- Also spelled:
- saké
Sake
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What is sake?
Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage brewed from fermented rice. Often mistaken for wine because of its appearance and alcohol content, sake is made through a unique process of multiple parallel fermentation, converting rice starch to sugar and then to alcohol. Sake has a light color, a sweet flavor, is noncarbonated, and contains 14 to 16 percent alcohol.
In Japan, sake is the national beverage and is often part of special ceremonies. It is typically served warm in a tokkuri (small porcelain bottle) and sipped from a sakazuki (small porcelain cup). Premium sake can be served cold or on ice and is best consumed within a year of bottling.
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Where does sake come from?
Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage brewed from fermented rice. Often mistaken for wine because of its appearance and alcohol content (typically 14–16%), sake is made through a unique process called multiple parallel fermentation, which converts rice starch to sugar and then to alcohol.
Sake production began after wet rice cultivation was introduced to Japan in the 3rd century BCE. By the early 16th century, the modern sake-making process was nearly perfected. In Japan, sake is the national beverage and is often part of special ceremonies. It is also the drink of the kami (gods) of Shintō, the indigenous Japanese religion, and is included in offerings to the kami at festivals.
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What main ingredients are used to make sake?
Sake, a Japanese alcoholic beverage, is made from fermented rice. It is light in color, noncarbonated, sweet, and contains 14 to 16 percent alcohol.
The main ingredients are:
* Special strains of rice
* Kome-koji, a preparation of steamed rice and koji (Aspergillus oryzae), a fungus that converts rice starch to fermentable sugars
* Sake yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae)
* WaterThe rice grains are milled to remove the outer layers, reducing the grain to 50 to 70 percent of its original size.
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How is sake traditionally made?
Sake, a Japanese alcoholic beverage, is made from fermented rice and has a sweet flavor with 14 to 16 percent alcohol content. Although sake is often called a wine because of its appearance and alcoholic content, it is made through multiple parallel fermentation, where the rice is converted from starch to sugar and then to alcohol.
Production starts with kome-koji, a preparation of steamed rice and koji (Aspergillus oryzae), a fungus that converts the rice starch to fermentable sugars. The koji is mixed with water and fresh steamed rice, then incubated to form a sweet, crumbly, dry material. This is placed in a vat with more rice and water, and sake yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) is added. The mixture ferments for about four weeks, becoming moto with about 11 percent alcohol content. More koji, steamed rice, and water are added to the vat, and a second fermentation begins, lasting about seven days. After resting for another week, the sake is filtered, pasteurized, and bottled.
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How is sake different from other alcoholic drinks like wine or beer?
Sake is a Japanese alcoholic beverage brewed from fermented rice. While often called rice wine, sake is produced through a unique multiple parallel fermentation process, converting rice starch to sugar and then to alcohol.
Unlike wine or beer, sake's fermentation occurs in a single vat, distinguishing it from other alcohol production methods. With an alcohol content of 14 to 16 percent, sake is noncarbonated and has a sweet flavor. Traditional Japanese culture includes special ceremonies for serving sake, where it is warmed and sipped from specific vessels.
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What are some common ways to serve and enjoy sake in Japanese culture?
Sake, Japan's national beverage, is traditionally served with special ceremony. It is often warmed in a tokkuri, a small earthenware or porcelain bottle, and sipped from a sakazuki, a small porcelain cup. However, premium sake, known for its delicate flavor, is best served cold or on ice.
Sake is the drink of the Shintō gods and is included in offerings to the kami. At Shintō weddings, the bridal couple participate in a ceremony of drinking sake from lacquer cups.
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Sake, Japanese alcoholic beverage made from fermented rice. Sake is light in colour, is noncarbonated, has a sweet flavour, and contains about 14 to 16 percent alcohol.
Sake is often mistakenly called a wine because of its appearance and alcoholic content; however, it is made in a process known as multiple parallel fermentation, in which a grain (rice) is converted from starch to sugar followed by conversion to alcohol. Special strains of rice are precisely milled to remove the outer layers, a process that reduces the grain to 50 to 70 percent of its original size.
Production begins with kome-koji, a preparation of steamed rice and koji (Aspergillus oryzae), a fungus that converts the rice starch to fermentable sugars. The koji is mixed with water and fresh steamed rice, traditionally by hand, and is wrapped in a blanket and incubated to form a sweet crumbly dry material. This is then placed in a vat with more rice and water. This mixture, allowed to ferment for about four weeks with sake yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), becomes moto, with an alcoholic content of about 11 percent. More koji, steamed rice, and water are added to the vat, and a second fermentation begins, lasting about seven days. Throughout this process, the grain remains in a single vat, which distinguishes sake fermentation from fermentation processes for other types of alcohol, including beer. After resting for another week, the sake is filtered, pasteurized, and bottled. Alcohol may be added to the desired level.
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In Japan, where it is the national beverage, sake is served with special ceremony. Before being served, it is warmed in a small earthenware or porcelain bottle called a tokkuri; it is usually sipped from a small porcelain cup called a sakazuki. Premium sake, of a delicate flavour, is served cold or on ice. Sake is best when consumed less than a year after bottling.
The manufacture of sake began sometime after the introduction of wet rice cultivation in Japan in the 3rd century bce. The first written record referring to sake dates from the 3rd century ce, and the first reference to its manufacture dates from the 8th century. In ancient Japan sake was produced primarily by the imperial court and by large temples and shrines, but from the early 12th century the general population began to manufacture it. By the early 16th century the modern process for making sake had been nearly perfected. The scarcity of rice during World War II, however, led manufacturers to add distilled alcohol to the rice mash, which had the unintended effect of significantly increasing sake production, enabling manufacturers to more easily meet demands. Sake made with the addition of alcohol became common thereafter.
Sake is the drink of the kami (gods) of Shintō, the indigenous Japanese religion. It is drunk at festivals and is included in offerings to the kami. At a Shintō wedding the bridal couple perform a ceremony of drinking sake from lacquer cups.