说到山西，人们首先想到的是醋。山西人善酿醋、爱吃醋，素有“老酷”之称。人说山西好地方，地肥水美醋更香。山西人爱吃醋可称为全国之 最,在山西民间有无醋不成味之说。由于山西人对酸醋的特殊贡献，再加山 西人嗜醋如命，又巧合了“酸”和山西的“西”字同昔，所以外省人就尊称山西 人为“山西老酷”了。
山西做醋的历史大约有3000年之久。北魏贾思總在其名著《齐民要 术》中总结的22种制醋法，有人考证认为就是山西人的酿造法。其中“作米 酢法”便是“山西老陈醋”的酿制方法。到了清初顺治年间，出了一位“醋仙〞 王来福，在清徐城关开办了 “美和居〞醋坊，在白豬的基础上增加了怎醋工 艺，大胆改革、创新，“冬榜冰，夏伏晒”，终于创出了山西"老陈醋”名牌。
作为醋的故乡，在山西民间至今有做甜的遗风。如果到山西的乡村僻壤，你会发现，老乡们在烈日之下，放一口麻纸问着的大缸，在用“老證儿”（制醋的酸子）晒醋，而且醋缸需不断地搬动，因为醋缸要跟着“爷爷”（太阳）走。看到此情此景，过去山西“家家有醋虹，人人当醋匠〞的场景定会跃然眼前。
关于吃醋还另有说法。唐太宗要为宰相房玄龄纳交，房玄龄之妻横加干涉。太宗无奈只得令房妻在喝毒酒和纳妾中选择其一。房要也确有几分刚烈，拿起毒湾之酒一饮而尽。当她含泪喝完后，才发现杯中是醋，从此便留下了这段“吃醋” 佳话。When it comes to Shanxi, people first think of vinegar. Shanxi people are good at making vinegar, love to be jealous, known as the "old and cool" said. People say that Shanxi is a good place, the fat water vinegar more fragrant. Shanxi people love to be called the most in the country, in Shanxi folk vinegar does not taste. Due to the special contribution of Shanxi people to sour vinegar, plus Shanxi people addicted to vinegar, and the coincidence that "sour" and Shanxi "west" with the past, so people from other provinces respectfully called Shanxi people "Shanxi old and cool".
Shanxi has a history of making vinegar for about 3,000 years. Jia Si of the Northern Wei Dynasty summed up 22 kinds of vinegar making methods in his famous book "Qi Min Yaoshu", which is the brewing method of Shanxi
people. Among them, "rice wood wood method" is the brewing method of "Shanxi aged vinegar". In the reign of Shunzhi in the early Qing Dynasty, a "vinegar fairy" Wang Laifu, opened a "beautiful and residence" vinegar workshop, in the white pig on the basis of the vinegar technology, bold reform, innovation, "winter list ice, summer sun", finally created the Shanxi "old vinegar" brand.
As the hometown of vinegar, there is still a sweet folk heritage in Shanxi. If you go to the rural areas of Shanxi, you will find that the villagers in the hot sun, put a big cylinder asked, in the "old card" (vinegar acid) sun vinegar, and the vinegar cylinder needs to be constantly moved, because the vinegar cylinder to follow the "grandpa" (the sun). See this scene, the past Shanxi "every family has vinegar rainbow, everyone when vinegar craftsman"scene will leap before the eyes.
There is another saying about eating sweet food. Tang Taizong to the prime minister Fang Xuanling, fang Xuanling sold everywhere. Taizong had no choice but to make his wife choose one between drinking poisonous wine and taking concubines. The room should also be somewhat strong, pick up the wine of the poison bay and drink it all. When she drank in tears, she found that the cup is vinegar, from then on left this "jealous" story
