What started out as an inquiry about what appeared to be a simple vinegar turned into a very interesting passionate artisan maker’s tale.

Iio Jozo was established in 1893 in Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture, the 26th year of the Meiji era. The founders were originally rice farmers who began making rice vinegar as a side business, who eventually turned it into their main trade.

The first generation, Iio Chozo, set out with a focused ambition: to create the best rice vinegar in Japan.

Today, Iio Jozo is the last artisanal rice vinegar maker in Kyoto Prefecture. Fifth-generation brewer Akihiro Iio runs the operation alongside just 19 employees, producing between 250,000 and 300,000 liters of vinegar a year.

In the beginning: A Commitment to Pesticide-Free Farming

The company's defining philosophy took shape in the 1930s, when third-generation brewer Terunosuke watched pesticides, including DDT, eliminate every living thing from the surrounding rice paddies.

Convinced that vinegar made from such rice wasn't right, and he then spent two years knocking on doors to persuade local farmers to change their practices. It took another three years before the first pesticide-free rice was ready.

Today, Iio Jozo works with 15 local farms to grow the rice that goes into every bottle.

How It's Made

The production process is labor-intensive and unchanged from traditional methods. Pesticide-free rice from the mountainous Tango District of Kyoto is combined with clear mountain spring water. The rice is inoculated with koji mold, requiring attention every 3–4 hours for three full days and then it is pressed using a hand-powered wooden press.

After 45 days, the sake is ready.

That sake is then converted to vinegar through "static fermentation," allowing acetic acid bacteria to naturally develop on the surface of the tank over 100 days. Industrial producers pump air through their tanks and finish the process in as little as 8 hours.

After fermentation, the vinegar is aged for another 8 months. From start to finish, the process takes roughly one year — compared to a single day for large commercial producers.

What Makes It Special

Iio Jozo uses 200g of rice per liter, five times Japan's legal requirement for rice vinegar, ultimately producing a richer, fuller complex flavor.

Where ordinary rice vinegar is 99% acetic acid, Fujisu's ratio is just 86%, with the balance made up of mild non-volatile acids including lactic, succinic, and malic acid. The result is a vinegar with no harsh bite!

Fujisu Premium (uses 320g of rice) earned a place in Japan's government-sponsored "Wonder 500" program, which celebrates the country's finest local products, and has become a trusted ingredient for Michelin-starred chefs worldwide.

This is a classic recipe -- so easy and made so much better with tomato vinegar.

Creating vinegar from a plant is a scientific process and an art project all rolled into one.

When you taste this Acetoria Tomato Vinegar straight up, if you close your eyes, you can taste the tomato origins of this vinegar.

Every time I taste this tomato vinegar it brings back the memory of when I first tasted it over 20 years ago.

When you pair the vinegar with tomatoes it really makes the tomato come alive! If you love fresh tomatoes and can't stop yourself from having them in every dish during the season, then this vinegar is for you!

This, by far, is one of the most-favored customer vinegars of all times.

Wafu (和風) means "Japanese-style," and at its core, wafu dressing is made with vegetable oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. The basic version consists of soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, and vegetable oil, with many variations flavored with extras like grated ginger, toasted sesame, or citrus fruits such as yuzu.

Have you been seeing cherries in the supermarket for weeks now? They start harvesting earlier and earlier in California to sell.

Those tiny cherries are tiny! And then our neighbor to the south, Oregon gets into the market and now you are seeing Washington Cherries arrive.

And our cherries a bit farther north with cooler nights are getting ready to be harvested!

Early Robins and Black Pearls will be harvest soon! If not even whilst you read these words!

So order before the cut-off or you will be to late!

Last chance to order the Sextet!

Karlis Lapins was born in Latvia in 1909, studied agronomy there, and was driven from his country as a World War II refugee. He made his way to British Columbia, found work as a laborer at Agriculture Canada's Summerland Research Station, and through determination earned his master's degree and eventually the position of plant breeder — staying for three decades and becoming one of the most consequential cherry breeders in history.

His obsession was self-fertility. Working with seedlings developed at the John Innes Institute in England he produced Stella, the first self-fertile sweet cherry ever released, in 1968. He then crossed Stella with Van to produce the Lapins: a large, dark, firm, late-season cherry that could pollinate itself, required no pollinizer partner, and arrived after the Bing and Rainier with enough size and crack resistance to extend the commercial season reliably into late summer.

Released in 1983 after his retirement, it was named after him by a grower who insisted the man deserved the recognition — breaking Summerland's own tradition of naming all varieties with the letter S in the process. The cherry carries his name in orchards across Washington, Oregon, British Columbia, Europe, New Zealand, and Chile. The Lapins is a sweet cherry — Prunus avium — and a dark variety, its skin ripening to deep red, nearly black at full maturity. Like its parent Stella, the Lapins cherry is self-fertile and an excellent pollinator for other cherry varieties.

Flavor — Rich, Round, and Sweet

The Lapins cherry produces large, firm, dark red fruit with a rich, sweet flavor similar to the popular Bing variety but with improved resistance to cracking and splitting. Where the Bing has a pronounced sweet-tart balance with noticeable acidity, the Lapins is rounder and softer in character — lower acidity, more straightforwardly sweet, less of the bright tang that gives the Bing its assertive edge. The Lapins is consistently one of the largest cherries of our Cherry season. It is a deeply fun dark cherry.

Distinctive Physical Characteristics

One distinctive trait worth noting: the Lapins turns deep red well before it is ready to pick — and unlike some varieties it is sweet while still red. Full maturity comes later than the color suggests, and the difference between a Lapins picked at color and a Lapins picked at true maturity is considerable.

Where It Sits in the Season

The Lapins arrives after the Bing and Rainier — ripening approximately two weeks after Bing — placing it in the late-season window before the Sweetheart. It is consistently among the largest cherries of the season, sometimes the largest, which has made it a visual anchor for our late-season display alongside the Sweetheart. The two together — Lapins and Sweetheart — represent the final chapter of the Pacific Northwest cherry season for ChefShop.

The Lapin is, for sure, one of our all time, every season favorites!

Lentils are a great food. High in protein and easy to cook. This is a great protein rich salad recipe to start your lentil cooking adventures.

This fennel, orange and lentil salad recipe is adapted from Mireille Guiliano's cookbook.

What's Happening in the Store

Join us Saturday, June 20, for a Father's Day event that’s all about bold flavor, strong opinions, and maybe a little heat!

We’ll be pouring a lineup of hot sauces that goes well beyond “how spicy is it?”—from bright and tangy to smoky, savory, and slow-building heat that sneaks up on you. Some sauces hit fast. Others linger. The best ones keep you coming back.

June 20, 2026
Saturday noon to 4PM - Monday - Saturday 10am-5pm
ChefShop Retail Shop, 1425 Elliott Ave West, Seattle

This recipe is light and refreshing and goes well with a Spanish themed meal...

A wonderful twist to a classic mayonnaise recipe. Make sure you use a good, fresh walnut oil. Perfect for a Waldorf salad or cold chicken salad - instead of using a classic mayonnaise. You can also make this recipes using 2 egg yolks (without the egg whites) -- it comes out much more yellow and has a stronger flavor.

Roasted walnut oil is made from walnuts that are roasted before pressing, creating an oil with a darker color and a deeper, almost caramelized flavor.

It pairs well with hearty dishes like root vegetable gratins, wild mushroom risottos, and dark chocolate desserts. The smoke point is similar to cold-pressed — around 320°F — so it should be treated as a finishing oil.

Scientific studies suggest that moderate roasting (at around 120°C to 160°C) can actually increase the oil's antioxidant content by improving the release of protective compounds like polyphenols and tocopherols during extraction. However, over-roasting destroys Vitamin E.

Roasted versus un-roasted walnut oil is the boldest-flavored option — great as a finishing drizzle or in dressings.

Precision makes this easy to make recipe perfect.

This is an essential vinegar ingredient to always have on hand.

You can taste the Gravenstein Apple! When you can taste the variety of apple you know you are tasting something special!

Everyone is shocked at how good this is! The usual response after tasting is to check the bottle and then say "that is nothing like any apple cider vinegar I have had before!"

Worth Drinking!

I use this vinegar all the time! Amazing!

Though there is not a lick of meat in here, the instant memories evoked are every great smoked, grilled or BBQ protein you have ever had! What a masterpiece of delicious flavor!

And as your flavor mind comes up with a zillion ideas of what to do, your confidence soars and you feel perfectly in control of your next masterpiece!

To the nose, Moroccan chermoula reminds me of an olive tapenade with a twitch of tomato and a myriad of spices including cumin.

And to the mouth, wow, this Moroccan chermoula sauce is not what you expect. The spices mix together, and to your palate the cumin and the paprika stand up. On the outside of the inner walls of your mouth is the garlic. With a smoothness of a delicious sauce there is the preserved lemon that is just right, providing a little chew. Complexity revolves in your mouth, but the finish is complete & simple!

Think tomato as the carrier or support, then the olive oil washes through with the olive flavor bringing with it the cumin & paprika. And topping it all, like any good herb, parsley and cilantro open up and bring the garden. The preserved lemon is identifiable, yet not overpowering at all! What a mix! As the flavor finishes, you feel like you are eating all of Morocco in one spoonful! This red chermoula sauce is easy to use and spoon-ready!

Chermoula (cher moo lah)

Harissa is not one of those condiments that has only one authentic recipe. In fact, from town to town, region to region, it can vary from a little to a lot - from texture to ingredients and from hot to not so hot. Of all the harissas we have tried, this is the very best!

Here, in this jar, is Mehdi's mom's recipe. Authentic to his family, Mehdi strives to recreate Moroccan harissa as if it were made at home in his kitchen growing up.

Villa Jerada uses the finest ingredients from around the world, freshly ground and combined to make one of the freshest products we carry. All their attention to detail and the feeling of smooth heat make this Moroccan condiment a treat!

Shared by a Reader

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon & Olives

— Mehdi, ChefShop Reader

Professional pastry chefs are using ChefShop Grande Brut because it does several things well at once: deep flavor, smooth texture, rich color, easy blending, low acidity, and real versatility across applications. It is a many-trick cocoa powder.

We stock it now because after working with it ourselves, we found it spectacular! It makes a giant difference!

ChefShop Grande Brut contains 22% to 24% cocoa butter. That is significantly higher than most cocoa powders on the market, and it is one of the main reasons we chose it. That extra cocoa butter is not a minor detail. It changes how the cocoa tastes, how it blends, and what your finished desserts actually feel like.

Most people focus on cocoa percentage (and with cocoa powder it is always 100% as it has no sugar) and overlook fat content entirely. It is the balance between cocoa mass and cocoa butter that matters. Cocoa butter is the natural fat in the cacao bean, and it shapes everything about how cocoa performs in a recipe.
Shop now for ChefShop Grande Brut Cocoa Powder here!