Yeast and Sake Making

Pick of the month
Oku no Matsu Shuzo “Daiginjo Shizukusake Juhachidai Ihei” from Fukushima prefecture
This super premium sake is made from the best gourmet rice, refined with a rice polishing rate of 35%: Which means that 65% of the surface has been polished away, leaving only the 35% of the grain intact. Shizukusake is made by a painstakingly unique method.


The sake is separated from the lees by hanging cotton bags full of sake mash (malt, rice and water) and allowing the sake to drip through naturally instead of the normal pressing method. Each drop is carefully collected to create this masterpiece of a sake. The aroma reflects the gorgeous fragrance of the active yeast and the flavor is rich and robust. Saikyo-yaki (fish marinated in a miso-based marinade and then grilled) goes particularly well with this superb sake. An explosive taste sensation awaits you!

Thanks to the YEAST.
It is no exaggeration to say that mankind has flourished on this planet in part thanks to fermented food created with the help of microscopic organisms. Fermentation with microscopic organisms has saved millions of lives throughout our history. It has cured diseases by contributing to the creation of antibiotics and other medicines and helped satisfy hunger when other foods were scarce.

As studies in the science of food advance, people are becoming more aware of the fact that fermented foods, including sake, have health benefits that should not be overlooked. We are discovering that fermented food contains many compounds that help improve our immune systems. This month’s column is about the “uplifting” effects sake has both on our mood and on our immune system. Yes, there is such a thing as a win-win situation!


Some research shows that the two most effective fermented foods in preventing the growth of cancer cells are both Japanese: Miso (soy bean paste) and natto (fermented soy beans). Miso is particularly powerful in controlling cancer cell development. An additional piece of good news is that sake goes extremely well with miso. This is because the flavor and richness packed into miso (which derives from the amino acids contained in the soy beans) is quite similar to the palatability of sake, resulting in a synergetic enhancement of flavors. All dishes featuring ingredients dressed with miso, marinated in miso, cooked with miso, or grilled with miso as well as miso soup, create delicious harmonies with sake. Incidentally, soy sauce, which is indispensable to Japanese cooking, is also a fermented condiment. The addition of soy sauce or various other broths to the dishes above brings out the full flavor and richness of miso even further.

Wine is also known to go very well with fermented foods, especially fermented dairy products like cheese, because of the palate-cleansing effects wine’s strong acidity has. However, lower fat and lower calorie products are popular nowadays. In this culinary climate, therefore, Japanese fermented food products, which are low in calories yet high in fiber, are becoming more desirable. I hope condiments like miso becomes more widely used in Western cooking and that in turn will lead to an increase in the popularity of sake.

Let us raise a glass of sake and enjoy a miso-flavored dish tonight! Miso really is the king of fermented food.