Amazake
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Template:Nihongo is a traditional sweet, low-alcohol or non-alcoholic Japanese drink made from fermented rice. <ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Amazake dates from the Kofun period, and it is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is part of the family of traditional Japanese foods made using the koji mold Template:Nihongo, which also includes miso, soy sauce, and sake.<ref>Shurtleff, W.; Aoyagi. A. 1988. Amazake and Amazake Frozen Desserts. Lafayette, California: Soyfoods Center. 69 + [52] pp.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
There are several recipes for amazake that have been used for hundreds of years. By a popular recipe, kōji is added to cooled whole grain rice causing enzymes to break down the carbohydrates into simpler unrefined sugars. As the mixture incubates, sweetness develops naturally.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> By another recipe, sake kasu is mixed with water and sugar is added.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Amazake can be used as a dessert, snack, natural sweetening agent, salad dressing or smoothie. One traditional amazake drink, prepared by combining amazake and water, heated to a simmer, and often topped with a pinch of finely grated ginger, was popular with street vendors, and it is still served at inns, teahouses, and at festivals. Many Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples provide or sell it in the New Year.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In the 20th century, an instant version became available.
Amazake contains many nutrients, including vitamin B1, B2, B6, folic acid, dietary fiber, oligosaccharide, cysteine, arginine and glutamine.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It is often considered a hangover cure in Japan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Outside Japan, it is often sold in Asian grocery stores during the winter months, and, all year round, in natural food stores in the U.S. and Europe, as a beverage and natural sweetener.
Similar beverages include the Chinese jiuniang which is more pudding like and Korean gamju or sikhye. In grape winemaking, must – sweet, thick, unfermented grape juice – is a similar product.
See alsoEdit
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- Choujiu
- Fermented drinks and beverages
- Gamju – Korean equivalent of Amazake
- Sikhye – Korean equivalent of Amazake
- Jiuniang – Chinese equivalent of Amazake
- Must – similar product in winemaking
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Japanese food and drink Template:Rice drinks Template:Milk substitutes