Amazake

Amazaké

What it is

Its sweetness is glucose, cut out of the rice starch by koji enzymes; the process is simply stopped before any yeast is involved, which is why there is no alcohol in it. In Edo it was a summer drink, sold cold in the street against heat exhaustion, and it remains a summer season-word in haiku — a surprise to anyone who has only met it hot at a New Year shrine.

In the kitchen

Hold it at 55-60°C for eight hours: below that it sours, and much above 65°C the enzymes die and it never sweetens. Blended smooth it replaces sugar in a dressing or a batter at roughly twice the weight, and it will restart a sluggish sourdough.

Goes with

Ginger Strawberry Yuzu Sesame Cream Lemon

Something wrong here, or missing? Tell us