Rice vinegar with red shiso

Tobaya Suten, for more than 300 years, continues the tradition of Masters Japanese vinegar makers. Located in Fukui since 1710, the current president (twelfth generation) has evolved with the times and offers a wide range of vinegars and condiments which flavors never cease to appeal to the West.

The philosophy of the Nakano family is simple: vinegars and condiments must bring flavor to the food that is itself indispensable to human life.

The main role of vinegar is to put the taste of the dishes in value. It is never in the foreground but it is essential for some dishes. The importance of its secondary role is that it can bring the dish a touch of sparkle.

Fermentation can be reduced to a chemical theory, but every time Nakano San observes vinegar just after the astonishing process of fermentation, he can not help thinking that it is God's work: "all that we do it is put sake in steamed rice, we add a mother to vinegar and we wait until it is fermented. What happens in a pitcher can not be considered a simple chemical reaction. Just as water and air are gifts of nature, the fermentation of vinegar is also a work of nature. We only help this work. The sensational vinegar made in our jugs always makes me think that no man can do the same thing, even using the most cutting-edge technology. "