The last three DISCOVERING SHOCHU articles have touched upon all ingredient types. The next few episodes will focus on each Shochu type, delving deeper into the history, characteristics, food pairings, and serving suggestions. The first focus will feature Imo Shochu (sweet potato shochu). Alike all potato families, Kansho sweet potatoes were said to have […]
Honkaku Shochu, or traditional Shochu, represents Japan’s pride and true distillation art. Moromi mash created using koji spores indigenous to Japan, and the use of single distillation yields distinct flavor characteristics and refined aroma highlighting the original ingredient. And unlike many distilled spirits from around the world, there are various types of Honkaku Shochu differing […]
Reasonating History and Geography of Its Heartland Areas covering Kyushu and Okinawa are relatively small by comparison to Japan’s total land mass, however, they house more than half of the 470 total breweries producing Shochu in Japan. What makes it so surprising is the myriad of interesting honkaku shochu products which have developed as […]
Origin of the Distillation Technology Research shows that distillation machines existed in Mesopotamia near present day Iraq, around 3000 BC. Westward in Europe, distillation machines developed alchemy, and eastward, in India, provided the modern technique to produce medicines and perfumes. Much later around the 13th century during the Yuan Dynasty in China, distillation machines […]
According to Wikipedia, minerality is “a sense of mineral-ness in the wine. It’s not an everyday word, but it’s one we use to describe wine. For sake brewing, the quality of water used is as important as the quality of sakamai, or sake rice. Each brewery opts for quality water sources, to reflect the water’s […]
Have you wondered why sake requires a certain type of rice, namely sake rice as opposed to rice which is used for consumption? Let’s take a close look at sake rice, or sakamai in Japanese. So, why do brewers use sake rice, a particularly expensive and difficult to strain of rice to grow? It’s because […]
How to enjoy hot sake was the topic I covered in the last episode/article, but did you know that in some parts of Europe “hot wine” is being consumed during the cold Winter season? It’s called “Vin Chaud” in France, and “Gluhwein” in Germany. Wine is heated with spices like cinnamon and clove and with […]
Years end in 2010 in Los Angeles was particularly odd as rain continued for days, along with record low temperatures. It was during those times that I’d crave warm foods and drinks. As the winter’s cold penetrated down to my bones, I too headed to an izakaya pub to seek comfort with a drink of […]
I attended the 14th Annual World of Flavors Conference at the renowned Culinary Institute of America, a program designed for the advancement of professional chefs in their trade and culinary art. This year featured “Japan: Flavors of Culture”, bringing culinary geniuses from Japan who presented their life work to America’s leading chefs. I’d like to […]
Continuing with my Sake and Wine comparison, let’s focus on 1.) types of acids, and 2.) alcohol levels. These components vary greatly, and understanding this will help to explain food pairing basics and to better select complimentary seasonings and sauces. Let’s first take a look at acids – the types of acids, and their concentration […]
