Do you know the Japanese drink made from rice called sake? Few imagine that sake in Japan goes far beyond a rice drink. In this article, we will see some curiosities, answer questions, and basically talk about everything you need to know about sake [酒].
The rice drink is so valued in Japan that it is even offered to the Shinto gods. Sake is quite popular on special occasions, weddings, inaugurations, stores, and celebrations.
Sake or Saquê? – The Japanese word is actually written as sake [酒], but in Portuguese, Brazilians transformed it into saquê, which is how it is pronounced.
Table of Contents
Sake can be any drink
The word sake is written with the ideogram [酒] which can refer to any type of alcoholic beverage. In other words, if a Japanese person is saying Osake [お酒], they are not specifically talking about rice wine, but it can be any alcoholic drink.
The addition of the letter o [お] to the word sake does not change its meaning. Osake [お酒] is just a formal way of saying the word. This honorific [お] adds a feeling of delicacy and respect to the word.
Many alcoholic beverages are categorized and end with the ideogram of sake, pronounced shu [酒]. Thus, when the Japanese want to specify drinks made from rice, they say nihonshu [日本酒], which literally means drink of Japan.
Other examples of drinks that contain the same ideogram as sake [酒] are:
- Budoushu [ぶどう酒] – Wine
- Umeshu [梅酒] – Plum Liqueur
- Ramushu [ラム酒] – Rum
- Yoshu [洋酒] – Western Drinks
Sake does not cause hangovers
Did you know that premium sake is one of the purest drinks, not causing hangovers in most people? Starting with the fact that sake is not a distilled drink like cachaça, but rather a fermented rice drink.
There are more than 1600 sake manufacturers in Japan, with over 40,000 different varieties of rice drinks. Every year new varieties emerge, while others cease to be produced, making it practically impossible to taste all types of sake.
Some ask whether it is better to consume sake hot or cold. There are no rules regarding this, but it is more common to consume it cold. It all depends on the type of occasion or the sake. In the past, some even added salt to sake.
Sake is not a generic drink and can be consumed in various ways; some use distilled sake called shochu to make cocktails. There are sakes that need to be consumed within a validity period, while others are similar to wine.
The origin and history of Sake
The history of how the national drink of Japan emerged is not clear, but it is known that a milestone in sake production was the establishment of the brewing department at the Imperial Palace of Nara, the ancient capital of Japan from 710 to 792.
In the following period, when the capital moved to Kyoto, sake is described as a noble drink, already having 15 different varieties. At that time, sake was consumed hot due to the influence of China. There were already more than 180 sake producers in the Kyoto region.
The temples that had large rice properties began to manufacture the drink. In the 14th century, amidst the great competition among producers, some technological innovations emerged, such as the development of Koji (Aspergillus Oryzae), which is the basis for rice fermentation.
Pasteurization was introduced based on empirical observations, centuries before Louis Pasteur provided his scientific explanation. In any case, it is known that the sake consumed today is very different from that produced in the past.
The discovery of yeast increased the alcohol content, and the 2nd World War also altered its recipe. The scarcity of rice during that period forced manufacturers to seek alternatives to increase fermentation using less rice.
The government issued a decree that allowed the addition of pure alcohol and glucose to the formula, which enabled the use of less of the precious cereal. It is estimated that 95% of the sake produced today uses this formula, contradicting past experts who said that the best sake was made only from rice and water.
Sake production technique
Sake is a fermented drink that requires a lot of water and a quality rice (about 80% of the product is rice water). First, the rice is washed, then steamed, and finally mixed with yeast, water, and koji.
The rice is fermented separately in a room with controlled humidity and temperature. All fermentation occurs in a large tank called shikomi. The fermentation continues for about 18 to 32 days, and at the end of the period, the paste is pressed and filtered.
Generally, sake is pasteurized to deactivate enzymes and kill bacteria that can change the color and flavor of the final product. Sake is stored for six months, receiving an additional amount of pure water, until it reaches an alcohol content between 16% and 20%.
Rice has a long history and a great variety, a grain consumed for over 5,000 years by almost the entire world population. There are more than 2,500 varieties of rice that provide different tastes to the Japanese drink.
Kuchikamizake – chewing to ferment sake
Many may have heard the word Kuchikamizake in the animated film Kimi no na wa [君の名は] where the character Mitsuha participates in a Shinto ritual where she needed to make sake through chewing, thus fermenting the rice with her saliva.
Kuchikamizake has an opaque and whitish color, and a very sour taste. It is usually produced by a virgin girl who chews the cooked rice and then spits the liquid into a container that is left for fermentation and taken as an offering to the Shinto gods.
Kuchikamizake [口噛み酒] literally means to chew [噛] with the mouth [口] to make the drink [酒]. This technique can reach up to 7% alcohol content in about two weeks of rice fermentation. Probably the kami can also indicate a reference to god [神] which is also pronounced kami.
This ritual is ancient and dates back to the eighth century. The last reports of this ritual occurred in Okinawa until the 1930s. Kuchikamizake does not even fall into the category of nihonshu sake, as its method of production is different and purely religious.
Sake is still used in other ways in Shinto ceremonies, where it is considered the drink of the gods.
Main types of Sake
Junmai-shu – One of the purest types of Sake, made with rice, water, and koji, without the addition of alcohol. The rice is “polished” retaining less than 70% of its original volume.
Honjozo-shu – Sake with a little distilled ethyl alcohol, enhancing the flavor and making it smoother.
Daiginjo-shu – A sake that requires a lot of work in each part of the process, it is polished from 50% to 65%;
Ginjo-shu – Polished rice that retains only 60% of its original shape, thus reducing fat and proteins. It is fermented at a low temperature for a long time.
Namazake – An unpasteurized sake, kept in the refrigerator.
Nigori-zake – Unfiltered;
The most common sakes not mentioned in this list are called futsuu-shu [普通酒], while those produced regionally on a small scale are called jizake [地酒].
Rice is one of the most important foods in the world, making sake very valuable. For a long time, rice was even used as money. The value of land was calculated by the amount of rice it produced.
Videos about Sake
What do you think of the Japanese drink made from rice? Did you know these curiosities? I hope this article has answered your questions. If you liked it, don’t forget to share it with friends and leave your comments. To finish, some videos:
Research Sources: Japanese Culture; 高田公理「禁酒文化・考」
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