C7 - Rice Cultivation - completed Flashcards
What is rice?
- Rice is a type of grass
- planted from seed each spring
- harvested in the autumn
- leaving no viable parts behind
How rice is propagated?
- by planting seeds harvested from the previous crop
What’s the difference between rice and barley and wheat in terms of their propagation?
they’re the same
What’s the other term of Asian rice?
Oryzae sativa
What is Oryzae sativa?
the plant species commonly known as Asian rice.
what are the two types of Asian rice (Oryzae sativa)?
- Indica (long grained)
- Japonica (short grained)
Which type of Asian rice used to brew sake?
Japonica - short grained, non-sticky
how Indica and Japonica can be further categorised?
by more or less glutinous (sticky)
why it’s important to use non-sticky rice?
- it’s easier to handle because it won’t stick together
- it’s easier for the koji enzymes to break down the starch into sugar
what are the features of Shuzō kōteki mai?
- a low protein content
- a well-defined shinpaku
- large grains (25-30g/1000 grains)
- resistant to cracking when polishing
- good water absorbency
- broken down easily by enzymes when brewing
what is shinpaku?
- the white, opaque section at the centre of the rice kernel, made up of starch granules
what is the ideal shape of shinpaku?
flat and disc-shaped.
what is the advantage of using rice that has low protein content?
- which ensures the sake contains less amino acids and peptiles.
what is the advantage of using rice that has large grain and resistant to cracking?
- which ensures the small amount of undesirable components can be removed completely
- if the rice grain cracked during polishing, it’s difficult to remove the undesirable components effectively.
- large grain means after polishing the remaining grain size is still large enough, and easier to continue polishing.
what is the advantage of using rice that has good water absorbency?
- which ensures the water can penetrate deep inside the grain during washing, soaking and steaming
- the high water content helps the rice break up easily during fermentation
- its starch will dissolve into the liquid during fermentation, made available to be converted to sugar for the yeast to feed on.
how many registered sake-specific rice varieties in Japan in 2015?
over 100
which two sake-specific rice species made up half of all sake-specific rice production?
- Yamada-nishiki
- Gohyakuman-goku
Which three sake-specific rice ranked the top 3 for over a decade?
- Yamada-nishiki
- Gohyakuman-gaku
- Miyama-nishiki
Nearly half of the current sake-specific rice varieties are registered after which year?
year 2000
which sake-specific variety ranked no. 4th today?
Dewa-sansan
which year did Dewa-sansan registered?
1997
what happened to the previous (10 and 15 yrs ago) ranked no. 4th rice varieties today?
no longer in the current top 10 list.
historically, how the brewers source the sake-specific rice?
from the rice farmers.
why it’s unusal for a brewer to grow their own rice?
for historical reasons