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Fermentation Atlas

Vinegar from South Korea, Japan

Persimmon vinegar (Korean gamsikcho, Japanese kakisu)감식초

Persimmon vinegar is made from ripe or soft persimmons whose sugar is fermented first to alcohol by yeasts and then to acetic acid by acetic bacteria. Traditional kinds use the fruit alone and age for years; quicker methods add seed vinegar and alcohol and finish in weeks. It is less acidic than most vinegars. Made in 4 steps over 35 days – 25 years. The longest step, mature, takes 21 days – 25 years (홍정화 1996) and runs at 15 °C (홍정화 1996). Two acid-making bacteria from seed vinegar, one growing early and one late in the fermentation and Acetobacter and Komagataeibacter in naturally fermented persimmon vinegar do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step21 days – 25 yearsMeasured[hong1996][chung2019]Mature
Temperature15 °CMeasured[hong1996]Mature
AciditypH 3–3.7Measured[yu2025]Mature
Fully documentedVinegar35 days – 25 yearsMore vinegarMore from KoreaMore from Japan

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe amounts are from a 1996 laboratory method for quick persimmon vinegar. Traditional persimmon vinegar uses the fruit alone, with no fixed amounts; one Japanese maker ferments only persimmon, with no added water.
Softened persimmons · Fruit that had gone soft in cold storage, heat-treated before fermenting[hong1996]
10 %Seed vinegar · In the quick laboratory method[hong1996]
4 %Alcohol · In the quick laboratory method[hong1996]
Starterspontaneous (fruit flora), or seed vinegar in quick methods

Total time across the recorded steps: 35 days – 25 years

Start
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What changes: Ripe, soft persimmons are the starting material

Step 1 of 4
Gather ripe or soft persimmons
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Yeasts
Acetobacter
Komagataeibacter

Output: soft, sweet fruit.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Persimmon vinegar is weaker than most vinegars. The Korea Food Code sets at least 2.6 % total acid for it, against 4 % for other fermented vinegars, and in a 2025 survey it was the only kind that sometimes fell short.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Kakisu (Japan)A vinegar maker in Katsuragi, Wakayama, founded in 1808, makes kakisu from local persimmons alone, with no water added.
  • Quick persimmon vinegarSeed vinegar and alcohol are added to heated fruit, giving over 4 % acidity in under 2 weeks.

Safety

Vinegar is acidic, pH 3.02–3.70 in the products surveyed. No safety limits specific to persimmon vinegar were found beyond the Korea Food Code's minimum acidity.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

A vinegar maker in Katsuragi, Wakayama prefecture, has made vinegar since 1808, and persimmon vinegar is now its main product, made from local persimmons that do not meet market grade.

  1. [hong1996] 홍정화, 이기민 and 허성호 (Hong, Lee and Heo) 1996, Production of vinegar using deteriorated deastringent persimmons during low temperature storage, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 25(1), 123–128 (abstract)paper
  2. [chung2019] Chung W.-C., Baek H.-H. and Shin D.-H. 2019, Changes in volatile compounds of persimmon vinegar during aging, Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology 51(5), 438–446 (abstract)paper
  3. [yu2025] Yu H.H., Jang S.-W., Kim E., Kim J.-C. and Jang M. 2025, Quality status and skin-related functional properties of traditional Korean fermented vinegars, Foods 14(15), 2728paper
  4. [zhang2024] Zhang L., Wang M., Song H., Liang W., Wang X., Sun J. and Wang D. 2024, Changes of microbial communities and metabolites in the fermentation of persimmon vinegar by bioaugmentation fermentation, Food Microbiology 122, 104565 (abstract)paper
  5. [wakayama] Wakayama Prefecture, centennial company award profile and technology registration sheet for Tamura Zosu Co., Katsuragi (persimmon vinegar)gov