A Treasured Creation: Nature-Made Amber Vinegar

Rows of black ceramic pots sit in the sun as rice and koji malt ferment inside. For more than a year, the enzymes will turn the mash into prized amber vinegar with only the gentlest interventions from the brewers. "Every pot turns out different faces," says vinegar artisan Sakamoto Hiroaki. "We try to listen to what the magical fungi are saying." We explore the centuries-old methods behind the making of Kurozu vinegar.