March, 2002:Japan
Sake, an alcoholic beverage that is traditionally consumed heated, has
its roots in western Japan. Although commonly referred to as rice wine,
sake is technically a beer because it is made from cereal grain (specifically,
rice) rather than from grapes or other fruits. Since sake is basically
fermented rice and water, the quality of both the rice and the water determines
the taste of the final product. Of the 90,000 varieties of rice, 200 are
grown in Japan, and only about 28 of these are considered acceptable for
sake production.
Dating back to the third century, sake was an important part of Shinto
religious festivals and wedding and New Year's celebrations. Not until
1889 did sake become available in the United States as a luxury Japanese
import. Since then, there have been 36 sake breweries in the United States.
Of those, only 7 are currently in operation: 5 in California, 1 in Oregon,
and 1 in Colorado. However, sake today is quite different from earlier
sake. One reason is that yeast (kingdom Fungi) has been added to the process,
greatly increasing sake's alcohol content. Sake production requires two
types of yeast: Aspergillus oryzae, an ascomycetous fungus that
is also used to produce soy sauce and miso, and Saccharomyces sp.,
baker's yeast, which is also used in making beer [see "Two
Fingers of Froth: The Netherlands"].
 Cereal grains, especially rice (Oryza sativa), are used in making sake. |
To begin the process of making sake, the "toji," or brewmaster, removes the pericarp from the rice grain in a process known as polishing. Pericarp is a collective term for the three fruit regions: endocarp, mesocarp, and exocarp. Generally, the white rice we consume has been polished 8-10%; however, since the pericarp contains minerals, lipids, and other components that will interfere with the final taste of the sake, rice used for sake is polished anywhere from 25% to more than 50%, depending on the final grade of sake being produced. Within the "kura," or brewery, the rice is washed and steeped, often absorbing up to 30% of the water in the process. The rice, now called "mizukiri," is removed from the remaining water and steamed for up to 1 hour. The steamed rice, called "koji," is then cooled at various temperatures and inoculated with A. oryzae. Fungal mycelia are encouraged to grow for up to 48 hours, during which time they produce enzymes that facilitate the conversion of starch to sugar (starch is a made up of several hundred to several thousand units of glucose). Lactic acid is also added to prevent contamination by other organisms during the subsequent phase of processing. Over the next 25 days, the yeast Saccharomyces sp. is added to ferment the sugars. (Fermentation is a type of anaerobic respiration whereby sugars are broken down to ethanol and carbon dioxide.) The filtered and pasteurized final product, sake, has an alcohol content of 18 - 20%.
 A typical grass flower. |
Rice, Oryza sativa, is in the subfamily Oryzoideae in the grass, or Poaceae, family of monocots. Poaceae is one of the largest families of flowering plants (the angiosperms), with 668 genera and 9,500 species. The leaves have alternate phylotaxy and parallel venation. The flowers of Poaceae are arranged in spikes, a specific type of inflorescence.
Rice has nonfood uses as well. The inedible rice hull is used as fuel, fertilizer, packing material, and insulation. The bran is used in cooking oil, in soap and cosmetics, and as a food additive that provides fiber and increased nutritional content. Straw from the leaves and stems is also economically valuable, being woven into roofs, hats, baskets, mats, and sandals; twisted into sticks for fuel; made into paper; and used as bedding and fodder for cattle.
References, Websites, and Further Reading
Eckhardt, Fred. 1992. SAKE (USA). Portland, OR: Fred Eckhardt Communications.
Levetin, Estelle, and Karen McMahon. 1999. Plants and Society,
2d ed. New York:
McGraw-Hill Companies, p. 405.
Simpson, B.B., and Molly C. Ogorzaly. 2001. Economic Botany: Plants in Our World, 3d ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, p. 351.
http://www.joyofsake.com/Joyofsake/index.html
The Joy of Sake website
http://www.epa.gov/oppt/biotech/fra/fra007.htm
United States Environmental Protection Agency website on Aspergillus
Related Reading in Stern, Kingsley R. 2000. Introductory Plant Biology, 8th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.
Chapter 2: The Nature of Life
Carbohydrates (glucose, starch, polysaccharides), p. 22
Lipids, p. 23
Enzymes, p. 26
Chapter 7: Leaves
Leaf arrangements and types, phylotaxy, pp. 107-8
Chapter 8: Flowers, Fruits, and Seeds
Structure of flowers, pp. 129-32
Differences between monocots and dicots, table 8.1, p. 130
Inflorescence types, fig. 8.7, p. 132
Chapter 10: Plant Metabolism
Fermentation, pp. 178-82
Chapter 19: Kingdom Fungi and Lichens
Division Ascomycota, pp. 338-40
Saccharomyces sp., p. 340
Yeast, p. 341
Chapter 23: Flowering Plants, pp. 417-34
Chapter 24: Flowering Plants and Civilization
Monocots (Poaceae), the grass family, p. 454
Typical grass flower, fig. 24.25, p. 454
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