How do you make sake at home?

Question by Android: How do you make sake at home?
I'm in the USA. I like mine with fresh lime juice on the rocks. Thanks!


Best answer:

Answer by zachwhite82
* 1500g (3.3 lb) rice

* 400g (0.9 lb) Kome-koji

* 0.5g (0.02 oz) citric acid

* 2.4 liter (0.5 gal) Water

* 5g (0.18 oz) dry bread yeast. Or equivalent amount of Beer Ale yeast,Wine yeast or Wyeast Sake

¡¡depending on your taste.




Following is for US people to understand better;
(This is proposed by Dr. Jim Palmer. Thanks a lot, Dr.)
*2 quarts of water
*3 ½ lbs of rice or 6 cups uncooked ( per example)
*1 lb of Kome-koji
*Juice of 1 lemon
*1 package of yeast






You will be able to get Kome-koji made from Koji or Koji-kin, a kind of white fungi, together with

steam cooked rice at your grocery stores or homebrew stores. If you only can get Koji or Koji-kin, you can easily

make your fresh Kome-koji together with steam cooked rice by yourself using your picnic ice box.

Later I will show you how to make Kome-koji.


Equipment:


* Electric rice cooker (steam cooker is better)

* Basket to drain water

* 10 liters (2.6 gal) enamel or stainless steel deep cooking pot with lid

¡¡(Equivalent plastic or glass container can be used)

* Big spoon (stainless is better)


Procedure:


1. Wash and soak the 1500g(3.3 lb) rice for about 30min.and then put the rice in a basket for at least

¡¡60minutes to drain the water.


2. Cook the rice with 1800ml(0.48 gal) water using the rice cooker. Steam cooking is recommended for better taste.

¡¡I used a pressure cooker to steam cook rice using a stainless steel basket suspended in it.


3.After cooking,cool down the rice to 30 degC(86degF).


4. Mix the citric acid with 2.4 liter (0.5 gal) water in the enamel cooking pot.

¡¡Citric acid will prevent contamination by bacteria and add a slightly sour taste to your Sake.

¡¡Depending upon your taste,you can reduce the citric¡¡acid.

¡¡Also you can uselactic acid or a lemon or lime juice.


5. Add 400g Kome-koji and mix well by agitating with the¡¡big spoon.


6. In 30 minutes, add the cooled cooked rice and mix well by agitating with the big spoon.


7.Add the yeast, place the lid on the pot and keep it at room temperature(lower than 25 degrees C or 77 F).

¡¡Lower temperatures will cause slower and longer fermentation and will result in a better taste.


8.Stir it at least once a day.In two or three days you can enjoy a very nice Sake aroma.

¡¡Be careful about bacterial contamination. I used 70% ethyl alcohol spray around the pot and on

¡¡myself every time.


9.In two weeks fermentation will seem to end.


10.Filter the sludge using a sterilized basket or cheese cloth.


11.Enjoy the filtered Sake. Do not drink too much. Alcohol content is two to three times more than beer.

¡¡Cooling the filtered Sake is the best way to taste it.If you want crystal clear Sake,

¡¡separate the remaining sludge by decanting. This will greatly reduce the Sake Sake yield.


12.The remaining sludge can be used to make pickled vegetables in a refrigerator.

¡¡A cucumber is the most suitable vegetable. Before pickling, sprinkle lightly with salt

¡¡(about 2% weight of the cucumber)and place the cucumber in a dry container under two times it's weight

¡¡for at least 2 days to squeeze out any excess moisture. Then immerse in the sludge and in

¡¡two or three months, you will have sake tasting pickles. You can also put in white fish meat and then

¡¡grill it. If you put soy bean cake (tofu) wrapped with cheese clothe into the sludge,in a week

¡¡you will get a cheese like sake tasting food. The longer fermentation,the better the sake-cheese like taste.

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