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Rice wine

Bottles of Sombai Cambodian infused rice wines

Rice wine is a generic term for an alcoholic beverage fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during which microbes enzymatically convert its starches to sugar.[1] Sake in Japan, Mijiu in China, and Cheongju and Makgeolli in Korea are some of the most notable types of rice wine.

Rice wine typically has an alcohol content of 10–25% ABV, and is typically served warm. One panel of taste testers arrived at 60 °C (140 °F) as an optimum serving temperature.[2] Rice wines are used in East Asian, Southeast Asian and South Asian cuisine at formal dinners and banquets and in cooking.

History

The production of rice wine has thousands of years of history. In ancient China, rice wine was the primary alcoholic drink. The first known fermented beverage in the world was a wine made from rice and honey about 9,000 years ago in central China.[3] In the Shang Dynasty (1750-1100 BCE), funerary objects routinely featured wine vessels.[4] The production of rice wine in Japan is believed to have started around third century BCE, after the introduction of wet rice cultivation.[5]

As a result of Alexander the Great's expedition to India, the Roman Empire had begun importing rice wine by the first century BCE.[6]

Production

Despite being called a wine, the rice wine's production process has some similarities to that of brewing beer, reflecting its chief ingredient being a grain rather than a fruit. The specific approaches to making rice wine vary by type. Some rice wine (such as the Chinese rice wine, or Mijiu) is made from glutinous rice, while others (such as the Japanese Sake) is made from non-glutinous rice. However, all systems combine rice with some fungal culture in some ways. The fungal culture is called jiuqu in Chinese and koji in Japanese. In the traditional Chinese rice-wine-making approach, the glutinous rice is soaked for several days before being steamed, and subsequently is left to cool in a ceramic vat at near room temperature. Then, the jiuqu is added and mixed with the rice. The primary functions of jiuqu are to supply enzymes to convert starch to sugar and to supply yeast for ethanol production. After a few days, the liquid formed in the ceramic vat is combined with an additional mix of water and fungi to adjust the rice wine's water content.[7]

Types

See also

References

  1. ^ Huang, H. T. "Science and civilization in China. Volume 6. Biology and biological technology. Part V: fermentations and food science." (2000).
  2. ^ Xu W, Jiang J, Xu Q, Zhong M. Drinking tastes of Chinese rice wine under different heating temperatures analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and tribology tests. J Texture Stud. 2021;52: 124–136. https://doi.org/10.1111/jtxs.12571
  3. ^ Borrell, Brendan. "The Origin of Wine". Scientific American. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  4. ^ Poo, Mu-Chou (1999). "The Use and Abuse of Wine in Ancient China". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient. 42 (2): 123–151. doi:10.1163/1568520991446820. ISSN 0022-4995. JSTOR 3632333.
  5. ^ "Sake | Definition & History | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-01-10.
  6. ^ Kiple, Kenneth F.; Ornelas, Kriemhild Coneè, eds. (2000). The Cambridge World History of Food (PDF). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/chol9780521402149. ISBN 9781139058636.
  7. ^ "Rice Wines - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics". www.sciencedirect.com. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  8. ^ Gico, Emma T.; Ybarzabal, Evelyn R. (20 November 2018). "Indigenous Rice Wine Making in Central Panay, Philippines". Central Philippine University. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  9. ^ Luithui, Chonchuirinmayo (August 29, 2014). "Who Killed The Rice Beer?". Kangla Online. Retrieved September 14, 2019.

Further reading

External links