Amazake Base (Concentrated Amazake)

A sweet drink made by mixing rice koji with rice (or rice porridge) and keeping it warm at 55-60°C for 8-10 hours to saccharify starch with koji enzymes. So nutritious it is called 'drinkable IV drip.' Contains no alcohol.

Steamed rice cultivated with koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae). The starting point for almost all Japanese fermented foods: sake, miso, soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, amazake, and more. Truly the 'mother of Japanese fermentation culture.'

Barley cultivated with koji mold. Essential for barley miso and barley shochu in Kyushu and Shikoku. Characterized by lighter flavor and distinctive nuttiness compared to rice koji.

The white solid remaining after pressing sake mash. Widely used in cooking (kasujiru soup, kasuzuke pickles), as amazake base, and in cosmetics. A nutritious food containing resistant protein (hard-to-digest protein).

Steamed rice cultivated with koji mold (Aspergillus oryzae). The starting point for almost all Japanese fermented foods: sake, miso, soy sauce, vinegar, mirin, amazake, and more. Truly the 'mother of Japanese fermentation culture.'

A sweet alcoholic condiment (about 14% ABV) made from glutinous rice, rice koji, and shochu/distilled alcohol, saccharified and aged for about 60 days. Widely used as a seasoning in Japanese cuisine.

Yeast-fermented bread arrived from Portugal in the 16th century. It evolved uniquely in Japan, producing unparalleled variety: shokupan (milk bread), anpan (red bean), curry bread, melon bread, and more. Natural yeast and sake-seed bread are also popular.

A versatile seasoning made by fermenting rice koji with salt and water. Koji enzymes break down proteins in meat and fish to unlock umami. A 'shio koji boom' around 2011 spread it nationwide.