What is the purpose of sushi vinegar?


Sushi vinegar is used to season and preserve the cooked sushi rice.

Sushi vinegar has a perfect balance between sour, sweet and salty.
Since salt and pepper are not used when eating sushi. Sushi vinegar helps to season the individual pieces of sushi without influencing the taste experience.

Sushi vinegar acts as a binding agent. It makes the sushi rice stick together better, which makes a big difference when it comes to sushi rolls and nigiri. If sushi vinegar is not used, the individual pieces of sushi would fall apart when you either lift a piece with chopsticks or dip the piece in soy sauce.

Vinegar itself has been used as a preservative for several centuries.
As soon as sushi vinegar is poured on the sushi rice, the rice is preserved. It is also a way to stop the development of bacteria and extends the quality of the rice.

At Sushi course for beginners, you learn step by step how to make sushi from scratch with the unique flavors that characterize sushi served in restaurants in Japan.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Beierholm revision, Elbek & Vejrup and many more.

Can all types of vinegar be used for sushi?

Not all types of vinegar are suitable for sushi.

There are many different kinds of vinegar in Denmark. There are some vinegar made in Denmark, others in Thailand, China or Japan.

It is always best to use Japanese vinegar for sushi and there are several reasons for that.

Japanese vinegar is made of rice grains. Since the Japanese vinegar is made on rice, the sour / sweet vinegar flavor suits the sushi rice.
If the vinegar were made on, for example apple the rice vinegar would have a completely different taste.

Rice vinegar is also used to preserve sushi rice so it can be kept at room temperature. Beside that, vinegar is also used as a kind of spice.

The aromas and fine flavors found in Japanese rice vinegar help to give the sushi rice the unique taste that characterizes Japanese sushi rice.

Read more about Sushi course for beginners

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Zoë has lectured and held sushi courses for A. P. Moller – Maersk, Hugo Boss Nordic, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Velux, Gorrissen Federspiel, Accenture audit Elbek & Vejrup and many more.