"Randy" > wrote in message
...
> On the cooking shows they call it "rice wine vinegar", all I can find in the
> grocery store is "rice vinegar", is that the same product? -RP

Cousins see below:

Dimitri

http://www.ochef.com/595.htm
There are zillions of vinegars and, indeed, many varieties of rice vinegar and
many varieties of rice wine vinegar. Vinegars have been making themselves out of
wines and other alcoholic beverages for thousands of years - it is a natural
process in which bacteria in the air combine with the alcohol and turn it to
acetic acid. But you needn't start with wine or grain alcohol. Nowadays,
vinegars are commercially made from a wide variety of fruits and grains. In
fact, any liquid containing either sugar or starch can be caused to ferment and
become a vinegar.

Rice vinegars are made from fermented rice. Rice wine vinegars are generally
made from the lees (dregs) of the wine. Both and widely used in Asian cooking.
Both, especially those from Japan, tend to be mild and sweet, and add a bit of
acidity to dressings and in cooking. The Chinese red and black varieties are
also used as condiments, but still are characterized as mild vinegars. There are
also Korean varieties, some of which are much stronger