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Toppage ＞ Shudo - The Way of Sake＞ chapter12 |
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| When cooked, new rice is soft and glistening. Every time rice, suited for brewing, is steam-cooked, one cannot help but wish that it will turn into tasty sake.
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『Morning dew 』 |
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 October is called Kannazuki, or the “month without Gods”, after the ancient legend that gods and goddesses from all over Japan gathered to Izumo in western Japan when the sun goddess Amaterasu retreated to a cave.
At this time of year, wild geese begin to reach Japanese shores.
This is also the time when amaranthus leaves turn crimson red. This is why August, in Japan’s lunar calendar (which is present day September), is also called the “month before the geese arrive”.
After enduring the autumnal rain front in September, the Japanese embrace the blue skies and sunny days. Temperatures, however, drop significantly during the course of the month.
The Japanese traditionally divided the year into 24 small seasons.
October 8th marked the start of Kanro, the “cold dew”, when temperatures begin to drop. The morning dew reminds one of how autumn has deepened. October 23rd is the season of “frosting”, when frost begins to settle.
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『Hiyaoroshi』 |
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Come October, when freshly harvested rice is delivered to sake breweries - it’s time to make new sake. The process usually ends by the end of March. Breweries that take time off during the summer season, however, make sake starting September, and complete the process in May.
New sake is made when rice, cultivated with a mold, is fermented between a period of 20 to 30 days, inside a tank. The mash is then filtered into white lees and clear sake.
An increasing number of sake drinkers have acquired a taste for fresh sake in recent years. But most sake is left to mature in tanks to round out the flavor.
There are, however, fears that the quality of the sake may deteriorate while it ages. To remove unneeded ingredients, a little activated carbon is mixed before the liquor is filtered. This purifying process has earned the nickname, “put on a little make-up”.
Next, the liquid is pasteurized. The liquor is heated to about 65 degrees Celsius for about two or three minutes. This stabilizes the sake quality as it halts the activities of microorganisms and enzyme.
Sake is then left to mature in a tank between the seasonal rain-front in June and throughout the summer.
Unlike distilled liquor, clear sake matures in about a short period of six months, due to various substances, which include amino acid and glucose.
When sake matures, the harsh flavor of new sake becomes mellow, and the typical smell of new sake is replaced by a rich aroma of clear sake.
As the young sake matures in October, the liquor is finally ready for shipping.
Traditionally, however, sake was brewed in giant cedar tanks and matured also in large buckets.
Also, as it gets cooler at this time of year, the possibility of sake turning sour due to bacteria contamination tend to diminish. When outside temperatures dropped to about the same level of sake kept in the buckets, the tradition was to ship the “unpasteurized“ and ”cold” sake that were poured into barrels. Thus emerged the term, hiyaoroshi, which means to “ship cold”.
The famous Nada sake district in western Japan calls the well-rounded, matured sake Akibare, or autumnal blue skies, which is a nice way to express the clear nature of this liquor.
The sake cold be enjoyed cold or warm, especially as days grow shorter and nights longer during the autumn season..
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『Bean Moon Sake』 |
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 According to the traditional lunar calendar, September 13th (present day October 15th ) is the thirteenth night, otherwise called the Mame Meigetsu, or Bean Moon.
Soybeans, dumplings, chestnuts and silver grass were offered to the full moon. Because chestnuts, a seasonal delicacy, were also dedicated, the day is also referred to as Kuri meigetsu, or Chestnut Full Moon.
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『 Leave One Mouthful of Rice Left in the bowl When Asking for Seconds』 |
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A drinking party may turn ugly if not all diners are well-mannered. Here are some etiquette tips:
Unlike other traditional Japanese cuisine, Kaiseki cuisine represents a meal where sake is offered while various dishes are set on the table. Because the Japanese do not eat rice while drinking, rice is served at the end to wrap up the meal.
It is customary to serve soup and pickles with the rice. Some restaurants instead offer rice cooked with broth and vegetables, rice with hot tea, rice porridge or even noodles.
Pickles could be served in single portions, or passed around in a bowl. In the latter, diners are expected to place the pickles they have taken on the lid of the rice bowl, flipped upside down..
The rice and soup should be eaten in turns, with one hand lifting each bowl towards one’s mouth. When asking for seconds, diners are expected to leave one mouthful of rice left untouched in their rice bowls. A second helping is served on top of the rice. This is to prevent “breakups”, something that the Japanese have traditionally feared as being a bad omen.
As the Japanese expression goes, “End it on a good note” - it is important that diners do not leave behind leftovers or leave remnants of food scattered on the table. Diners should also leave while offering thanks for the excellent food and liquor prepared by the cooks. |
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『Saury』 |
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Saury fattens up for the winter during autumn. It’s an indispensable seasonal delicacy. The fresh ones are eaten raw, in the form
of sashimi or sushi. But one cannot possibly turn a blind eye to saury grilled with salt. This is because one cannot savor the
bitter taste of its intestines, which is so typical of saury. If the long fish does not fit in a grill, it should be halved diagonally,
from the anus up, so the intestines would not be cut up.
As the centuries-old expression goes, “In comes saury, out goes masseurs” - the Japanese have for long acknowledged the powers of
blue fish, which include rich docosa-hexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) contents. These acids are said to help
improve memory and reduce natural fats in the body.
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『Hair Crabs』 |
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Snow crabs boast of die-hard popularity, while red king crabs, which can recently be purchased in teleshops and so forth, are enjoying growing attention. But there are many people that prefer hair crabs, due to their chewy texture.
They can be caught between the coasts of Hokkaido to Sanriku, and Hokuriku. They become tastier during late fall and winter. Immerse in boiling water with a dash of salt and a few drops of vinegar, to drive out excess moisture.
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『Cherry shrimp』 |
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The small cherry shrimp seem commonplace, but are actually found only in the bays of Suruga and Saga in central Japan, as well as some parts of Tokyo Bay.
The main catching grounds include the mouth of River Fuji, Yui and Kambara towns in Shizuoka. They are caught between October and May. The nocturnal creatures are also called Hikari-ebi, or light-emitting shrimp, as they emit light as they swim near the sea surface during nightfall. They turn a beautiful pink color when they are boiled as soon as they are netted. When eaten with vinegar, soy sauce, broth and grated daikon radish, they make a perfect sake accompaniment.
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| Translated by Stephen Hanson
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