是雙糖，由葡萄糖和果糖組成
葡萄糖：又稱為右旋糖
葡萄糖甜度：70
常見於：麥芽糖, 蜂蜜和其他果實。
焦糖化反應：150度
還原糖類
果糖：又稱為左旋糖
果糖甜度：140
常見於：蜂蜜和其他果實
焦糖化反應：105度
另外要注意：果糖加熱到60度或以上，甜度會減一半
還原糖類
蔗糖（食用糖）：蔗糖是一個葡萄糖分子和通過糖苷鍵連接果糖分子組成的雙糖。
蔗糖甜度： 100
焦糖化反應：170度
蔗糖在160左右开始融化
非還原糖
蔗糖溶液若呈酸性，加热时蔗糖就会分解成葡萄糖和果糖
蔗糖可以通過水解，加熱分解成葡萄糖和果糖
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
（甜度以庶糖為100的單位計算）
焦糖化反應
簡單來說就是糖加熱到特定溫度以上，就會產生焦糖化。焦糖化會產生令人愉悅的化學物質和香味
同時如果把焦糖和含有蛋白質和氨基酸成分的食材一同烹飪的話，就會產生梅納褐變反應。
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
還原糖類
是指具有還原性的糖類
梅納歇變反應，美拉德反應 （Maillard reaction）
是羰基化合物（还原糖类）和氨基化合物（氨基酸和蛋白质）间的反应
和焦糖化反應一樣都會產生令人愉悅的化合物和香味
含氨基的化合物和羰基化合物在加热时发生的聚合、缩合等反应，最终生成棕色甚至是棕黑色的大分子物质类黑精或称拟黑素。
就像燒烤的時候，加蜜糖去烤雞翼，加熱的時候就會產生一粒粒黑色的東西，那些東西就是梅納褐變反應產生的化合物，那當然不能過分地加熱，過份加熱，會變成烤焦黑炭雞翼
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
對糖的特性已經有一定認識
然後我們再認識一下中國菜常用的糖的品種
製做食糖原材料
世界上多數以甘蔗類和甜菜類為原材料
中國地區
甘蔗類
廣西是中國蔗糖生產的主要地區，還有其他如廣東雲南等地都是生產庶糖類。
甜菜類
以内蒙古和新疆两地为主
可以選擇這些主要生產地區的糖
片糖，糖磚，糖塊
又分為三個品種:
分別是冰片糖、紅片糖和老紅片糖
冰片糖又稱黃片糖，
味道像黃冰糖一樣，比較清甜，清潤
多用來製作糖水，中國涼茶和甜品像黃冰糖一樣使用
冰片糖是华南地区广州、港澳、珠江三角洲，粤西和广西一带粤语流行区产量较大，销路较广，而又深受喜爱的一种糖品。把制冰糖时剩下的结晶母液（废蜜）加热浓缩，再加入酸液，使其部分转化为单糖利于以后成型。浓缩后的糖液经搅拌、落网、划线、冷却、离网、分片、分类等工序生产而成。色泽金黄和明净，表面富有蜡状光泽，截面均匀地分在上、中、下三层，其中上下两层是组织较密实的结块，中间一层是粒度较小的蔗糖结晶组成的“砂线”。
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香港餐廳酒樓多數都用來製作港式糖醋汁
紅片糖是以甘蔗為原料，經提汁、澄清、煮煉，
完全保留甘蔗原有風味和營養物質；
紅片糖屬於一種非分蜜糖，即未經過分蜜處理製成的糖,
現代化工藝
現在中國市場售賣的紅糖多數都是現代化工藝製成
使用白砂糖为原料加工而成的片状糖制品
因為大多數大型製糖工廠多數都是製作白冰糖，和精製白砂糖。
為減少成本，多使用白砂糖制做。
如果不知道他的製作過程可以看一下他的成份表，
多使用砂糖和水。
有一些廠家會添加色素。
傳統工藝
傳統製作方法是將甘蔗壓出汁液，除去泥、細菌及纖維雜質後，以小火熬煮5至6小時，高濃度的糖漿在冷卻後凝固，成糖磚。這種傳統製法保留了甘蔗原有的營養，帶有一股焦糖味。
如何分辨傳統工藝和現代化工藝
主要看標籤上的的產品執行標準和成分配料表
現代化工藝
產品執行標準：GB 13104
成份配料表：白砂糖或赤砂糖，水
傳統工藝
產品執行標準：GB/T 35885
成份配料表：甘蔗
GB： 國家標準
QB： 企業標準
Q/YXXX: 企業標準要求嚴格過國家標準， XXX是公司名字
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比紅片糖熬製時間更長
顏色比紅糖深
礦物質含量比紅片糖高
可以用來製作港式的黑醋汁，黑醋骨，只要把主材料改為陳醋和黑糖即可
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沖繩黑糖
在亞洲地區算是不錯的黑糖，因為種植的甘蔗近海邊，吸收海水中的礦物質成長。
但如果海水被污染的話就有可能令到他們的甘蔗有污染的可能性，例如核輻射洩漏到海水中。
南美洲黑糖
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主要用大麥製造，是中國古代主要的糖類
在港式粵菜中多數會用作烤雞，炸子雞，燒鴨，燒鵝，上皮水用。
可以令到食材經過風乾之後，經烤焗或油炸會令到食材更加香脆
一些香港酒樓會添加在糖醋汁裏，目的是增加糖醋汁的複合性，令甜味更有層次
皮水：多數使用米醋，大紅浙醋，麥芽糖加水混合而成。
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材料：甘蔗或甜菜制成
製作工藝分為現代化工藝和傳統工藝
傳統工藝製作過程
甘蔗榨汁，甘蔗汁加入石灰，蛋白，動物血液等等..熬煮加熱撇除浮面的雜質，（這個方法原理比較像製作高級清湯的時候加入雞胸，鴨胸肉蓉撇除湯裏面的雜質一樣），熬到水分快乾，倒入錐形陶模具，攪拌令其冷卻結晶成粗糖，外層被糖漿包裹，還未作分蜜處理。陶模下方有一個小孔, 蜜汁會從中流出，這個是古代的分蜜處理方法，現在多使用離心機直接分蜜。分蜜處理完之後就到最後澄清脫色，在陶模上封上濕的黃泥，糖漿會從小孔中慢慢流出，糖蜜脫落過程耗時一個月到幾個月不等，途中要更換濕黃泥。但用這樣的方法製成的糖比較黃以及粗粒。
另外中國古書中<天工開物 作者：宋應星>亦有記載，當中的黃泥水淋糖法。
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碳化糖
原理和傳統工藝差不多，甘蔗榨汁加入石灰加熱除去雜質，用離心機分離糖蜜，製成粗糖。
之後重新把粗糖制成糖漿，加入碳粒，碳質脫色劑，活性炭，脫色增白。最後過濾碳粒。
經活性炭脫色增白叫做碳化糖。一般香港及海外地區市場上售賣的都是碳化糖
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另一種叫硫化糖售價比碳化糖便宜，質量比碳化糖差。
中國市場售賣的食糖多是硫化糖，
硫化糖是使用二氧化硫作為脫色增白。
合理使用二氧化硫不會對人體健康造成危害，但長期超限量接觸二氧化硫可能導致人類呼吸系統疾病及多組織損傷
一般食物標籤上都會有說明，等級在精製，優級以下，一級或二級，都是硫化糖
選購的時候建議選購一些大品牌。硫化糖放久會變黃。
白冰糖，单晶冰糖
使用食糖和水加工而製成，加工的食糖類別可以是硫化糖和碳化糖。
一般很少會使用，多數使用黃冰糖
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有兩個製造方法一種是用食糖加水製作。
另一種是使用蔗汁，去除雜質後，淆煮，結晶而成。
生产工艺分为吊线法冰糖（成品分为冰柱和冰边，会有棉线、纸片等杂质）和盆晶法（全部冰糖均沿结晶盆结晶，成品较纯净）
至於如何分別只能夠從成品中試味看一下有沒有甘蔗的味道。
或者看成份表原材料，多數是甘蔗。
用途：煮糖水，甜品，炆，燜煮，炒糖色。
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古代人類發現酒同時也發現醋，
酿酒是要液體避免接觸空氣，
酿醋就是要酒精和空氣接觸。
醋是酒精，氧氣，醋酸菌經發酵而成。
醋酸菌需要氧气，并在酒精表面形成，
在表面會形成一層薄膜称为“醋母”。
醋的特性
醋具有防腐作用，古時人類用醋來作為天然防腐劑
醋具有有一半的親脂和一半親水性，
因此可以溶解一些親脂性物質，如香草和香料，
所以一些廚師會在糖醋汁中添加香料增加風味。
醋含有氨基酸，對菜式可以起到提鮮作用
醋也可以去除油污，在中國一些地方會用白醋來清洗廚房的油漬。
醋的種類
米醋
使用大米釀製而成。
香港餐廳酒樓多使用汕頭米醋來製作糖醋汁，因為成本便宜，但香味比較刺鼻。
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使用純酒精乙醇發酵而成。
用途：清潔，泡腳，洗面，浸泡菜，浸水果製成水果醋，泡薑蒜
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以甘肅武威市云晓牌生產為佳，
熏醋用优质玉米、麸皮、大麦、小麦、豌豆等上乘原料，用传统发酵工艺和现代科学技术，多种菌混合发酵、循环套淋、熏制、调香勾兑而成。
凉州熏醋香、甜，甜中带着些酸味。多把醋与辣椒当做主要调味品，用来吃拌面，饺子，过桥米线，麻辣烫，砂锅等等
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以陈酿工艺而得名，为山西省特产之一，已有3000余年的历史，素有“天下第一醋”的盛誉，以色、香、醇、浓、酸五大特征著称于世。。主要产于太原市、清徐县等酿造地。以优质红高粱为主要原料，以大麦、豌豆为曲。采用低温浓醪发酵，高温快速醋化，温火熏烤醋醅，伏晒、捞冰陈酿等工艺，成品清香，酸绵，无刺激感。
其色浓味美，酸而回甜，有独特的香味，为调味佳品。因酸度低，尚可冲汤代茶，有滋补之功，常饮益寿，有“金浆玉露”之誉。
老陳醋也有年份之分，年份越高，醋的酸度越高，乙酸含量越高，口感越柔和，醋味越濃，色澤越深，越為濃稠。
年份越高的陳醋對降血脂，軟化血管的功效越好。
年份一般在醋上面都會有標籤。
可以作為川菜涼拌菜，酸辣土豆絲調料，港式粵菜中的黑醋汁使用，也可作為糖醋汁中的輔助材料使用。常用作山西菜，晉菜調料。
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保宁醋是四川省南充市阆中市保宁镇的地方传统名优特产，属于中国四大名醋之一。
川菜涼菜，炒菜多使用保寧醋
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鎮江香醋
鎮江香醋又稱鎮江醋，中國四大名醋之一，和山西老陳醋同屬北方名醋。「香」字道明鎮江醋比起其他種類的醋來說，重點在有一種獨特的香氣。鎮江醋屬於烏醋，其製作方法，是以糯米釀成米酒，再加入醋酸菌，採用固態分層發酵方法精釀陳置而成，一般需要釀製近三個星期，並且需要經過半年以上甚至5年的時間陳釀而成。
港式粵菜酒樓糖醋汁作為輔助材料使用
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永春老醋，福建省泉州市永春县特产，中国国家地理标志产品。
早在北宋初年。永春民间即开始酿造老醋，其酿造技术独特。北宋初期，当时永春民间的富有人家把老醋、久熟地、久六味视为居家“三宝”。永春老醋以优质糯米、红粬、芝麻等原料，用独特配方、精工发酵、陈酿多年而成。它具有色泽棕黑、酸中带甘、醇香爽口、久藏不腐等特点。既是质地优良的调味品，又兼有治病妙用，可防治腮腺炎、胆道蛔虫、感冒等疾病。
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浙醋
浙醋，又稱大紅浙醋，是一種起源於中國浙江的食醋，色澤紅潤，不少人在吃魚翅羹時，都會加入少許浙醋中和魚翅的腥味。另外香港人亦有在小籠包、鍋貼、蛇羮、碗仔翅等加入浙醋調味。
用大曲发酵，经陈坯淋醋，三次杀菌制成。其色如琥珀，酯液澄清，香气浓郁，酸味柔和，含有醇醛酸、糖脂香的特有风味。
港式粵菜當紅炸子雞中的皮水就是使用大紅浙醋。
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三汇特醋是中国十大名醋之一，三汇醋厂的前身叫华昌醋庄。三汇特醋是四川省传统名特产品，始于明朝末年，距今已有近400年的历史，用60余味名贵中药材配方制曲发醋。产品棕红鲜亮，质地澄清，久存不变质，不但是调味佳品，还有防治多种疾病、强身健体之功。
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独流老醋，天津市静海区独流镇特产，中国国家地理标志产品。
独流老醋是中国三大传统名醋之一，与山西陈醋、镇江米醋齐名。因产于天津市静海区独流镇，所以得名。独流老醋历史悠久，已有300多年的酿造历史，明嘉靖年间编撰的《河间府志》中有关于“春分酿酒拌醋”的习俗和“鱼酢”的记载。据《天津大辞典》记载：“独流老醋曾为宫廷贡品，与山西陈醋、镇江香醋并称为中国三大名醋”。清乾隆四十一年（1776年）三月，乾隆东巡沿南运河行至独流时，被飘来的阵阵醋香所陶醉，便命地方官员送来品尝，果然品味绝佳。独流老醋由此成为贡品，名声鹊起。
此醋用高粱米、圆粒大米、大麦面、食盐、麸皮、谷糠等为原料制成。醇香浓厚，味甜柔和，闻名国内。
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屏山套醋产于四川宜賓屏山县，原名屏山晒醋，又名药曲味醋。它问世于清乾隆年间。据记载，套醋为太洪寺高僧所创制。寺僧因常饮此醋，得享高龄百余岁，此酿醋方法传到民间，后继不绝。它以大米麸皮和平共处108味草药制而成。
屏山套醋色泽棕红，酸而柔醇，爽口回味，异香扑鼻，久存不变。此醋既可烹饪调味，又可代茶汤小酌。它有沁人脾胃、解烦渴、消饱胀、增进食欲之功，还有降血压、止咳嗽、去感冒时疫之效。故屏山套醋闻名遐迩，被人们誉为“金浆之露”。
泺口醋
为山东著名的调味品，洛口醋因其选料精致，工艺独具，陈酿老道，气味清香，酸味柔美，食药兼备，耐储备用，故销路甚广，历久不衰。得食其味者无不交口盛赞，得知难忘
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界中米醋产于河南省南阳市宛城区瓦店镇界中街，已有300多年的历史。
界中米醋呈深褐色，酸中带香，烹调开汤，久存不腐。不仅是调味佳品，且具有健胃。杀菌、降血压、消肿毒等医疗功效
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葡萄酒醋, 葡萄醋
葡萄酒醋的原料是经过酵母发酵的葡萄汁，带有酵母发酵的芳香、美味副产品，表现出类似葡萄酒的特色。葡萄酒醋和苹果醋都含有奶油香气化合物（醋双乙酰、丁酸）。意大利黑醋和西班牙雪利酒醋都是特种葡萄酒醋。
葡萄含有丰富的葡萄多酚，如原花青素、白藜芦醇、单宁等，营养价值很高，是水果中含复合铁元素最多的水果，是贫血患者的营养食品。常食葡萄对神经衰弱者和过度疲劳者均有益处。
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苹果醋的原料是经酵母发酵的苹果汁，因此含有苹果香味。苹果含有大量苹果酸，苹果醋酿制时会经历苹果乳酸发酵法、于是香气变浓，酸味也变得柔和。苹果醋含果肉浆和单宁酸，醋汁显得混浊，主要是单宁酸和蛋白质的复合物。
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水果醋有的只是拿普通醋浸泡苹果等新鲜水果调味而成，不过也有些是以新鲜果汁发酵酿成。凤梨汁和椰子汁都是常用材料。水果醋很有趣，能借酒精发酵和醋酸发酵来展现水果的风味。
麦芽醋
基本上，麦芽醋就是以未添啤酒花酿成的啤酒所制成的醋，也就是说，基本原料就是谷粒和发芽的大麦。麦芽醋含有大麦麦芽的韵味。爱喝麦芽啤酒的英国人认定的标准醋就是本名“麦酒醋”(alegar)的麦芽醋。
它的味道非常独特，很多喜欢吃炸鱼和薯条的人都非常熟悉。 这种醋除了用作调味品外，还常用于酸辣酱，而且可以添加到腌制混合物中。 强烈的香味使麦芽醋不太适合更温和、更精致的酱汁和调味料。
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美国的蒸馏醋就是以蒸馏酒精酿成的白醋；英国的蒸馏醋则以不含啤酒花的啤酒为原料，经醋酸发酵酿成醋汁，接着再蒸馏以浓缩乙酸。類似中國的白醋
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意大利黑醋
正宗的意大利黑醋名为“巴萨米克红酒醋”(aceto balsamico)，这种黑醋独一无二，颜色几乎全黑，又香又浓有如糖浆，风味复杂之极，价格也昂贵无比，所有的特色均来自酿制时必须耗费几十年来发酵、陈化和装桶浓缩。这种黑醋自中世纪起就一直在意大利北方艾米利亚-罗马涅区酿制。当地人会酿造私房醋，用途广泛，也可用在滋补或调味上。直到20世纪80年代，世界其他地区才发现意大利有这种黑醋，因此促成几种没有那么精巧也没有那么昂贵的仿制品。唯有正宗的黑醋才能在商标上标示“tradizionale”（传统）字样。
传统意大利黑醋
传统意大利黑醋的原料是酿酒用葡萄，种类包括Trebbiano白葡萄、 红葡萄等。葡萄汁原料经沸煮浓缩，熬掉约1/3的液体。沸煮能去除水分，将果汁浓缩至糖、酸含量为40%左右，接着糖类和蛋白质间会产生褐变反应，制造出浓郁风味和深沉颜色。接下来把果汁装进木桶，这是第一个桶，往后还要接连换桶，越换越小。桶通常以木材制成（橡木、要木、刺柏木)，装桶后放在阁楼之类的地方，暴露在当地多变且极端的气候中。夏季暑热时分，浓缩糖分和氨基酸彼此作用，产生较常见于烘烤、褐变食品的香气分子；同时，发酵产物和副产品也相互反应，酿出令人陶醉的混合液，水分经蒸发作用不断减少，含渣果汁浓度提高（木桶成分每年约逸失10%)时，每一桶都会从年份较低的桶中补充含渣葡萄汁。最后酿成的醋，是取自年份最老的木桶，平均醋龄达12年或更久。要酿出250毫升的传统意大利黑醋，约需用掉36千克葡萄。
香醋可分為以下三種：
以正宗的傳統工藝釀製的香醋，只有這種香醋可以在歐盟範圍內合法的描述為「傳統香醋」。
商品級（commercial grade）香醋，這種香醋產自大規模的工業化生產線。
調味品級（condimento grade）香醋，通常由以上兩種香醋混合而成。
“调味”等级的黑醋，酿制速度远比传统等级要快得多，浓度和风味则都远不如传统等级那般细致。在大量生产的黑醋中，品质较佳的产品含有若干浓缩的含渣葡萄汁和年份较轻的黑醋，需陈化1年左右。平价黑醋只不过是用焦糖调味并以食糖增甜的寻常葡萄酒醋。
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西班牙雪利酒醋
有一种醋介于寻常葡萄酒醋和意大利黑醋之间，那就是采用多层木桶陈酿（Solera-aged）的西班牙雪利酒醋。这种醋的原料是年份较轻的雪利酒，酒液中没有残留糖分。就像雪利酒和意大利黑醋，雪利酒醋也会混入几批年份较老的基酒，然后放在一连串半满木桶中经历几年或几十年的熟成。酿制雪利酒醋时，会以蒸发提高浓度，并让酒醋长期接触微生物和木料，因此甘鲜味氨基酸、有机酸以及黏稠甘油的含量都很高。采用老式多层木桶陈酿法处理，可以把乙酸浓度提升到10%或更高。西班牙雪利酒醋的颜色和甘鲜滋味都不如意大利黑醋那么浓醇，不过和其他葡萄酒醋相比，风味和坚果味都明显更为浓烈。
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醋汁強度和乙酸含量
廚師創作食譜的時候或參考食譜做菜時，若主要材料是醋，
不單止看使用什麼牌子地區的醋，還要看一下乙酸含量才決定。
乙酸含量關乎的酸度
以下是香港粵菜茶餐廳酒樓調制糖醋汁常使用的材料
主材料
汕頭米醋，片糖
輔助材料（增加複合味，層次感）
冰糖，麥芽糖，陳醋，鎮江香醋，ok汁，hp汁， 李派林喼汁，白砂糖
果酸，果糖
檸檬片，話梅乾，醃製酸梅子，西檸汁，西檸，茄汁，山楂片
香辛料
香葉，辣椒，薑，辣椒乾
食用色素
日落黃， 紅色
有興趣自己調配糖醋汁的話可以參考一下
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
後記
這篇文章由六月開始寫到現在，中間有刪刪改改，有時推倒重寫。
我己經盡量把複雜的食物和科學知識簡化，令大家容易明白。
如果寫得太複雜我想我要把整本書的內容或者整個維基百度裏面的內容搬過來。
這樣做不太現實，這編文章應該是我花費最長時間編寫的文章。
文章太長，我猜應該沒有人看完吧！
如果你看完的話，可以在我網站留言或者視頻下方留言支持一下
英文版是用翻譯網站，直接翻譯，名詞上面可能有偏差，如果看不明白的話可以留言
**Translation to English**
*Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG*
**Preface**
Hello everyone! Today, I’d like to share my understanding of sweet and sour sauce.
After reading this, I hope you can freely adjust the recipe to create a sweet and sour flavor that suits your family’s taste.
Every chef has their own interpretation of dishes, much like solving math problems—different students use different methods.
For example, Sichuan-style sweet and sour sauce differs from Cantonese-style versions.
The core of sweet and sour sauce lies in balancing sweetness and acidity. Once you achieve this balance, you’ve already succeeded.
Some prefer sweeter flavors, others prefer tangier ones—it depends on your family’s preferences.
Cantonese dishes that use sweet and sour sauce include: tomato scrambled eggs, Xiamen-style fried rice, sweet and sour pork, crispy fried spare ribs, and sweet and sour fish.
**Before We Begin**
Let’s first reference a classic Chinese cookbook from 1975, written by culinary school teachers and professional chefs.
The original sweet and sour sauce recipe is as follows:
**Sweet and Sour Sauce (1975 Version)**
- White vinegar: 500g
- Slab sugar (片糖): 300g
- Salt: 19g
- Ketchup: 35g
- Worcestershire sauce (喼汁): 35g
This 1975 recipe suits the taste preferences of that era. Today, in 2024, tastes have evolved, so we’ll use this as a reference while adapting it.
**My Interpretation of the Recipe**
- **White vinegar and slab sugar**: The core ingredients for sweetness and acidity.
- **Salt**: Balances flavors. Use just enough to enhance sweetness and sourness without making it salty.
- **Worcestershire sauce** (e.g., Lea & Perrins): Adds complexity and depth.
- **Ketchup**: Provides fruitiness, color, and umami (via glutamic acid).
This is a simplified version. Adjust sweetness and acidity to taste, and modify salt based on the sugar ratio.
**Creative Exploration**
To create your own sweet and sour sauce, first understand the science of sugar and vinegar.
**Sugar Basics**
*Sources: On Food and Cooking, Wikipedia, Baidu Encyclopedia*
- **Glucose** (dextrose): Sweetness level 70 (sucrose = 100). Found in honey, fruits. Caramelizes at 150°C.
- **Fructose** (levulose): Sweetness level 140. Caramelizes at 105°C. Loses half its sweetness when heated above 60°C.
- **Sucrose** (table sugar): A disaccharide of glucose + fructose. Caramelizes at 170°C. Hydrolyzes into glucose and fructose when heated with acid.
**Caramelization & Maillard Reaction**
- Caramelization: Sugar heated to high temperatures creates aromatic compounds.
- Maillard reaction: Reaction between sugars and proteins/amino acids, producing complex flavors (e.g., grilled honey-glazed chicken wings).
**Common Sugars in Chinese Cuisine**
- **Slab sugar** (片糖): Includes *冰片糖* (clear, mild) and *紅片糖* (traditional, unrefined). Used in Cantonese sweet and sour sauce.
- **Brown sugar**: Traditional vs. modern (made from white sugar + additives). Check labels for authenticity.
- **Maltose** (麥芽糖): Used in Cantonese roast meats for crispiness.
**Vinegar Basics**
- **Types**: Rice vinegar, black vinegar (e.g., Zhenjiang香醋), Chinkiang vinegar, fruit vinegars.
- **Roles**: Preservative, flavor enhancer, degreaser.
**Regional Vinegars in China**
- **Shanxi Aged Vinegar** (山西老陳醋): Rich, mellow, aged for years.
- **Zhenjiang Vinegar** (鎮江香醋): Dark, aromatic, used in Cantonese cooking.
- **Bao Ning Vinegar** (保寧醋): Sichuan-style, ideal for cold dishes.
**Global Vinegars**
- **Balsamic Vinegar**: Italian, aged for decades, syrupy and complex.
- **Apple Cider Vinegar**: Fruity, mild acidity.
- **Malt Vinegar**: British, used in fish and chips.
**Cantonese Sweet and Sour Sauce Tips**
- Base: Rice vinegar + slab sugar.
- Enhancements: Maltose, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, plum.
- Optional: Spices (bay leaf, ginger), food coloring.
**Final Notes**
This article took months to refine, simplifying complex food science for accessibility. If you made it this far, thank you! For any translation discrepancies, feel free to ask.
*Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG*
---
**Notes**:
- Attachments (images) are referenced but not included here.
- Technical terms (e.g., 喼汁 → Worcestershire sauce) are localized for clarity.
- Scientific concepts (e.g., caramelization, Maillard reaction) retain standard terminology.
Another translated version
Preface
Hello everyone! Today, I'd like to share with you my understanding of sweet and sour flavor. I hope that after reading this, you will be able to freely prepare a sweet and sour sauce that suits your own and your family's taste.
In fact, every chef has different insights and understandings of each dish. Just like when you solve a math problem, each student may have a different way of solving it. Similarly, the preparation methods of sweet and sour flavor in Sichuan cuisine and Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine are also different.
The theme of sweet and sour flavor is sweetness and sourness. As long as you adjust the flavor to a balance of sweet and sour, to a certain extent, you have already succeeded. Some people like it sweeter, while others prefer it more sour. It depends on your own and your family's preferences.
Common dishes in Cantonese cuisine that use sweet and sour sauce include: Stir-fried Tomatoes with Eggs, Xiamen Fried Rice Noodles, Sweet and Sour Pork, Stir-fried Spareribs, and Sweet and Sour Fish Fillets.
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
Before We Start
Let's first refer to a Chinese cookbook. According to a Chinese cookbook compiled in 1975 by teachers from a culinary school at that time and current chefs, the ingredients and quantities of the sweet and sour sauce are as follows:
Sweet and Sour Sauce
Ingredients
500g White Vinegar
300g Slab Sugar
19g Salt
35g Tomato Ketchup
35g Worcestershire Sauce
Well! This version from 1975 was more suitable for the taste of people at that time. Today is 2024, and as times progress, people's pursuit of the taste of food will also improve. We are just using this as a reference.
I'd like to share my understanding of this recipe, which is purely my personal opinion.
White vinegar and slab sugar are the main ingredients.
Salt is the mother of all flavors, and its role here is to neutralize. Since we want to highlight the sourness and sweetness, the amount of salt should not be too much. As long as there is a little bit of it, and you can't taste the saltiness. It's like when you're making soup. Before you add salt, the sweetness is pure and fresh. After adding salt and the neutralization occurs, the sweetness will change. In the view of Sichuan cuisine, salt has the function of fixing the flavor. In Cantonese cuisine, it emphasizes harmony and the neutralizing effect.
Worcestershire sauce, also known as British malt vinegar, the most famous brand is Lea & Perrins. Its role here is to increase the complexity and layering.
Tomato ketchup adds fruit acid and fructose, and gives the sweet and sour sauce a red color. At the same time, tomato ketchup contains glutamic acid, which plays a role in enhancing the freshness.
This is a simple version. If you pursue tradition or simplicity, you can use this version to prepare the sweet and sour sauce. As for the sweetness and sourness, they can be adjusted according to personal taste. The amount of salt should be increased or decreased according to the proportion of the slab sugar.
Next, it's time for free creation. If you want to freely create sweet and sour sauces with different flavors, you need to first understand sugar and vinegar.
The following information is partially from , Wikipedia, and Baidu Baike.
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
First, let's understand the characteristics of sugar. Sugar is divided into many categories, and the commonly used ones are: glucose, sucrose, and fructose.
Both glucose and fructose are simple monosaccharides. Table sugar (sucrose) is a disaccharide, composed of glucose and fructose.
Glucose: Also known as dextrose.
Sweetness of glucose: 70
Common in: Maltose, honey, and other fruits.
Caramelization temperature: 150°C
Reducing sugar
Fructose: Also known as levulose.
Sweetness of fructose: 140
Common in: Honey and other fruits.
Caramelization temperature: 105°C
In addition, it should be noted that when fructose is heated to 60°C or above, its sweetness will be halved.
Reducing sugar
Sucrose (edible sugar): Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule connected by a glycosidic bond.
Sweetness of sucrose: 100
Caramelization temperature: 170°C
Sucrose begins to melt at around 160°C.
Non-reducing sugar
If the sucrose solution is acidic, when heated, sucrose will decompose into glucose and fructose. Sucrose can be decomposed into glucose and fructose through hydrolysis and heating.
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
(The sweetness is calculated with sucrose as the unit of 100.)
Caramelization Reaction
Simply put, when sugar is heated to a specific temperature or above, caramelization will occur. Caramelization will produce pleasant chemicals and flavors. At the same time, if caramel is cooked together with ingredients containing proteins and amino acids, the Maillard reaction will occur.
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
Reducing Sugars
Refers to sugars with reducing properties.
The Maillard Reaction
It is a reaction between carbonyl compounds (reducing sugars) and amino compounds (amino acids and proteins). Like the caramelization reaction, it will also produce pleasant compounds and flavors. Compounds containing amino groups and carbonyl compounds will undergo polymerization, condensation, and other reactions when heated, eventually forming large-molecule substances such as brown or even dark brown melanoidins.
Just like when grilling, adding honey to roast chicken wings. When heated, small black particles will be produced. Those particles are the compounds produced by the Maillard reaction. Of course, you can't overheat it. If you overheat it, the chicken wings will become charred like black charcoal.
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
After having a certain understanding of the characteristics of sugar, let's then understand the varieties of sugar commonly used in Chinese cuisine.
Raw Materials for Making Edible Sugar
Most of the world uses sugarcane and sugar beet as raw materials.
In China:
Sugarcane
Guangxi is the main region for sucrose production in China. Other regions such as Guangdong and Yunnan also produce sucrose.
Sugar Beet
Mainly in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang. You can choose sugar from these main production regions.
Slab Sugar, Sugar Bricks, Sugar Cubes
They are divided into three varieties: crystal sugar, red slab sugar, and old red slab sugar.
Crystal sugar, also known as yellow slab sugar, tastes like yellow rock sugar, relatively sweet and refreshing. It is often used to make sweet soups, Chinese herbal teas, and desserts, just like yellow rock sugar. Crystal sugar is produced in large quantities, has a wide market, and is very popular in the Cantonese-speaking areas such as Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Macau, the Pearl River Delta, western Guangdong, and Guangxi in southern China. It is made by heating and concentrating the mother liquor (waste honey) left after making rock sugar, and then adding an acid solution to partially convert it into monosaccharides for easier molding later. The concentrated sugar solution is produced through processes such as stirring, netting, marking, cooling, removing from the net, slicing, and classification. It has a golden and clear color, a waxy luster on the surface, and is evenly divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower. The upper and lower layers are dense agglomerates, and the middle layer is a "sand line" composed of smaller sucrose crystals.
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Red Slab Sugar, Brown Sugar, Old Red Slab Sugar, Traditional Brown Sugar
Most Hong Kong restaurants and teahouses use it to make Hong Kong-style sweet and sour sauce. Red slab sugar is made from sugarcane through processes such as juice extraction, clarification, and boiling, completely retaining the original flavor and nutrients of sugarcane. Red slab sugar belongs to a kind of non-separated honey sugar, that is, sugar made without going through the honey separation treatment.
Modern Process
Most of the brown sugar sold in the Chinese market today is made through modern processes. It is a flake-shaped sugar product processed from white granulated sugar. Because most large-scale sugar factories mainly produce white rock sugar and refined white granulated sugar. To reduce costs, white granulated sugar is mostly used for production. If you don't know its production process, you can look at its ingredient list, which mostly uses granulated sugar and water. Some manufacturers will add pigments.
Traditional Process
The traditional production method is to press the sugarcane to extract the juice, remove mud, bacteria, and fiber impurities, and then boil it over a low fire for 5 to 6 hours. The high-concentration syrup solidifies after cooling to form a sugar brick. This traditional production method retains the original nutrients of the sugarcane and has a caramel flavor.
How to Distinguish between Traditional and Modern Processes
Mainly look at the product execution standard and ingredient list on the label.
Modern Process
Product Execution Standard: GB 13104
Ingredient List: White Granulated Sugar or Brown Sugar, Water
Traditional Process
Product Execution Standard: GB/T 35885
Ingredient List: Sugarcane
GB: National Standard
QB: Enterprise Standard
Q/YXXX: The enterprise standard is stricter than the national standard, and XXX is the company name.
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It is boiled for a longer time than red slab sugar, has a darker color than brown sugar, and a higher mineral content than red slab sugar. It can be used to make Hong Kong-style black vinegar sauce and Black Vinegar Spareribs. Just change the main ingredients to aged vinegar and black sugar.
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Products with the Same Process in Other Regions outside China
Okinawa Black Sugar
It is a relatively good black sugar in Asia because the sugarcane is planted near the sea and absorbs the minerals in the seawater during growth. However, if the seawater is polluted, there is a possibility that their sugarcane will be contaminated, for example, in the case of nuclear radiation leakage into the seawater.
South American Black Sugar
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Maltose
Mainly made from barley, it was the main type of sugar in ancient China. In Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine, it is mostly used for roast chicken, crispy fried chicken, roast duck, roast goose, as the skin glaze. It can make the ingredients more crispy after air-drying, roasting, or frying. Some Hong Kong teahouses will add it to the sweet and sour sauce to increase the complexity of the sweet and sour sauce and make the sweetness more layered.
Skin Glaze: Mostly made by mixing rice vinegar, Zhejiang red vinegar, maltose, and water.
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Materials: Made from sugarcane or sugar beet
The production process is divided into modern process and traditional process.
Traditional Production Process
Squeeze the sugarcane to extract the juice. Add lime, egg white, animal blood, etc. to the sugarcane juice. Boil and heat it, and skim off the impurities on the surface (this method is similar to adding chicken breast and duck breast meat puree to remove the impurities in the soup when making high-grade clear soup). Boil until the water is almost dry, pour it into a conical ceramic mold, stir to cool and crystallize it into raw sugar. The outer layer is wrapped in syrup and has not undergone the honey separation treatment yet. There is a small hole at the bottom of the ceramic mold, and the honey will flow out from it. This is the ancient honey separation treatment method. Now, a centrifuge is mostly used for direct honey separation. After the honey separation treatment, it comes to the final clarification and decolorization. Seal the wet yellow clay on the ceramic mold, and the syrup will slowly flow out from the small hole. The process of the sugar honey falling off takes from one month to several months, and the wet yellow clay needs to be replaced during this period. But the sugar made in this way is relatively yellow and coarse-grained. In addition, the "Method of Dripping Sugar with Yellow Mud Water" is also recorded in the ancient Chinese book by Song Yingxing.
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Carbonated Sugar
The principle is similar to the traditional process. Squeeze the sugarcane to extract the juice, add lime and heat to remove the impurities, and use a centrifuge to separate the molasses to make raw sugar. Then remelt the raw sugar into syrup, add carbon particles, carbon decolorizer, and activated carbon for decolorization and whitening. Finally, filter the carbon particles. The sugar decolorized and whitened by activated carbon is called carbonated sugar. Generally, the sugar sold in the Hong Kong and overseas markets is carbonated sugar.
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Another type is sulfured sugar, which is cheaper than carbonated sugar and of poorer quality. Most of the edible sugar sold in the Chinese market is sulfured sugar. Sulfured sugar uses sulfur dioxide for decolorization and whitening. The reasonable use of sulfur dioxide will not cause harm to human health, but long-term exposure to sulfur dioxide in excess of the limit may lead to respiratory diseases and multi-tissue damage in humans. Generally, there will be an indication on the food label. Grades below refined and premium, such as first grade or second grade, are all sulfured sugar. It is recommended to choose some big brands when purchasing. Sulfured sugar will turn yellow if stored for a long time.
White Rock Sugar, Single Crystal Rock Sugar
It is made by processing edible sugar and water. The types of edible sugar used for processing can be sulfured sugar and carbonated sugar. Generally, it is rarely used, and yellow rock sugar is mostly used.
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Yellow Rock Sugar, Old Rock Sugar, Traditional Rock Sugar, Polycrystalline Rock Sugar
There are two manufacturing methods. One is to make it from edible sugar and water. The other is to use sugarcane juice, remove the impurities, boil it, and let it crystallize. The production process is divided into the hanging thread method (the finished product is divided into ice columns and ice edges, and there will be impurities such as cotton threads and paper pieces) and the basin crystal method (all the rock sugar is crystallized along the crystallization basin, and the finished product is purer). As for how to distinguish them, you can only taste the finished product to see if there is the taste of sugarcane. Or look at the ingredient list. The raw material is mostly sugarcane. Uses: Making sweet soups, desserts, stewing, braising, and frying sugar color.
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Vinegar
Ancient humans discovered vinegar at the same time as they discovered wine. When making wine, the liquid needs to be kept away from air, while when making vinegar, alcohol needs to be in contact with air. Vinegar is made by the fermentation of alcohol, oxygen, and acetic acid bacteria. Acetic acid bacteria need oxygen and form on the surface of the alcohol, forming a layer of film on the surface called the "mother of vinegar".
Characteristics of Vinegar
Vinegar has the function of anti-corrosion. In ancient times, humans used vinegar as a natural preservative. Vinegar has half lipophilicity and half hydrophilicity, so it can dissolve some lipophilic substances, such as herbs and spices. Therefore, some chefs will add spices to the sweet and sour sauce to enhance the flavor. Vinegar contains amino acids, which can enhance the freshness of dishes. Vinegar can also remove oil stains. In some places in China, white vinegar is used to clean the oil stains in the kitchen.
Types of Vinegar
Rice Vinegar
It is brewed from rice. Most Hong Kong restaurants and teahouses use Shantou rice vinegar to make sweet and sour sauce because of its low cost, but its aroma is relatively pungent.
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White Vinegar
It is fermented from pure ethanol. Uses: Cleaning, soaking feet, washing face, soaking vegetables, making fruit vinegar by soaking fruits, soaking ginger and garlic.
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Liangzhou Smoked Vinegar
The Yunxiao brand produced in Wuwei City, Gansu Province is of good quality. Smoked vinegar is made from high-quality raw materials such as corn, wheat bran, barley, wheat, and peas. It is made through traditional fermentation processes and modern scientific and technological methods, with mixed fermentation of multiple bacteria, cyclic pouring, smoking, flavoring, and blending. Liangzhou smoked vinegar is fragrant and sweet, with a hint of sourness in the sweetness. Vinegar and chili are often used as the main seasonings for eating mixed noodles, dumplings, cross-bridge rice noodles, spicy hot pot, casserole, etc.
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Shanxi Aged Vinegar
It gets its name from the aging brewing process. As one of the special products of Shanxi Province, it has a history of more than 3,000 years. It has always enjoyed the reputation of "the Best Vinegar in the World" and is renowned worldwide for its five characteristics: color, aroma, mellowness, richness, and sourness. It is mainly produced in places such as Taiyuan City and Qingxu County. High-quality red sorghum is used as the main raw material, and barley and peas are used as the starter. Through processes such as low-temperature thick mash fermentation, high-temperature rapid acetification, slow-fire roasting of the vinegar grains, sun exposure during the dog days, and aging by skimming ice, the finished product has a delicate fragrance, a mellow and smooth sour taste, and no irritating sensation.
It has a rich color and a delicious taste, being sour with a sweet aftertaste and having a unique aroma, making it an excellent seasoning. Due to its low acidity, it can also be brewed with hot water as a substitute for tea, having the effect of nourishing the body. Regular consumption is beneficial for longevity, and it has the reputation of "Golden Essence and Jade Dew".
Aged vinegar also has different years of aging. The higher the year of aging, the higher the acidity of the vinegar, the higher the acetic acid content, the milder the taste, the stronger the vinegar flavor, the deeper the color, and the thicker it is.
The aged vinegar with a higher year of aging has a better effect on reducing blood lipids and softening blood vessels.
The year of aging is generally labeled on the vinegar.
It can be used as a seasoning for cold dishes in Sichuan cuisine, such as Spicy and Sour Shredded Potatoes, as the black vinegar sauce in Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine, and also as an auxiliary ingredient in sweet and sour sauce. It is commonly used as a seasoning for Shanxi cuisine and Jin cuisine.
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Baoning Vinegar
Baoning Vinegar is a local traditional famous and high-quality specialty in Baoning Town, Langzhong City, Nanchong City, Sichuan Province. It is one of the four famous vinegars in China.
Baoning Vinegar is often used in cold dishes and stir-fried dishes of Sichuan cuisine.
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Zhenjiang Xiang Vinegar
Zhenjiang Xiang Vinegar, also known as Zhenjiang Vinegar, is one of the four famous vinegars in China. Together with Shanxi Aged Vinegar, it belongs to the famous vinegars in northern China. The character "Xiang" (fragrance) indicates that compared with other types of vinegar, Zhenjiang Vinegar focuses on having a unique aroma. Zhenjiang Vinegar belongs to black vinegar. Its production method is to make rice wine from glutinous rice, then add acetic acid bacteria, and it is carefully brewed and aged through a solid-state layered fermentation method. It generally takes nearly three weeks to brew, and it needs to be aged for more than half a year or even up to 5 years.
It is used as an auxiliary ingredient in the sweet and sour sauce in Hong Kong-style Cantonese restaurants.
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Yongchun Aged Vinegar
Yongchun Aged Vinegar is a specialty of Yongchun County, Quanzhou City, Fujian Province, and a National Geographical Indication Product of China.
As early as the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, the folk people in Yongchun began to brew aged vinegar, and its brewing technology is unique. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, wealthy families in Yongchun regarded aged vinegar, processed rehmannia root, and processed six herbs as the "Three Treasures" of their households. Yongchun Aged Vinegar is made from high-quality raw materials such as glutinous rice, red yeast rice, and sesame seeds through a unique formula, elaborate fermentation, and aging for many years. It has the characteristics of a dark brown color, a sour taste with a hint of sweetness, a mellow and refreshing aroma, and it can be stored for a long time without spoiling. It is not only an excellent seasoning but also has the magical effect of treating diseases. It can prevent and treat mumps, biliary ascariasis, colds, and other diseases.
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Zhejiang Vinegar
Zhejiang Vinegar, also known as Dahu Hong Zhejiang Vinegar, is a type of vinegar originating from Zhejiang, China. It has a reddish-brown color. Many people add a little Zhejiang Vinegar to shark fin soup to neutralize the fishy smell of the shark fin. In addition, Hong Kong people also add Zhejiang Vinegar to season Xiaolongbao (steamed buns), pot stickers, snake soup, shredded shark fin soup, etc.
It is fermented with Daqu (a type of starter), and made through processes such as vinegar dripping from aged vinegar bricks and three sterilizations. It is as clear as amber in color, with a clear ester liquid, a rich aroma, a mild sour taste, and has a unique flavor containing alcohol aldehyde acid and sugar lipid fragrance.
The skin glaze for the popular crispy fried chicken in Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine uses Dahu Hong Zhejiang Vinegar.
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Sanhuite Vinegar
Sanhuite Vinegar is one of the top ten famous vinegars in China. The predecessor of the Sanhui Vinegar Factory was called Huachang Vinegar Workshop. Sanhuite Vinegar is a traditional famous and special product of Sichuan Province. It began at the end of the Ming Dynasty and has a history of nearly 400 years. It is made by using a formula of more than 60 precious Chinese medicinal herbs to make the starter and ferment the vinegar. The product is bright brownish-red, with a clear texture, and it will not deteriorate after long-term storage. It is not only an excellent seasoning but also has the functions of preventing and treating various diseases and strengthening the body.
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Duliu Aged Vinegar
Duliu Aged Vinegar is a specialty of Duliu Town, Jinghai District, Tianjin City, and a National Geographical Indication Product of China.
Duliu Aged Vinegar is one of the three traditional famous vinegars in China, on a par with Shanxi Aged Vinegar and Zhenjiang Rice Vinegar. It gets its name because it is produced in Duliu Town, Jinghai District, Tianjin City. Duliu Aged Vinegar has a long history, with a brewing history of more than 300 years. In the "Annals of Hejian Prefecture" compiled during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, there are records of the custom of "brewing wine and making vinegar on the Spring Equinox" and "fish vinegar". According to the "Tianjin Grand Dictionary" records: "Duliu Aged Vinegar was once a tribute to the imperial court and, together with Shanxi Aged Vinegar and Zhenjiang Xiang Vinegar, is known as the three famous vinegars in China." In March of the 41st year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty (1776), when Emperor Qianlong was on an inspection tour to the east and passed by Duliu along the South Canal, he was intoxicated by the wafting aroma of vinegar. He ordered local officials to bring some for him to taste, and indeed, it had an excellent taste. Since then, Duliu Aged Vinegar has become a tribute and gained great fame.
This vinegar is made from raw materials such as sorghum, round-grained rice, barley flour, salt, wheat bran, and rice husk. It has a rich and mellow aroma, a sweet and mild taste, and is well-known throughout the country.
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Pingshan Taocu Vinegar is produced in Pingshan County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province. Its original name was Pingshan Sunning Vinegar, and it is also known as Medicinal Starter-flavored Vinegar. It came into being during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. According to records, the vinegar was created by a senior monk in Taihong Temple. The monks in the temple often drank this vinegar and lived to be over a hundred years old. This vinegar-making method was passed on to the folk and has continued ever since. It is made from rice, wheat bran, and 108 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines.
Pingshan Taocu Vinegar has a brownish-red color, a sour and mellow taste, a refreshing aftertaste, a unique aroma, and it will not change after long-term storage. This vinegar can not only be used for cooking and seasoning but also can be sipped as a substitute for tea. It has the functions of invigorating the spleen and stomach, relieving thirst, eliminating fullness, increasing appetite, and also has the effects of reducing blood pressure, stopping coughs, and preventing colds and epidemics. Therefore, Pingshan Taocu Vinegar is well-known far and wide and is praised by people as the "Golden Essence Dew".
Luokou Vinegar
It is a famous seasoning in Shandong Province. Luokou Vinegar is known for its exquisite selection of raw materials, unique craftsmanship, sophisticated aging process, a fresh aroma, a gentle sour taste, both edible and medicinal properties, and its durability for storage. Therefore, it has a wide market and has remained popular for a long time. Those who have tasted it all praise it highly and will never forget its taste.
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Jiezhong Rice Vinegar is produced in Jiezhong Street, Wadian Town, Wancheng District, Nanyang City, Henan Province, and has a history of more than 300 years.
Jiezhong Rice Vinegar is dark brown in color, with a sour taste and a fragrant aroma. It can be used for cooking and making soup, and it will not spoil after long-term storage. It is not only an excellent seasoning but also has the functions of strengthening the stomach, sterilizing, reducing blood pressure, and reducing swelling and detoxification.
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Vinegars from Western Overseas Regions
Wine Vinegar, Grape Vinegar
The raw material of wine vinegar is grape juice fermented by yeast, with the aroma of yeast fermentation and delicious by-products, showing characteristics similar to wine. Both wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar contain creamy aroma compounds (acetoin, butyric acid). Italian balsamic vinegar and Spanish sherry vinegar are both special types of wine vinegar.
Grapes are rich in grape polyphenols, such as proanthocyanidins, resveratrol, tannins, etc., and have a high nutritional value. They are the fruits with the highest content of complex iron elements among fruits and are a nutritious food for anemia patients. Regular consumption of grapes is beneficial to those with neurasthenia and excessive fatigue.
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Apple Cider Vinegar
The raw material of apple cider vinegar is apple juice fermented by yeast, so it has the aroma of apples. Apples contain a large amount of malic acid. During the brewing of apple cider vinegar, it will go through the malolactic fermentation method, so the aroma becomes stronger and the sour taste becomes milder. Apple cider vinegar contains pulp and tannic acid, making the vinegar liquid turbid, mainly due to the complex of tannic acid and protein.
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Fruit Vinegar
Some fruit vinegars are simply made by soaking fresh fruits such as apples in ordinary vinegar for flavoring, but some are brewed by fermenting fresh fruit juice. Pineapple juice and coconut juice are commonly used materials. Fruit vinegar is very interesting as it can show the flavor of fruits through alcoholic fermentation and acetic acid fermentation.
Malt Vinegar
Basically, malt vinegar is made from beer that has not been added with hops. That is to say, the basic raw materials are grains and germinated barley. Malt vinegar has the charm of barley malt. The standard vinegar recognized by the British who like to drink malt beer is the malt vinegar originally named "alegar".
It has a very unique taste, and many people who like to eat fish and chips are very familiar with it. In addition to being used as a seasoning, this vinegar is also often used in chutney and can be added to pickling mixtures. The strong aroma makes malt vinegar less suitable for milder and more delicate sauces and seasonings.
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Distilled Vinegar
The distilled vinegar in the United States is white vinegar made from distilled alcohol; the distilled vinegar in the United Kingdom is made from beer without hops. It is first fermented into vinegar liquid through acetic acid fermentation and then distilled to concentrate acetic acid. It is similar to the white vinegar in China.
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Italian Balsamic Vinegar
The authentic Italian balsamic vinegar is named "aceto balsamico". This balsamic vinegar is unique, almost completely black in color, fragrant and thick like syrup, with an extremely complex flavor and an extremely high price. All its characteristics come from the need to spend decades on fermentation, aging, and barrel concentration during the brewing process. This balsamic vinegar has been brewed in the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy since the Middle Ages. Local people will brew their own private vinegar, which has a wide range of uses and can also be used for nourishing or seasoning. It was not until the 1980s that the rest of the world discovered this balsamic vinegar in Italy, thus leading to the creation of several imitations that are not as exquisite or expensive. Only the authentic balsamic vinegar can be labeled with the word "tradizionale" (traditional) on the trademark.
Traditional Italian Balsamic Vinegar
The raw materials of traditional Italian balsamic vinegar are wine grapes, including varieties such as Trebbiano white grapes and red grapes. The grape juice raw material is boiled and concentrated, boiling off about one-third of the liquid. Boiling can remove water, concentrating the juice to about 40% sugar and acid content. Then, a browning reaction occurs between sugars and proteins, creating a rich flavor and a deep color. Next, the juice is put into a wooden barrel, which is the first barrel, and then it will be successively replaced with smaller barrels. The barrels are usually made of wood (oak, chestnut, juniper). After being filled into the barrels, they are placed in places like attics, exposed to the variable and extreme local climate. During the hot summer months, the concentrated sugars and amino acids interact with each other, producing aroma molecules that are more commonly found in baked and browned foods; at the same time, the fermentation products and by-products also react with each other to produce an intoxicating mixture. As the water is continuously reduced through evaporation and the concentration of the juice with dregs increases (about 10% of the barrel content is lost each year), each barrel will be replenished with juice with dregs from barrels with a lower year of aging. The finally brewed vinegar is taken from the oldest barrel, with an average age of 12 years or more. To brew 250 milliliters of traditional Italian balsamic vinegar, about 36 kilograms of grapes are needed.
Balsamic vinegar can be divided into the following three types:
Balsamic vinegar brewed with the authentic traditional process. Only this kind of balsamic vinegar can be legally described as "traditional balsamic vinegar" within the European Union.
Commercial grade balsamic vinegar, which is produced on a large-scale industrial production line.
Condimento grade balsamic vinegar, which is usually a mixture of the above two types of balsamic vinegar.
The "condimento" grade balsamic vinegar is brewed much faster than the traditional grade, and its concentration and flavor are far less delicate than those of the traditional grade. Among the mass-produced balsamic vinegars, the better-quality products contain some concentrated juice with dregs and younger balsamic vinegar, which needs to be aged for about 1 year. Inexpensive balsamic vinegar is just ordinary wine vinegar flavored with caramel and sweetened with sugar.
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Spanish Sherry Vinegar
There is a type of vinegar that lies between ordinary wine vinegar and Italian balsamic vinegar, and that is Spanish sherry vinegar aged in multiple layers of wooden barrels (Solera-aged). The raw material of this vinegar is younger sherry wine, and there is no residual sugar in the wine liquid. Just like sherry wine and Italian balsamic vinegar, sherry vinegar will also be mixed with several batches of older base wines, and then it will be aged in a series of half-filled wooden barrels for several years or even decades. When brewing sherry vinegar, the concentration is increased through evaporation, and the wine vinegar is in long-term contact with microorganisms and wood. Therefore, the contents of umami amino acids, organic acids, and viscous glycerol are very high. Through the traditional multi-layer wooden barrel aging method, the acetic acid concentration can be increased to 10% or higher. The color and umami taste of Spanish sherry vinegar are not as rich and mellow as those of Italian balsamic vinegar. However, compared with other wine vinegars, its flavor and nutty taste are significantly stronger.
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The Strength of Vinegar Sauce and the Content of Acetic Acid
When chefs create recipes or cook according to recipes, if the main ingredient is vinegar, they should not only consider the brand and origin of the vinegar but also check the content of acetic acid before making a decision. The content of acetic acid is related to the acidity.
The following are the commonly used ingredients for preparing sweet and sour sauce in Hong Kong-style Cantonese tea restaurants and dining halls:
Main Ingredients
Shantou Rice Vinegar, Slab Sugar
Auxiliary Ingredients (to increase complex flavors and layers)
Rock Sugar, Maltose, Aged Vinegar, Zhenjiang Xiang Vinegar, OK Sauce, HP Sauce, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, White Granulated Sugar
Fruit Acids and Fructose
Lemon Slices, Dried Prunes, Pickled Sour Plums, Lemon Juice, Lemons, Tomato Ketchup, Hawthorn Slices
Spices
Bay Leaves, Chili Peppers, Ginger, Dried Chili Peppers
Food Colorings
Sunset Yellow, Red
If you are interested in preparing sweet and sour sauce by yourself, you can refer to the above.
Posted by HO KWOK LEUNG
Postscript
I started writing this article in June and have been deleting, revising, and sometimes even rewriting it from scratch. I have tried my best to simplify the complex knowledge of food and science to make it easier for everyone to understand. If I wrote it too complicatedly, I think I would have to copy the content of an entire book or the information from Wikipedia and Baidu Baike.
That's not very practical. This article should be the one that has taken me the longest time to write. It's such a long article that I guess no one will finish reading it! If you do finish reading it, you can leave a message on my website or under the video to show your support. The English version is directly translated using a translation website, so there may be some deviations in the nouns. If you don't understand something, you can leave a message.