On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 1423

the mash is often divided into smaller
containersandheldatcoolertemperaturesfor
weeks or months. The liquid is then pressed
from the solids, filtered, adjusted with water
andcoloredwithcaramel,pasteurizedat190–
200ºF/85–90ºCfor5–10minutes,maturedfor
several months, then filtered and packaged.
The high-temperature pasteurization helps
developthefinishedflavor.
Japanese Practice: Polished Rice and Low
Temperatures Chinese brewers use rice that
has been milled to remove about 10% of the
grain, only slightly more than is removed to
makeordinarywhitericeforcooking(p.472).
InJapan,however,thericeforanythingabove
the standard grade of sake must be milled to
remove a minimum of 30% of the grain, and
thehighestgradesofsakearemadewithrice
thathasbeenpolisheddownto50%orlessof
its original weight. The center of the rice
grain is the portion that contains the most


starchandtheleastproteinoroil,sothemore
the outer layers of the rice are ground away,
thesimplerandpurertheremaininggrain,and
thelessgrainflavoritcontributestothefinal
liquid.
Sakeisalsofermentedatsignificantly
lowertemperaturesthanChineserice
alcohols.Beginninginthe18thcentury,most

sakebrewingwasreservedforthewinter
months,andthisremainslargelythecase
today.Theupperlimitforsakebrewingis
around64ºF/18ºC,andbrewersofthehighest
gradeswillkeepthetemperatureata
distinctlychilly50ºF/10ºC.Inthese
conditions,thefermentationtakesabouta
monthinsteadoftwotothreeweeks,andthe
mashaccumulatestwotofivetimesthe
normalquantityofaromacompounds,notably
theestersthatprovideapple,banana,and
otherfruitynotes.
Oncethesakefermentationiscomplete,
theliquidispressedfromthesolids,then