Amazake 甘酒
Amazake is a sweet, thick drink made from fermented rice. Its name means "sweet sake", but the koji type contains no alcohol.
About Amazake
- Two types: Koji amazake is made from rice and rice koji, which turns starch into natural sugar; it has no alcohol and suits children. Sake-lees amazake is sake kasu dissolved in hot water with sugar, and contains a trace of alcohol.
- Season: Today it is mostly a winter drink. Shrines and temples serve or sell it at New Year, and it appears at festivals.
- Summer history: In the Edo period people drank it all year and especially in summer, to fight summer fatigue. It can still be drunk chilled with ice.
- Where to try it: Shrines and temples at New Year, teahouses and festivals, and supermarkets and convenience stores in cans, bottles and blocks of sake lees.
- How to drink it: Often served hot, sometimes topped with finely grated ginger.
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
Checked against: Tracing the History of the Fermented Beverage, Amazake | Shun Gate · All About Amazake: From History of Fermentation to Modern Experimentation | Tokyo Weekender · Amazake | Wikipedia.
Amazake on Shibuya246
Photos and stories from the blog, as they were written at the time.
Akita Bisaikan
Akita Prefecture have set up antenna shops around Japan to help promote the beauty and charm of Akita. Offices have currently been set up in Tokyo…
Kamakura Snow Festival, Yokote
I visted Yokote, Akita-Ken, for the recent Kamakura Snow Festival. The Kamakura tradition dates back over 400 years when small snow houses were made for the Gods and filled with food and Sake. The tradition carries on today with people from all over Japan and other countries coming to see the kamakura made by local villagers and children.