Nigori facts for kids
Nigori sake
|
|
| Type | Sake |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan |
| Region of origin | East Asia |
| Introduced | Pre-1800s, reintroduced 1966 |
| Alcohol by volume | 10.0% - 20.0% |
| Colour | Cloudy white |
| Related products | Sake, Makgeolli, Amazake, Choujiu |
Nigori (say "nee-GOH-ree") is a special kind of sake, which is an alcoholic beverage made from rice. Its name means "cloudy" because that's how it looks! It's usually between 12% and 17% alcohol by volume, often around 15%.
Contents
What Makes Nigori Cloudy?
Sake is usually filtered to remove tiny bits of rice left over after it's made. But Nigori sake is filtered using a wider screen. This lets small rice particles pass through, making the drink look cloudy.
Doburoku: The Original Unfiltered Sake
Sake that isn't filtered at all is called doburoku (say "doh-boo-ROO-koo"). Long ago, farming families all over Japan made their own doburoku. However, it was banned for a while during the Meiji period. Today, making doburoku has become a local tradition again in some areas. The Mihara village in southern Shikoku is especially known for its doburoku makers.
How Nigori Came Back
A brewer named Tokubee Masuda, from the Tsukino Katsura brewery in Kyoto, wanted to bring back old ways of making sake. His brewery started way back in 1675!
Bringing Back Cloudy Sake
Around 1964 or 1966, Masuda started asking the Japanese government to change sake-making rules. He wanted to make an unfiltered sake that was cloudy, like some European wines. This new sake was cloudy, a bit fizzy, not pasteurized, and slightly sweet.
The Special Filtration Method
To make nigori legal as sake, they created a special "cage" device. This device had holes and fit inside a sake tank. The sake that dripped through the holes was then bottled. The government decided that if the holes were no bigger than 2 millimeters, the filtered drink could be called sake. This is how nigori became a type of sake. Other breweries later used similar methods.
Today, many brewers don't filter the sake this way anymore. Instead, they might add filtered sake to the final product to make it cloudy.
Dark Nigori
In 2010, a brewer from Akita Prefecture made a dark version of nigori sake. Its color comes from adding finely powdered charcoal that you can eat.
Enjoying Nigori Sake
Nigori sake is usually sweet and has a fruity smell. It tastes mild, making it a good drink to have with spicy foods or as a dessert drink.
Opening the Bottle Safely
Sometimes, nigori sake is not pasteurized. This means it's still fermenting a little and can be fizzy. So, if you shake the bottle or it gets too warm, the sake might spurt out when you open it!
To open it safely, twist the cap open just a tiny bit, then close it. Do this a few times to let the gas out slowly.
Tips for the Best Flavor
To get the most flavor from nigori sake, try these tips:
- First, pour and drink only the clear liquid that's on top.
- Then, close the cap and slowly turn the bottle upside down. This mixes the cloudy bits at the bottom with the clear sake. Now you can enjoy a different flavor!
- It's best to drink nigori sake very cold. You can keep it in an ice bucket so it stays cool while you're drinking it.
- Like most sake, it's a good idea to drink the whole bottle once it's opened. This stops it from changing flavor as it sits in the air.
Nigori sake is actually more popular in the United States than in Japan. This has led to more sake brewers in America making it.
See also
