INTRODUCTION toSAKE
In 2013, Japanese cuisine, also known as washoku, was designatedas Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO. Sake is a perfect matchfor washoku. It is already enjoyed internationally by amateurs andprofessionals alike around the world.

What is sake?
Sake is an alcoholic beverage made from ricethrough fermentation and filtration. For
fermentation of sake, rice koji, a kind of fungigrown on rice, is used. Sake has been made forover 1,000 years all over the Japanese islands.
There are about 1,500 sake makers producing
their unique sake with different regional tastes.

One unique characteristic of sake is that it
contains a lot of amino acids, which are responsible
for “Umami”. Sake is an excellent pairing for
traditional Japanese dishes. Furthermore, theUmami present in sake makes it a great match forwestern dishes as well as other Asian cuisine.
Even though rice has a rather bland flavor,sake, particularly Ginjo-shu, has fruity flavors
similar to apples, bananas, and various fruits.
These flavors are the results of high sake-making
skill.

Sweet or dry?

What does sake taste like and go well with?
Generally, alcoholic content in sake is about
15% (v/v), which is a little higher than wine. Extract
is an indicator of sweetness, and taste of sakevaries from dry to sweet. Acidity of sake isgenerally lower than wine but higher than beer.
AlcoholExtract

Hot or cold, how to serve sake?

WineBeerSake
01020(%)

0510(%)

Acidity
Amino Acids0(mEq/100 mL)

6.7

13.3

WineBeerSake
0200400(mg/100 mL)

05

Many sake bottles show nihonshudo on theirlabels. It is a scientific measurement of density
and sometimes referred as sake meter value(SMV). Higher nihonshudo means lower density
and corresponds to a drier taste, though acidity,
aroma, and alcohol content also affect how sweetor dry the sake tastes.

10(g/L)

Tartaric acid

Warmed: Warmed sake is the traditional way todrink it. Generally, 42-45°C (107.6-113°F) aresuitable temperatures. Well-aged sake with richacidity tastes more delicious when drunk warm.
For sake with mild and delicate flavors, lower
temperatures,
35-40°C(95-104°F),
arerecommended.
Chilled: Fruity sake, such as ginjo-shu, andunpasteurized (nama) sake are recommended tobe served chilled (around 10°C (50°F)) to fully
enjoy their flavors.
On the rocks: Well suited for the summer season!

Types of sake

Cup or glass, to each its own

There are many types of sake, and thedifferences mainly depend on the brewing
methods. For sake making, brown rice is polishedto scrape off its outer layer, which is rich in lipid,
protein, minerals, etc. and makes the sake flavor
rough. Thus, the degree of rice polishing influences
the quality of sake.
Besides regular sake, special kinds of sakeare as follows:

Traditionally, pottery or porcelain small cups
have been used to drink sake. For ceremonies,square wooden cups (masu) and lacquer ware areused, too. Small glasses and wine glasses arerecommended for chilled sake.

Ginjo-shu: Specially refined sake made fromhighly polished rice with special techniques. It has
a mild taste with fruity flavors, such as apple,
melon, banana, etc.
Junmai-shu: Sake made only from rice and ricekoji. Generally, it has rich taste and flavor.
Honjozo-shu: Sake made from rice, rice koji, andlimited volumes of neutral alcohol. It has a wellbalanced taste and flavor.
(These three types are defined as high quality sake,and there are more detailed classification andregulations for production process.)

Unpasteurized sake (Nama-shu or Nama-zake):
Generally,sake
ispasteurized
twice.
Unpasteurized sake is not heat-sterilized at all andfeatures fresh flavors.
Cloudy sake (Nigori-zake): Coarsely filteredsake. It is soft and pleasant on the tongue.
Sparkling sake: Sparkling sake is popular rightnow. Some of them contain lower alcohol thanstandard sake does. It is best served chilled.
Long-aged sake: It has special flavors andmellow taste and has its own category of sake.

How to store sake?
High temperature and light deteriorate theflavor of sake. So, dark and cool places like a winecellar are desirable to store sake. It is generally
recommended to consume sake within 1 year after
bottling. Once a bottle is opened, it should betightly closed, kept in a cool place, and consumed
soon (generally within a month).
Ginjo-shu’s highly fruity flavors are particularly
sensitive to high temperatures, and it should bekept in a refrigerator or cold place. Unpasteurized
sake needs to be kept in a refrigerator, too.

Further Information
Website of our institute (NRIB) and that ofJapan Sake and Shochu Makers Association(JSS) provide you with further information. Searchfor “NRIB” and “Japansake”, respectively, on theweb.

National Research Institute of Brewing (NRIB), Japan(http://www.nrib.go.jp/)(Some photos were supplied by JSS.)