In the far south of Japan, in a field in Kagoshima filled not with crops but with thousands of black ceramic pots, rice is slowly turning into vinegar under the sun — the same way it has for two hundred years. The vinegar that comes out of those pots is called kurozu: black vinegar, amber in the glass, round and almost sweet, with none of the sharpness the word "vinegar" usually promises.
And in the hottest weeks of summer, Japanese households do something with it that surprises almost everyone: they drink it.
Serves 1 · about 2 minutes · no stove
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp black vinegar (kurozu)
- 1 Tbsp honey, to taste (about equal parts with the vinegar)
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¾ cup (180 ml) cold sparkling water — or still water, if you prefer
- Plenty of ice
- Optional: a few slices of cucumber, or a sprig of mint
How to make it
- In a glass, stir the vinegar, honey, and lemon juice together until the honey dissolves.
- Fill the glass with ice, and top with sparkling water.
- Stir once, gently — and take it somewhere shaded.
Tip
If you know shrubs — the drinking vinegars of American soda fountains — this will feel familiar and gentler at the same time. A long-aged kurozu is mellow enough to sip without puckering; the honey rounds it, a little lemon juice brightens it, and the bubbles lift it. On evenings too hot for tea and too early for anything stronger, this is what the glass wants to hold.
One of three in our No Stove collection — for the days too hot to cook.
Part of our Weekend Table menu — a small, easy way to feed friends.
