Nipa palm vinegar
Nipa palm vinegar, also known as sukang sasâ or sukang nipa, is a traditional Filipino vinegar made from the sap of the nipa palm. It is one of the four main types of vinegars in the Philippines along with coconut vinegar, cane vinegar, and kaong palm vinegar. It is usually sold under the generic label of "palm vinegar".
Nipa palm vinegar is listed in the Ark of Taste international catalogue of endangered heritage foods by the Slow Food movement. Along with other traditional vinegars in the Philippines, it is threatened by the increasing use of industrially-produced vinegars.
Names
Nipa palm vinegar is known as sukang sasa or sukang nipa in native languages in the Philippines. Both nipa and sasa are the native names of the nipa palm in Tagalog; while sukâ means "vinegar". It is also known as sukang Paombong after the town of Paombong, Bulacan where it is a traditional industry. The name of the town itself is allegedly from Tagalog bumbóng, the main equipment in gathering nipa sap before plastic or glass containers became prevalent. It is also sometimes known as sukang tubâ, from tubâ, the general term for palm toddy produced from various palm trees in the Philippines, including coconut, buri palm, and kaong palm.Traditional production
Nipa palm vinegar is gathered from mature nipa palms that grow in muddy soil beside brackish rivers and estuaries. The stalk of the nipa palm is cut and a container is placed underneath to collect sap. The harvesters traditionally shake or kick the base of the leaves as they collect the containers to induce the sap the flow. They may also sometimes bend the stalk. Sap is collected twice a day as the tubes fill up, although it may take longer during dry seasons.The sap is placed in tapayan, large earthen jars traditionally used for fermentation. The sap relies on wild yeast to turn the sugars into ethanol. That turns the sap into a traditional palm toddy called tubâ. Leaving it to ferment further, however, allows Acetobacter from the air to oxidise the ethanol into acetic acid. It is harvested once the level of acidity reaches four or five percent. The length of time it takes to produce nipa palm vinegar ranges from two to three weeks, though it is faster if a starter culture of yeast is used.
Nipa palm sap has a relatively high sugar content, containing 15 to 22% sugar. This makes nipa palm vinegar slightly sweeter and less sharp than coconut vinegar. It is also slightly salty due to sodium content of the sap from the habitat of nipa palms. The vinegar when newly made is typically cloudy white. Due to the high iron content of the sap, the vinegar tends to turn orange to dark red as it ages. The vinegar also contains calcium, magnesium, and potassium. The sourness of the vinegar depends on how long it has been allowed to ferment.