INTRO
UNESCO Koji Fermentation recognition? In episode 83, we discuss the recent announcement that Japanese koji alcohol fermentation has been named an intangible cultural heritage.
CREDITS
Theme Song: Begin Anywhere by Tomoko Miyata (http://tomokomiyata.net/)
Mixing and Editing: Rich Pav (https://uncannyjapan.com/)
HOSTS
CHRISTOPHER PELLEGRINI Vermont born and bred, long-time Tokyo resident and author of The Shochu Handbook, Christopher learned about delicious fermentations as a beer brewer at Otter Creek (Middlebury, VT). He now spends most of his waking hours convincing strangers that shochu and awamori are unlike anything they’ve ever tried before.
STEPHEN LYMAN discovered Japan’s indigenous spirits at an izakaya in New York City. He was so enthralled that he now lives in Japan and works in a tiny craft shochu distillery every autumn. His first book, The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks, was nominated for a 2020 James Beard Award.
Stephen and Christopher are longtime proponents of the unique beauty of koji fermentation in Japan. This UNESCO announcement just confirms our beliefs.
If you have any comments or questions about this episode, please reach out to Stephen or Christopher via Instagram. We would love to hear from you.
SHOW NOTES
UNESCO
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, which is tasked with fostering peace through cross cultural understanding. The “intangible cultural heritage” program is intended to help countries protect their unique cultural heritage and receive international recognition that this cultural heritage is unique to their society.
There have been 788 intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO since the program’s founding. Twenty-three uniquely Japanese cultural heritages have been recognized with both washoku (Japanese food preparation) and now kokushu (Japanese alcohol production) being recognized.
Koji Fermentation
While it is completely fair to say that koji fermentation started in China, it is also completely fair to say that koji fermentation as is used in Japan is completely unique to Japan. The reason is that the Chinese fermentation methods that were imported to Japan in the 500s CE included a slurry of micro-organisms: yeasts, bacteria, and molds. by the 700s, Japanese Buddhist monks in Nara had isolated both lactobacillis bacteria and aspergillus mold to create sake as we know it today.
When distillation technology arrived in the 1400s or 1500s, distillation of koji fermentations created awamori (Okinawa) and shochu (Japan) respectively. These spirits now outsell sake in Japan and are as much a part of the UNESCO intangible cultural heritage for koji alcohol fermentation as their more well known brewed cousin.
How Far Does it Extend?
It is obvious that this UNESCO koji fermentation recognition includes nihonshu/seishu (known as sake overseas), Honkaku Shochu, Ryukyu Awamori, and the lesser known doburoku (a rustic non-filtered alcoholic rice brew that only recently became commercialized).
But what about umeshu (the misnomer plum wine) or other fruit liqueurs made using sake or shochu or awamori as their base alcohol source? How about drinkable honkaku mirin (no salt added)? What about koji spirits that use shochu or awamori as their base spirits as many Japanese gins do?
And perhaps most interestingly, what does this mean for koji whisky? That style that was being made in America decades before malt whisky was made in Japan?
Also, what will this do for koji alcohols overseas? We know that there has been a global boom in Japanese cuisine, but how much influence did UNESCO’s recognition for washoku really have? Likewise, how likely is is that the UNESCO koji fermentation announcement is going to move the needle on global exports of these alcohols? Or is this also just confirmatory?
Much More to Explore
As you can probably tell, we are just beginning to unpack the meaning of the UNESCO koji fermentation announcement. Would love to hear your thoughts as well.
Leave a Reply