How Ancient Fermentation Techniques Shaped The Sake We Drink Today
Nihonshu, also known as sake, is a rice-fermented alcoholic beverage from Japan. It's truly a timeless classic. While this drink is a common cooking staple today, its origins predate written history — older than paper itself. According to the Penn Museum, there are archaeological records of a fermented rice beverage appearing as early as 7000 to 6600 B.C. in China's Huang He Valley. For reference, the earliest record we have of wine is from around 5980 B.C., around 8,000 years ago.
The initial fermentation process of sake is quite different from what we have with modern technology. The earliest brewers made the prototype through a process called kuchikamizake, meaning "mouth-chewed alcohol." They would chew the rice and then spit it into a container, where enzymes from the saliva helped it ferment.
The word "kami" means "bite", but spelled with different characters, it's also the word for "deity," which is pretty poetic when looking at sake's role in Japanese society. The first written record of the drink comes from China's "The Book of Wei" in the 3rd century, and the text describes it as a funerary drink for the Japanese. Sake was used as an offering to the gods, and more formal production methods began with religious institutions between the 12th and 14th centuries. The tradition of offering sake endures in Shinto temples today.
Development of sake fermentation techniques
What makes sake distinct from soju and wine is its unique brewing process. Initially, the beverage was reserved for the upper echelon, but that changed after the Middle Ages when rice cultivation became more widespread. The second half of the 16th century is when the more modern version of making sake took shape. Brewers started polishing white rice grains, which strips away the outer protein and fat shell and exposes the starchy insides.
Long gone were the days of using kuchikamizake. These polished rice grains could now ferment with koji, a type of mold with enzymes that break down the rice's proteins and starches. It's added after the rice is washed and steamed, fermenting the sake base until it's ready to go through filtration and heat sterilization. This technique began in the Edo period (1603-1868 C.E.) and continued improving with technological advances. The following Meiji era brought more industrialization to Japan along with the practice of using glass bottles to store sake. In 2024, traditional Japanese sake brewing was even recognized by UNESCO.
In the 21st century, sake is beloved worldwide for its versatility. When it comes to the depth of its taste and cooking applications, it has a range similar to wine. Coworkers and friends in Japan will get together for drinks after work and pour each other a cup of sake to unwind in the evening. It might not last as long as some spirits after breaking the seal, but if someone's opening a bottle of sake, it's meant to be shared with others. The past and present have a way of coming together with this drink.