On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1419
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top-fermentedaleandflavoredwithsugarand
coriandertomakefaro;orre-fermentedinthe
barrelforfourtosixmonthswithfreshwhole
cherriesorraspberries,tomakekriekand
framboise.
AsianRiceAlcohols:ChineseChiuandJapaneseSake
SweetMoldyGrains
ThepeoplesofeasternAsiadevelopedtheir
owndistinctiveformofalcohol,onethatthe
restoftheworldiscomingtoappreciatemore
andmore.It’snotexactlyawine,becauseit’s
fermentedfromstarchygrains,mainlyrice.
Butit’snotexactlyabeereither,becausethe
grainstarchisnotdigestedintofermentable
sugarsbygrainenzymes.Instead,Asian
brewersuseamoldtosupplythestarchdigestingenzymes,andthemolddigeststhe
grainstarchatthesametimethattheyeasts
areconvertingthesugarsintoalcohol.The
resultingliquidcanreachanalcohol
concentrationof20%,farstrongerthan
Westernbeersandwines.Chinesechiuand
Japanesesakedon’thavethegrapeyfruitiness
oracidityofwine,northemaltorhop
charactersofbeer.Becauseit’smadefrom
onlythestarchyheartofthericegrain,sakeis
perhapsthepurestexpressionoftheflavorof
fermentationitself,surprisinglyfruityand
floweryeventhoughnofruitorflowerhas
comenearit.
WhyandhowdidAsianscomeupwiththis
alternativetosproutinggrains?Thehistorian
H.T.Huangsuggeststhatthekeywastheir
relianceonsmall,fragilemilletandrice
grains,whichunlikebarleyandwheatare
easilyandusuallycookedwhole.Huang
speculatesthatleftovercookedgrainswere
frequentlyleftsittingoutlongenoughtoget
moldy;andbecausethereareairspacesina
massofgrains,theoxygen-requiringmolds
wouldhavegrownwellanddigestedstarch
