Koji - Sake's (In?) tangible Cultural Heart

31/12/2024 52 min

Listen "Koji - Sake's (In?) tangible Cultural Heart"

Episode Synopsis

In December, UNESCO recognized “Traditional Sake Making Techniques” as Japan’s latest example of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Andy and Jim have questions, and maybe even a few answers, about what exactly that might mean. The key is, of course, koji and its use in alcoholic fermentation in Japan. Come take a listen as our hosts explore the implications for nihonshu and its future.
Vocabulary for this episode:
Barakoji バラ麹 - Japan’s particular style of sprinkling Aspergillus oryzae spores over loose rice to make koji.
Mochikoji 餅麹 - One Japanese term for the common Chinese style of cake fermentation starter, called sometime jiuqu or qu. Basically, a cake of rice flour or other starch mixed with water and inoculated with various microbes including Apergillus or Rhizopus molds. 
 
Recommendations:
Andy -  Daigorei from Bajo Shuzo
Don’t forget to support us on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/SakeDeepDive 
Also, check out Andy’s new sake tours at: https://www.originsaketours.com/ 
And buy Jim’s book, Discovering Yamaguchi Sake wherever you order your books (print and ebook available)!
Our theme music is from 
Lotus Lane by The Loyalist - Preconceived Notions Available at https://soundcloud.com/preconceived-notions
Under a  Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported— CC BY 3.0
Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/lotus-lane
Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/1YVHRMVwwHg