Photo= "Ro-zu" or vinegar made from roses, a local specialty of Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture.

"Ro-zu" or vinegar brewed using roses grown in Moriyama City, Shiga Prefecture, has been developed by the Moriyama Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The vinegar will be sold from October 25. This is the second commercialized rose product following rose jam. The chamber said hopefully, "We want to make it our leading product so that the roses of Moriyama will become well known."

To capitalize on the city's specialty, they have cooperated with local farmers since 2010 in producing jam made from pesticide-free roses. For making jam, however, it is necessary to use rosebuds plucked off when they start opening, so harvest delays would lead to the waste of roses in full-bloom.

To utilize the remaining flowers effectively, they planned a new product. As vinegars made from fruit or other things are very popular among health-conscious women, they decided to produce vinegar.

Last May and June, they harvested a total of 12.8 kilograms of five varieties of rose petals, including Queen Elizabeth and others, and brought them to Tankai-su, Shiga Prefecture's only vinegar brewery, located in Katsuno, Takashima City. At the brewery, the petals were placed in vinegar along with sugar and macerated for a month while being stirred occasionally. It produced a subtly sweet rose vinegar of translucent red.

The chamber explained, "It can be mixed with water or soda water for drinking. Mixed with olive oil, it is also good to use as dressing." A 200-milliliter bottle costs 750 yen. The 320 limited-edition bottles will be sold at the general information desk in front of Moriyama City Station in Umeda-Cho, and at the JA Ohmi Fuji Farmer's Market "Ohminchi" in Sumoto-cho.