First time to steam rice - getting ready to make koji

[dray]

Okay - I set out to cold soak some rice and steam it so I could have an idea how this will work. I took 3 cups of Botan Calrose rice and rinsed in cold water until run-off was clear. I filled the bowl up until 1/2 inch of water stood above level of rice, covered and placed in fridge. It went in around 10:00pm.

After work the next day around 7:00pm the rice was white(more white than at the start). The grains were not soft, but not super crunchy- It fit the slightly less than crunchy but nibbleable attribute.

Using a double decker bamboo steamer, I filled a little more than half rice on the bottom, and the rest on the top. I steamed for about and hour.

The rice wasn't quite translucent, but clear-opaque like, not white. It doesn't stick to my hands, but the rice stuck to itself a bit. It came out of the steamer (with the cheese cloth) in a layer - had to break it up.

The rice was a tad more then al dente, lightly chewey - but not starchy - pleasant to chew on and lightly sweet. I can bend the rice grain into a U, and it doesn't snap, as I pull it apart - it split and pulled away almost like a gummy bear, but without stretching.

I didn't dry out the soaked rice before steaming, so thats prob why they stuck together on the ends, but they really don't stick together when breaking up the clumps. If anything, I think this brand might need a longer soak.

BTW, if you do get a bamboo steamer - run it through some steam for a while. The sap comes out (maybe glue???) and is kinda peppery and fragrant - house smells interesting I could see this adding a slight yellow to my sake in the future, although the flavor of the rice didn't really have a strong bamboo character.

So my question is, does this rice seem like good steamed rice? It had structure, but seemed to fairly gelatinized. I think the tane-koji will set right up into it and make some good koji.

One last question, how much rice should I use to make a batch of koji for the Taylor-Made guide style sake? I used 3 cups of rice, that would prob be about 5 cups cooked. It looked about right for a batch, but not sure.

Sorry - actually another question. How well does botan calrose rice make sake?

Thanks,
Dave

[Taylor-MadeAK]

I'll do my best to answer your questions and concerns.

BTW, if you do get a bamboo steamer - run it through some steam for a while. The sap comes out (maybe glue???) and is kinda peppery and fragrant - house smells interesting Smile I could see this adding a slight yellow to my sake in the future, although the flavor of the rice didn't really have a strong bamboo character.

There's no cause for concern, using even a brand new bamboo steamer won't add its own character or color to your sake.

So my question is, does this rice seem like good steamed rice? It had structure, but seemed to fairly gelatinized. I think the tane-koji will set right up into it and make some good koji.

Yep, that rice is cooked all the way through. Normally half an hour is plenty long enough to steam rice to cook it all the way through, but when making sake a longer steaming is required to drive off some of the more volatile fatty acids that reside in the surface cells of the rice kernels. Those fats can darken a sake and add a harsh character, so you're better off without them. In short, your hour-long steam was just fine. I normally steam for 45 minutes.

One last question, how much rice should I use to make a batch of koji for the Taylor-Made guide style sake? I used 3 cups of rice, that would prob be about 5 cups cooked. It looked about right for a batch, but not sure.

This is one of those questions that I don't have direct experience with just yet. I plan to make the koji for my first batch of sake this year, but until then I just don't have any data. This is one of those things that I would do by weight, though, just to try and get the ratios correct. Rice swells to nearly three times its original volume and weight when cooked, so to get the 2.5 pounds of koji called for in my guide you'd want to start with 0.9 to 1.0 pound of dry rice.

Sorry - actually another question. How well does botan calrose rice make sake?

I've never used it, but there's no reason why it wouldn't make a perfectly acceptable sake. I guess you're gonna find out!

[Stardust]

Taylor-MadeAK Master Brewer to get the 2.5 pounds of koji called for in my guide you'd want to start with 0.9 to 1.0 pound of dry rice.

at the point in the recipe where is says to add add the rest of the koji (20 oz)
I threw in what was left and don't know how much it weighed
because of all my missed timing
the next time I grow my own koji
I'm going to freeze it in the amounts as listed as one goes along in the recipe
it was getting dried out in the fridge

dray wrote:
Sorry - actually another question. How well does botan calrose rice make sake?

I've never used it, but there's no reason why it wouldn't make a perfectly acceptable sake. I guess you're gonna find out!

I used botan calrose. Will know results in 3 more weeks
seems fine, smells great

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Sounds like a plan, Stardust. I'm sorry I don't have more accurate information regarding growing kome-koji from koji-kin right now. I'm waiting for mid-October before I start my first batch of sake for the year, and I will be making my own koji for that batch. I've done a lot of research on the subject, and I really feel that I need the data generated from hands-on experience before I can write an authoritative guide on the subject. All of the koji instructions that can be found through Google right now are full of "how" without the accompanying "why" that I want to see.

That having been said, I'm looking forward to getting the PFD next week: on my list is to buy a small fruit press for pressing kasu and a small insulated cooler to keep my growing koji nice and warm in.

[Stardust]

Sounds like a plan, Stardust. I'm sorry I don't have more accurate information regarding growin

No apology needed

[dray]

Koji spores on the way - 28 quart cooler converted into an incubator...

What a hack job it is too.. I took a fermawrap and lined half of the cooler inside with it. My deep aquarium pump supplies filtered air into a cup in the corner of the cooler (with airstone). The rice will be layed about an inch thick on 2 heavy duty paper plates suspened from the bottom of the cooler. They sit snuggly inside the cooler ontop 16oz plastic cups.

A lid closes it up.

I am using my temp controller with the fermawrap. The air pump will bubble into water to keep the moisture inside high, as well as supply fresh air and push out co2 buildup. Will prob put an icepack into water cup to cool the air and make troughs in the rice to help cool it. The temp probe will be wrapped in saran, and placed at the bottom a plate.

The plan is to soak, steam and incubate over the weekend to see if I have success. Should take 2-3 days.

Might soak the rice with a little mort's salt substitue for some potassium, and maybe some epsom salt. The rice should soak in and the koji may use it for micronutrients. Prob will try it on 1/2 the rice to see if there is an effect. Saw some references koji was mixed with some wood ash for nutrients...

If it works, I will do it again and take pictures the second time around.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Wow, that sounds like a heck of an elaborate setup. Can't wait to see pics!

[Stardust]

Koji spores on the way - 28 quart cooler converted into an incubator...

not just to grow the spores I hope?

since I could not keep the spores at 86 F (overheated and killed them with the first try) my spores were grown at 74 to 76 degrees
and did fine

as in soaked rice
steamed rice
let rice cool
added spores
covered with a wet/damp towel (not touching rice) and a lid on top of pot/towel
yeah it takes 3 days to grow them

[SakeMan]

Hey all, first post here.
I heard that using a plastic container could put an off taste to the Sake. Is this true? I have 6.5 gallon food grade buckets that I use for beer and wine. Do I need to buy a big carboy?
Thanks all.

[Taylor-MadeAK]

I ferment my sake in a plastic bucket and it tastes fine. What I wouldn't recommend is using any kind of carboy. Think about it for a moment: sake requires you to mix rice and water, and then you must retrieve the spent rice lees so that you can press the sake out of them. This would be made very difficult by using a narrow-mouth vessel like a carboy, don't you think?

Use your bucket.

[dray]

Well I can't find my digital camera - so no pics this shot around.

I figured with a temp controller, I could keep the koji in the 86 range, death comes at 95F or above right?

Gonna try at 88F until I go to sleep tonght, then turn down to 86.

About 2 cups of rice gives me pretty much 1 lb of rice uncooked, ended up with 4 cups of steamed, so I think I will have enough koji for the 3 gallon batch. Started at 1:30pm, so should know in 2 days...

I wish I had a humidity measuring device, but the airstone in the cup of water really is keeping the cooler moist. No condensation on the walls, but opening it up, the air certainly feels warm and moist. I had the 'incubator' running for 2 days with nothing in it to see how well it would work. Nothing grew in it at the time, so I guess thats good


For future reference, I should cook 2 1/2 or 3 cups. The rice will have a layer stuck to the cheese cloth after steaming, and its a pain to scrap off when worried about contamination... The extra will help count for some of the loss.

The spores are from Vision... they were in a little baggy with a white to tan off-white color - almost like DME, but not quite as powdery .. at least the way I handled it. I sprinkled about 3 grams worth on the rice. I may find that in fact the entire package must be used. Time will tell.

For what its worth, I ended up creating a 'spore sifter' using some cheesecloth and aluminum foil. The metal tea-bag may have worked, but looked like the stuff is even too fine for that. I actually have a device I am working on to help with this. It uses a small autoclaveable culture tube and cap. Drill out the top of the cap to almost the edge on top. Take a metal coffee filter and cut out the metal filter (its really fine). I then took a small square and cut out a circle so it would fit right ontop of the threaded glass culture tube. The idea is to get a rubber o-ring to fit between the cap and the metal screen, so I can fill the culture tube up with 1.5 to 3 grams of spores, attach screen and screw down the cap. Turn upside down and shake. To store, use a regular cap and close tube.

- Dave

[Taylor-MadeAK]

I plan to just mix the spores with a little rice flour and use my smallest sifter to distribute it. According to Vision Brewing even your 3 grams of spores was too much. Their instructions call for 1.5 grams per 400 grams (0.9 lb) of rice.

[Stardust]

I ferment my sake in a plastic bucket and it tastes fine.

Use your bucket.

+1
tastes and smells great so far
2 more weeks before I combine plum wine made with sake yeast and sake

[dray]

Okay - since Koji should take like 2-3 days to go.. after 24 hours... I think I have a failure to grow mold... which is a complete baffle to me as I can grow mold in about 2 hours just leaving a slice of old pizza on my computer desk....

All kidding aside, I don't think the rice is getting moist enough.. some of the rice is drying out on the edges, so I mixed it up. I really can't tell its going inside the rice or not. Maybe I need to mist some clean water ontop? Temp at 87, very light condensation on the edges of cooler inside, so I think its getting enough moisture...

And the koji I got from vision wasn't green... that normal?

[Taylor-MadeAK]

Koji spores range from green to yellow to brown, so your spores are perfectly normal. I think you should give it a few more hours before calling it dead, though. Is there any kind of aroma inside that insulated cooler?