Do you think sake is made only from sake rice? In fact, it also uses rice that we eat as a meal. Sake sommelier Eriko Fujita explains the intriguing topic of "sake made from edible rice."

Edible rice is also used in sake brewing

The main ingredient in sake is rice. Sake lovers will know that sake rice or rice suitable for sake brewing is used in particular. However, that doesn't mean that sake can only be made from special varieties of rice such as Yamada Nishiki or Gohyakumangoku. Table rice such as Koshihikari, which we eat every day, is also used in sake brewing.

The difference between sake rice and table rice

In general, sake rice is more difficult to cultivate than rice for eating, and tends to be more expensive. Yamada Nishiki rice is particularly expensive because it is tall, prone to falling over, and vulnerable to pests. Therefore, in order to keep the price of raw materials down, sake rice is sometimes used to make the koji and yeast starter that are the key ingredients in sake brewing, and food rice or processed rice is used for the rice used for brewing, which accounts for about 7% of the rice used. This is a way for sake brewers to deliver cheap rice to consumers while maintaining as much flavor as possible.

By the way, what is the difference between sake rice and table rice? Sake rice is required to have characteristics such as not breaking easily during polishing, large grains, and having coarse parts and white cores in the rice (which make it easier for koji mold to penetrate). Table rice does not have these characteristics, so it has been said that it is difficult to make sake with it.

A sake brewery that "makes sake only from rice that is eaten"

Shirasugi Sake Brewery in Tango City, Kyoto Prefecture, is famous for being a sake brewery that "makes sake only from rice that can be eaten," taking on the challenge of brewing sake using edible rice, which was previously considered difficult. Taking advantage of the characteristics of Tango, where koshihikari rice is produced, after five years of trial and error, in 5 they released "Tango no Hikari," which is made from 2013% Kyotango koshihikari rice. Two years later, they achieved the feat of using 100% edible rice for all of their sake. Today, they are a brewery to watch, producing new and unique sake every year.

Click here for the sake brewery in this article

Shirasugi Sake Brewery

京都

♯Sake brewery#Kyoto

For sustainable agriculture

There are many other sake breweries that use only edible rice. This is especially common in areas known for their rice, and using edible rice, which is easy to grow, also helps support rice farmers. Using edible rice in sake brewing also helps with efforts toward sustainable agriculture.

Writer/Sake Master Eriko Fujita
Expand your world to a sake specialty store in Osaka and encounter a variety of sake and sake breweries. Favorite sakes are Akishika, Ohgi, and others.
Other than drinking, my hobbies include collecting minerals and raising swallowtail butterflies.