Rice wine is a common sweet wine in daily life. It has a sweet and delicious taste, a good texture, and a low alcohol content. It is very popular. Some people make rice wine at home, but rice wine is prone to turning sour during the fermentation process. This is mainly related to the ratio of ingredients and may also be related to the temperature.
The sourness in rice wine fermentation is related to the ratio of raw materials.
The fermentation of Shaoxing wine mainly consists of two processes: saccharification and alcoholic fermentation. If the proportions of raw materials are incorrect or the production steps are not followed correctly, the Shaoxing wine will turn sour during fermentation.
In addition, if the raw material ratio is incorrect, Rhizopus will over-proliferate during saccharification, leading to an increase in the oxygen content in the rice wine, which causes the alcohol to oxidize into acetic acid, thus making the rice wine sour.
What is sour rice wine?
The main reasons are as follows:
Yellow rice wine can turn sour during fermentation, possibly due to high temperatures. The high temperature during fermentation causes microorganisms to produce bacteria and trace amounts of acidic substances.
Secondly, improper management during the production of rice wine can also lead to its sourness and astringency. This is because if there is too much Rhizopus, the oxygen content in the rice wine will increase, interfering with the brewing process. Some of the alcohol will be converted into acetic acid, resulting in the rice wine becoming sour and astringent.
A method for making homemade rice wine
Prepare 1000 grams of glutinous rice, one yeast cake, and a bowl of cooled boiled water.
1. Wash the glutinous rice twice with clean water. Do not rub or wash it too many times. Otherwise, the glutinous rice will lose a lot of nutrients, resulting in a poor taste and reduced nutritional value of the rice wine.
2. Wash the glutinous rice, add an appropriate amount of water, soak for 12 hours, then drain. Cook the glutinous rice in a steamer until done. Pour the glutinous rice onto a clean gauze and steam for half an hour.
3. Prepare a clean container, such as a soup pot. Be sure to remove the lid beforehand and clean and sterilize it. Pour the glutinous rice into the container, break it up with chopsticks, and let it cool for a while.
4. Wrap the sweet rice wine starter in paper and crush it into powder with a rolling pin. This will allow it to be added to the glutinous rice more easily and improve the fermentation efficiency.
5. Once the glutinous rice is dry enough to handle but not too hot, gradually add 1000 grams of cold boiled water in several batches, stirring constantly to ensure the rice and water are evenly mixed. Then slowly add the sweet rice wine baking powder and stir well with chopsticks. Finally, poke a small hole in the center with your finger to check how much wine is inside.
6. Cover the pot. The optimal fermentation temperature is 30℃. You can place the pot next to a radiator or on a heated kang (a traditional heated platform bed), and cover it with a thick quilt. After 36 hours of fermentation, the rice wine is ready, and a considerable amount of wine has been produced.
7. Add an appropriate amount of cooled boiled water or purified water, stir well, and refrigerate. Eat as soon as possible.
Skills Summary:
1. Glutinous rice must be steamed before it can be used to make rice wine. Soak it overnight before steaming, otherwise it will take a long time to steam.
To make rice wine, you need to add water. The amount of wine is quite large. The ratio of water to glutinous rice should be 1:1.
3. Glutinous rice must be cooled before adding the starter culture; otherwise, the fermenting microorganisms in the starter culture will be burned and lose their activity, leading to fermentation failure.
4. During fermentation, keep it in a warm environment. After fermentation is complete, add cooled boiled water promptly to stop fermentation. If the rice wine ferments for too long, it will turn sour and affect its taste.
