Can rice koji or wheat koji be used for flour fermentation?

After intense cooking, the conidia of Aspergillus were transplanted into white rice, and then kept warm, and hyphae flourished on rice grains, which was called koji. The starch of rice is saccharified under the strong action of amylase of Aspergillus, so it has been used as the raw material of sugar together with malt since ancient times, which is used in wine, sweet wine and soybean paste. Wheat instead of rice is called wheat koji. [Edit this paragraph] The essence of distiller's yeast Throughout the history of brewing wine with grain raw materials around the world, we can find that there are two categories. One is that the raw materials themselves are saccharified into sugar by the way of grain germination, and then the sugar is converted into alcohol by yeast; The other is to make koji with moldy grain, and saccharify and ferment grain raw materials into wine with enzyme preparation contained in koji. Since written records, the vast majority of China's wine is brewed with distiller's yeast, and China's distiller's yeast method has a great influence on neighboring countries, such as Japan, Vietnam and Thailand. Therefore, before describing the varieties and characteristics of China wine, it is necessary to have a more detailed understanding of China's distiller's yeast.

Although the people of China have been dealing with Qu Tile for thousands of years, they know that wine must be added with koji, but they have never known the essence of Qu Tile. Modern science has solved the mystery. Daqu is made because a large number of microorganisms and enzymes secreted by microorganisms (amylase, glucoamylase, protease, etc.) grow on it. ). Enzymes have biocatalysis, which can accelerate the conversion of starch and protein in cereals into sugars and amino acids. Sugar is decomposed into ethanol under the action of yeast enzyme, which is alcohol. Tillers also contain many such enzymes, which have saccharifying effect. The starch of tiller itself can be converted into sugar, and then converted into ethanol under the action of yeast. At the same time, koji itself contains starch and protein, which are also raw materials for brewing.

Liquor-making with distiller's yeast is the essence of China's liquor-making. The microorganisms growing in koji are mainly molds. The use of molds is a great invention of China people. Professor Kenichiro Sakaguchi, a famous Japanese microbiologist, thinks that this is even comparable to four great inventions of ancient china, which is obviously inferred from the important position of bioengineering technology in today's science and technology. With the development of the times, the methods created by the ancients in China will show its important role more and more. [Edit this paragraph] The types and sources of koji can no longer be tested. The earliest words about distiller's yeast may be the works of Zhou Dynasty & gt If you are a wine cellar, you are just a cultivator. From the analysis of scientific principles, koji actually evolved from moldy grain. The production technology of distiller's yeast in the Northern Wei Dynasty:> It was comprehensively summarized for the first time and reached a high level in the Song Dynasty. Mainly manifested in the following aspects: the variety of distiller's yeast is complete, the technology is perfect, and the saccharification and fermentation ability of distiller's yeast, especially southern Xiaoqu, is very high. Modern distiller's yeast is still widely used in the brewing of yellow rice wine and liquor. In terms of production technology, due to the mastery of microorganism and brewing theory, the development of koji has leapt to a new level.

The original koji was moldy or germinated grain, and people improved it to make it suitable for wine making. Because of the different raw materials and production methods, the natural conditions in the producing areas are different, and the varieties of Qu are rich and colorful. Roughly in the Song Dynasty, the types and production techniques of China distiller's yeast were basically finalized. Later generations made some improvements on this basis. The following are the types of sake koji in China:

Classification system of sake koji

According to koji-making raw materials, there are mainly wheat and rice. Therefore, they are called wheat koji and rice koji respectively. There are many kinds of rice-based koji, such as rice-based Xiaoqu, steamed rice-based red koji or black-coated red koji, and rice koji (Aspergillus oryzae).

According to whether the raw materials are ripe or not, they can be divided into raw wheat koji and cooked wheat koji.

According to the additives in koji, there are many kinds, including Chinese herbal medicine koji and bean koji with bean raw materials (peas, mung beans, etc.). ).

According to the shape of qu, it can be divided into Daqu (straw bag qu, brick qu, hanging qu), Xiaoqu (cake qu) and Sanqu.

According to the source of microorganisms in koji, it can be divided into traditional koji (naturally inoculated by microorganisms) and pure koji (such as koji inoculated by Aspergillus oryzae, koji inoculated by Rhizopus, koji inoculated by Aspergillus Niger).

Classification of Erjiuqu

In modern times, koji can be roughly divided into five categories, which are used for different wines. They are:

Wheat starter is mainly used for brewing yellow rice wine;

Xiaoqu, mainly used for brewing yellow rice wine and Xiaoqu wine;

Monascus is mainly used for brewing red koji wine (red koji wine is a variety of yellow rice wine);

Daqu is used to brew distilled liquor.

Bran koji was developed in modern times, and the culture with bran as raw material was inoculated with pure mold. Can be used to replace some big songs or small songs. At present, bran koji method is one of the main methods of liquor production in China. Its liquor production accounts for more than 70% of the total output.

Classification of China Daqu

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Categories and categories

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Daqu traditional Daqu; Strengthening Daqu (semi-pure); Pure Daqu

Xiaoqu is divided into traditional Xiaoqu and purebred Xiaoqu according to inoculation methods.

According to the use, it is divided into yellow rice wine Xiaoqu, white wine Xiaoqu and sweet wine medicine;

Divided into bran koji, rice flour koji and liquid koji according to raw materials.

Monascus is mainly divided into Wuyi Monascus and Monascus, and Monascus is divided into traditional Monascus and pure Monascus.

Wheat Qu Traditional wheat qu (straw-wrapped qu, brick qu, hanging qu, explosive qu)

Pure wheat qu (ventilation qu, ground qu, box qu)

Floor music, box music, curtain music, ventilation music, liquid music.

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In primitive society, due to improper preservation, grain will be moldy or germinated after being wetted, and moldy or germinated grain can be fermented into wine. Therefore, these moldy or germinated grains are the most primitive koji and raw materials for fermentation.

Perhaps for a period of time, moldy grains and germinated grains were indistinguishable, but there was a strict difference between flexion and tillering at least in Shang Dynasty. Because germinated grain and moldy grain have different appearance and functions, people can easily make them in different ways, so in ancient times, there were two things that could be used to make wine. Moldy grain is called qu, and germinated grain is called tiller. [Edit this paragraph] From Sanqu to block music, from the perspective of music production technology, the most primitive music form in China should be Sanqu, not block music.

Sanqu, that is, the loose state of distiller's yeast, is made of ground or crushed grains, and microorganisms (mainly molds) grow on it at a certain temperature, air humidity and water content. Sanqu has been used for thousands of years in the history of making music in China. For example, the ancient "Yellow Ziqu" and rice qu (especially red koji).

Block music, as its name implies, is a music with a certain shape. Its preparation method is to add a proper amount of water to raw materials (such as flour), knead them evenly, put them into a mold, compact them to fix their shapes, and then cultivate microorganisms at a certain temperature, moisture and humidity.

& gt There are several words in the book, all of which are annotated as "cake songs".

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, it was; & gt As the representative of starter-making and tillering technology in China, starter-making in China has reached a relatively mature position in variety and technology. Mainly reflected in the following aspects: (1) established the dominant position of block music (including southern rice music); The variety of koji increased; The saccharification and fermentation ability of Daqu was greatly improved. China's koji manufacturing technology began to spread to neighboring countries.

Sanqu and Block Qu not only reflect the differences in appearance of Qu, but also mainly reflect the differences in saccharification and fermentation performance of Qu. The fundamental reason lies in the difference in the species and quantity of microorganisms propagated in koji.

In terms of koji-making technology, the production technology of block koji is more complicated and the process is longer, which requires a lot of manpower. Before making wine, you must also break a piece of music. Why did the ancients reinvent the wheel? The reason is that the performance of block music is better than that of Sanqu. In principle, the microorganisms growing on China Daqu are mainly molds, some of which are very long and can be intertwined on the raw materials, and loose Daqu-making raw materials can naturally form blocks. There are many kinds of microorganisms on koji, such as bacteria, yeast, mold and so on. The relative quantity distribution of these different microorganisms in different parts of koji is also different. Some experts believe that Rhizopus with good wine-making performance can survive and reproduce in block koji, which plays an important role in improving alcohol concentration. The use of block koji is more suitable for the process of compound fermentation (that is, at the same time of saccharification, the sugar produced by saccharification is converted into alcohol).

The cake song of the Western Han Dynasty is only the embryonic form of a song. It may also be handmade. In the Northern Wei Dynasty, there was a special music mold for making music pieces. Qi Yao Min Shu; & gt Chinese name is "fan", which is made of round iron and rectangular wooden strips, and the sizes are also different. Such as; & gt The Divine Comedy is hand-made, with a diameter of 2.5 inches and a thickness of 9 minutes. The other one is called Stupid Comedy, which is made of a wooden curved mold with a square of 1 foot and a thickness of 2 inches. At that time, the ground was only paved with one layer, not several layers superimposed as recorded in the Tang Dynasty literature. Using the curved die can not only reduce the labor intensity and improve the work efficiency, but more importantly, it can unify the shape and size of the curve and make the quality of the curve more uniform. Rectangular bending die is better than circular bending die. The accumulation of songs saves more space. But also laid a foundation for the later koji to pile up and cultivate bacteria in the koji chamber. On the one hand, it is to reduce the labor intensity, and more importantly, the pace of music is closer and the fragmentation of music is reduced. In a word, the development from Sanqu to Paiqu, from round block to square block is the result of people constantly summing up experience and learning from each other's strengths, all in order to better conform to the objective law of composition. [Edit this paragraph] The development of manufacturing technology of Sanmai Qu. Since the Han Dynasty, Maiqu has been the main variety of brewing in the north, and later spread to the south. & lt& lt "Qi Yao Min Shu"; > The method of making music recorded in Historical Records has been used to this day. There were also some improvements in later generations.

1 & lt； & lt "Qi Yao Min Shu"; & gt Wheat Qu is in the middle

& lt& lt "Qi Yao Min Shu"; & gt China people have nine detailed records on the production methods of distiller's yeast. Eight of them are wheat koji and one is made of millet. From the production process and application, it can be divided into three categories: Divine Comedy, White Old Melody and Silly Melody. Among them, Massa Medicata Fermentata has the highest saccharifying power and fermenting power.

Production technology of Sanhu Maiqu

Water-fried wheat, raw wheat and steamed wheat

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│ │ Stir-fry, wash and steam.

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│ Fine grinding

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Banqu

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Tuanqu

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Enter a closed arc chamber.

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Buqu

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hand over

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Juqu

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Mud seal in urn

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perforate

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Shaiki

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Complete song

Production technology of Qinzhou spring koji;

wheat

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Fried yellow

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Boze

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grind

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Water → Bending (Rigid)

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gather

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Composition (Fang Fan)

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Puncture hole

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Culture bacteria (brick)

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Exposure to dry environment

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store

& lt& lt "Qi Yao Min Shu"; & gt koji-making process flow chart

& lt& lt "Qi Yao Min Shu"; There is a great difference in saccharification and fermentation ability between the medicated leaven in> and the original leaven. Even the author himself lamented: "This song (referring to the Divine Comedy) killed three meters in one battle, while the stupid song killed six meters, saving money." (Note: Killing rice means digesting rice, which means saccharification and fermentation). Some divine comedy can even kill four stone heads. The amount of Daqu accounts for 3.3%~2.5% of the raw materials for brewing, and the amount of Daqu is about 15%. It is rare in history to see such a small amount of medicated leaven, because even in modern times, when brewing yellow rice wine, the amount of wheat leaven is about 8- 10%. Only the amount of ditty can be so low. This shows that; The divine comedy recorded in the> book is rich in Rhizopus and yeast. As for wheat koji, there are many other reasons for using so little koji, such as the smaller shape of koji, the finer grinding of koji-making materials and the lower culture temperature.

2. Further develop the production technology of wheat koji.

(1) Chinese herbal medicines are widely used.

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, although some Chinese herbal medicines were also used, there were few kinds and most of them were natural plants. In the Song Dynasty, great changes had taken place in koji. In Song Dynasty, almost every kind of more than a dozen distillers' yeast had different quantities of Chinese herbal medicines, many of which had sixteen flavors, and at least some of them paid special attention to the aromaticity of the drugs used. The types of drugs are:

Radix Cynanchi Paniculati, Semen Armeniacae Amarum, Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Rhizoma Chuanxiong, Rhizoma Typhonii, Radix Aucklandiae, Cortex Cinnamomi, Radix Saposhnikoviae, Rhizoma Arisaematis, Areca catechu, Flos Caryophylli, Ginseng Radix, Pepper, Osmanthus fragrans, Nutmeg, Ginger, Radix Aconiti, Glycyrrhrizae Radix, Rehmanniae Radix, Xanthium sibiricum, Folium Mori, Poria, Semen Phaseoli, Mung Bean, Polygonum hydropiper

Medication: one method is decocting, which mixes the raw materials of koji-making with the medicinal juice, and the other is powder method, which grinds various drugs into powder and adds them to the raw materials of koji-making. The purpose of using drugs in distiller's yeast is based on < < Nine Classics of Beishan Mountain > > > "The application of incense in music is probably just the spread of spices." A large number of Chinese patent medicines were added to the distiller's yeast in the Ming Dynasty. According to the compatibility principle of traditional Chinese medicines, it is another matter to divide the medicines into "the letter of the monarch, the minister and the assistant". The original intention of using Chinese herbal medicine in distiller's yeast is to enhance the aroma of wine, but objectively some Chinese herbal medicine components have a subtle influence on the reproduction of microorganisms in distiller's yeast.

(2) Improvement of the stacking method of curved blocks.

In the Northern Wei Dynasty, the music was generally arranged in a single floor on the ground, and the utilization rate of the music room was low. Moreover, objectively, because the number of koji blocks in the same space is small, the heat emitted is small, and the culture temperature of koji is not very high, so it is in; & gt Generally speaking, the interval between breaks is seven days. According to the modern point of view, it should belong to moderate temperature qu.

> For the first time, an improved overlapping method is mentioned, which may be called zigzag overlapping method, that is, "vertical bending is like a sub-eye" as mentioned in the original work. Obviously, by using this method, the number of bending blocks stacked in the same space is obviously increased. In the same space, with the increase of the number of koji, the heat and moisture will increase greatly, which will accelerate the rise of temperature and humidity in the closed space, and the ecological environment of microorganisms in koji will also change accordingly, thus affecting the species and quantity of microorganisms. In principle, it is speculated that the formation of high temperature curve has met the conditions. High temperature koji will have a significant impact on the flavor of wine.

Since the Song Dynasty, there have been more and more kinds of Qupai, such as Guaqu and Caobao Qu. These songs are still used in some famous wineries. Since modern times, mechanized koji-making has also begun. The essence of traditional koji-making technology was retained and pure koji-making was developed. A large number of microorganisms were isolated from koji, and excellent microorganisms were inoculated into the culture medium after screening, which further reduced the dosage of koji and improved the quality of liquor. [Edit this paragraph] The manufacturing technology of the four major ditties appeared in the south of the Jin Dynasty at the latest, except for the wheat songs in the north. Jin people are included in> This paper records the grass songs in the south, that is, rice songs, which is the earliest record of rice songs in the south.

Xiaoqu is generally unique to the south. Since it first appeared in the literature in the Jin Dynasty, it has many names, and there are four situations in the Song Dynasty. Its preparation method is similar: using glutinous rice or japonica rice as raw materials, first soak the leaves of Polygonum cuspidatum or snake twist, or juice. Mix juice and rice flour and knead into dough.

The production technology of traditional ditty;

Chen JIU Yao shui rice noodle Polygonum cuspidatum powder

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Consolidate the foundation

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Slice; Cut into small pieces

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│ Rolling angle

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Inoculation

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In-cylinder heat preservation culture

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Practice in the plaque, change the plaque and add the plaque.

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Load and unload reeds

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Dry in the sun

Traditional Xiaoqu production technology

The traditional wheat koji is completely inoculated with microorganisms naturally. The gestation of ditty was no exception before the Song Dynasty. However, in the> book, a method of artificial inoculation is recorded, that is, "making cakes and wrapping up old songs one by one". That is to say, when the newly-made koji is rolled on the Chen Qu powder, Chen Qu powder will stick to the surface of the new koji, and there are a lot of Rhizopus spores in the old koji powder, which can propagate rapidly on the koji and form a growth advantage. Because Chen Qu with better quality can be chosen as a song artificially, and the inferior songs can be eliminated by selecting the best ones. After years of artificial propagation and natural elimination, high-quality koji (actually a microbial strain) was preserved. The source of microorganisms in natural inoculation koji-making is mainly water, raw materials themselves, or koji-making places and utensils. Strains with excellent performance cannot be passed down from generation to generation, and the quality of wine cannot remain unchanged forever.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a wide variety of Chinese herbal medicines were added to Xiaoqu, which became the characteristic of this period. In the Ming Dynasty, << Tiangong Wu Kai >>, it says, "If you put all kinds of monarch, minister and medicine into it, you can count a few flavors. If there are too many flavors, you can't recite them." This traditional practice has continued into modern times. Mr. Zhou Henggang has an example in the Prescription of Medicinal Qu collected in Qionglai, Sichuan 1964, in which 72 kinds of drugs, totaling more than 50 kilograms, can be mixed with 1460 kilograms of raw materials (> 1964, China Finance and Economics Publishing House). However, there are also some ditties with little or no drugs. For example, only Polygonum hydropiper was added to Dongyang Daqu in Ming Dynasty. So is Ningbo Baiyao. So since the Ming Dynasty, Xiaoqu has developed in two directions: medicinal Xiaoqu and myrrh Xiaoqu.

The microorganism in Xiaoqu is mainly Rhizopus. According to the isolation and identification of relevant scientific and technological workers, among 828 strains of Mucor, Rhizopus accounted for 643 strains. Rhizopus has not only saccharification, but also alcoholase, so it has alcoholization. There are many other microorganisms in Xiaoqu, from which modern industrial microorganisms have obtained many beneficial strains and continue to make contributions to mankind.