Shih-Chuan Grape Vinegar
1002 days agoFinally, something new to review on this blog. I bet that you are tired of seeing yogurt, milk and chocolate reviews everyday right? Well, this is a fruit flavoured Vinegar drink. Not sure whether you guys have tasted plain old vinegar before. If you did, you would know that it taste rather awful. I mean it is great on salads and as a dressing, but drinking it straight up, taste more like lighter fluid than anything. You really need to dilute it in order for it to actually drink the damn thing or just add some fruit juice to balance off the tanginess. But drinking unfiltered, unpasteurised fermented vinegar is very healthy. Yes, it does not contains a lot of nutrients or vitamins like what we see in other “superfoods” but it helps in calcium absorption, controlling blood sugar levels, helps digestion as well as fights off infection. Remember, the health benefits comes from unfiltered and unpasteurised vinegar. If you can find them in our local supermarkets, they should look dirty, like some mess of glob is at the bottom. Those are real fermented vinegar.
A few weeks ago, I went to Sheng Shiong and saw them selling this concentrated vinegar/juice mix. This is exactly the same thing as the Grape Vinegar I am reviewing now, all you have to do is to add water to it. Yes, exactly the same as making a drink from those juice cordials. Would be a cheaper alternative (S$7 for about 20 servings?) than buying this packet of Fruit Vinegar – S$1.50 per pack!
Yes, we have the Shih-Chuan Grape Vinegar!
Very nice packaging. Kind of cute. Got Japanese wordings as well. Flocks of Singaporeans are going to buy it. If you want to drink it, simply open the screw top, put the tube into your mouth and well….swallow.
Basically this is just vinegar and grape juice. It is not like those Apple Cider Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar where the Apple Cider or the Wine has been inoculated with Vinegar bacteria to convert the alcohol in those beverages into Vinegar. So, don’t be confused with the two.
They quench your thirst and their acid content makes them a natural mouth freshener! And of course, they are bad for your teeth. You should drink down acidic stuff fast and not let it mingle in your mouth. Oh, this packet contains only 140ml of fruit vinegar. Yes, hardly enough to fill your cup. Hardly enough for me to enjoy leh. But I admit, it does taste very refreshing.
The ingredients are water, grape juice, fermented vinegar and fructose! See, I did not lie to you. And this drink can last for 2 years without any preservatives. Weird, they say that this contains “non preservatives”. What do they mean by that?
The label also encourages you to drink with chilled water, saying that it is tastier! But won’t that make it too diluted? This is not a concentrate right? Or did I just drink a lot of acid and didn’t feel a single thing in my throat? Have I been drinking Kefir for so long that I no longer find Vinegar that foul tasting anymore? Oh my god!
The nutrition table for this Grape Vinegar. As I mentioned before, Vinegar doesn’t have a lot of nutrients to begin with. Adding a little fruit juice won’t make it significantly better. But its health benefits actually comes from its acid content.
I actually emailed the manufacturer and asked whether they do pasteurised and filter their vinegar but however, they never replied back. Too bad. I guess that is the problem with Asian companies, they don’t really reply to inquiries.
I think there’s was a translation problem because the Chinese part says it’s best when it’s chilled rather than with chilled water. Also it says there is not added preservatives, so they just use the wrong adjective.
May i enquire where can i buy this vinegar drink in singapore?
You can buy it in NTUC, though it is more economical to purchase the real thing, brown rice sorghum and fruit juice fermented for 6 months also in NTUC in 600ml bottles, you dilute with water or Soda water, add ice cubes for more refreshing taste in hot humid weather.
Having read the thread it’s only fair to say, that the author is limited in their knowledge on vinegars and vinegar brewing. Even the most expensive of japenese vinegars add juice to their vinegars. and only a handful of brewers add juice before the fermentation process.
The ready to drink vinegars have no preservatives added because vinegar is a preservative in itself.
It actually depends on what materials are used in the brewing process of vinegars, to determine what nutrition the vinegar has after the fermentation process. Fruits are chosen for there phytochemicals in the skins.
Let it be noted that apple cider vinegar is not that healthy at all, when compared to speically brewed vinegars, as apple cider vinegar does not have amino acids. You only get amino acids from a protein source and apples are not protein a protein source..
There is always risk of poisoning with unpasturised vinegar, or very sever stomache ache too, so are the risks worth it, well they are until you are the one being poisoned, or suffering very sever stomach cramp.
Though the auther is correct in saying vinegar is healthy and will prevent you ageing more quickly, after all it is a preservative with lots of functions and has been used for thousands of years