[Top] [Prev] [Next] [Bottom]
Chapter 11. Shochu and Mirin
In a former section it was mentioned that the residue of undissolved starch and
cellulose, left behind after pressing the mash, contained about 6% alcohol, and
that the brewer made use of a method which enabled him to recover the greater pa
rt of it. This is effected by a process of distillation whereby a kind of spirit
called shochu is obtained, which contains, according to certain variations in t
he treatment, from 20 to more than 40% absolute alcohol. The apparatus used is r
epresented by the accompanying woodcut (Figure
2;31) and is in principle the same as the small earthenware still, here call
ed rambiki, much used in pharmacy. It consists of a shallow, iron basin
built over a common fireplace in which wood is burnt, and provided with a flang
e upon which a wooden cylinder with a perforated bottom rests. Upon the top of t
his cylinder or tub there is fitted an iron basin terminating below in a point i
mmediately above a kind of flat funnel, the tube of which bends away at an angle
, and leads outside the tub to a receiver. The iron basin, when filled with cold
water, serves as a condenser and the alcohol which collects upon the under surf
ace, runs down to the point and from that drips into the funnel and then flows o
utside into the receiver. The condenser A is 24 inches in diameter in the still
used at Itami, the wooden tub T, 21-1/2 inches in diameter and 26 inches in heig
ht. In other places the dimensions vary a little, thus at Hachioji the condenser is 21 inches in diameter, and 15 inches at the deepest part, the tub is 34 inches high, and in diameter a little less than the condenser. About five of these stills are placed side by side, and the water required for cooling is obtained from a bamboo pipe S leading from a cistern, and having a hole closed by a plug for each condenser. 10 kuwamme of the residue (kasu) are mixed with 1.1 kw. of the husk of rice; the quantities used are, however, not usually weighed, but are measured in a wooden tub 20 inches in diameter and 13 inches high, two of which hold 10 kuwamme. The mixture is then placed in the tub upon a hempen cloth which covers the perforated bottom; the boiler is filled with water and the tub is then placed in position, the junction being made tight by means of a straw ring. The condenser is then placed upon the top of the tub, and is filled with water by withdrawing the plug from the bamboo pipe S. The fire is lighted, and as soon as the water boils the vapor rises through the mixture of residue and husk, the latter being used for the purpose of keeping the whole porous. The heat is so regulated that when the water boils, that in the condenser never does more than simmer, and the condensed water and alcohol drop onto the funnel and are collected outside. The water in the condenser is changed several times during an operation lasting one hour, and according to the number of times the water is changed does the strength of the distilled liquid vary; this gives the name to the spirit produced which may be san jo dori (collected in three sho), go jo dor, or shichi-jo-dori (collected in five and seven sho, respectively). For the preparation of the first named spirit, the water is removed 2-1/2 times, for the second 3 times, and 4-1/2 times for the third; for the production of the latter the fire is not urged so much, so that the operation is somewhat prolonged, and of course, more water condenses.
When any of the sake which has been brewed becomes spoilt, the alcohol which it contains is recovered by putting it into the boiler instead of water, and the process of distillation is then conducted in the way above described.
The following are the percentages of alcohol and the specific gravities of some specimens from various places; the liquids contained mere traces of soluble solid matter.
The residue left after distilling off the alcohol is sold for use as a manure.
The principal use to which this spirit is put is in the preparation of mirin, a kind of liquer, which is much drunk at the New Year, and is also largely used for cooking purposes.
The following table gives the composition of a good many different kinds of mirin from different parts, each having a distinctive character: the majority retain merely the aroma received in the ordinary process of manufacture, others, however, are flavored with special materials such as plum juice, and the laves of certain scented herbs.
Most of the above specimens were yellow, thick, somewhat oily liquids, having a sweet, alcoholic taste, and with a peculiar aroma. The two last were specially flavored, the m'meshu possessed a pleasant, acid taste, and a smell of plums, both given to it by digesting the liquer with sour plums. The shisso-shu had a flavor somewhat resembling that of cinnamon, given to it by digestion with the leaves of the Perilla arguta, called in Japanese shisso.
The mode of preparation of mirin depends upon the principles laid down in the first part of this document as to the influence of koji upon starch, but the process differs from that followed in the making of sake, inasmuch as, owing to the presence of the large quantity of alcohol contained in shochu fermentation does not set in, and the chemical changes, therefore, are limited to the solvent action upon starch.
At Itami the following mixture is made:
The mixture is put into a large tub and stirred every two days for a period of twenty days, after which a fresh quantity of shochu, amounting to 0.70 koku, is added; the whole is allowed to stand for two days more, stirred, allowed to settle, the clear liquid decanted, and the residue passed through filtering bags. The total quantity of mirin obtained is 21 koku, and the residue amounts to 180 kuwamme, so that, assuming the specific gravity of the mirin to be 1.07, the total weight of mirin and residue will be 1258.5 kuwamme. The total weight of mochigome, koji, and shochu used, including the water taken up during steaming amounts to 1313 kuwamme, thus there is a deficiency of 54.5 kuwamme. This may in part be accounted for by the necessity of using average numbers in the calculation as for the weight of rice, the specific gravity of mirin, etc. At Ozaka the process is quite similar, but the proportions of the materials used differ somewhat; the following are the amounts:
This quantity is allowed to stand for 15 or 20 days and is stirred every three days. 24 koku of mirin are obtained and 120 kuwamme of residue, altogether weighing 1352 kuwamme while the materials used weight, according to calculations, 1340 kuwamme, a sufficiently close agreement considering the necessity of guessing more or less at the numbers. If we calculate the percentage of alcohol which should be contained in the mirin on the assumption that the shochu used contained 25% by weight of alcohol, and that 6 percent remained in the residue, the percentage in the Itami mirin ought to be 16%, and in that made at Ozaka, 16.6%. As the average percentage is much less than this it shows that the strength of the shochu used must be less than that found for go-sho-dori, and secondly, that there can be no fermentation in the process, as indeed could be seen from the strength of the spirit used. The change which does occur is the conversion of the starch of the rice into dextrose and dextrin; if the whole of the starch contained in the rice used at Ozaka were converted into dextrose, it would form 300 kuwamme which would yield a liquid containing 24.3% dextrose, a number which is not far from those actually found in many specimens.
[Top] [Prev] [Next] [Bottom]
stevens@stsci.edu
