What is yellow rice wine made of?

Glutinous rice is divided into japonica rice and indica rice.

The starch of japonica rice and glutinous rice is almost all amylopectin, and that of indica rice contains 0.2%~4.5% amylose. Amylopectin has loose structure and is easy to cook and gelatinize; Amylose has a compact structure, consumes a lot of energy and absorbs a lot of water when cooking, and the rice yield is high!

Using glutinous rice to produce yellow rice wine should not only meet the general requirements of rice, but also try to use fresh glutinous rice.

When the old glutinous rice is white, it is fragile, the fermentation is urgent, and the solubility of rice is poor; Esters contained in fermentation are converted into aldehydes and ketones with peculiar smell by oxidation or hydrolysis; Soaking rice pulp is often bitter and not suitable for eating. It is particularly important to note that glutinous rice cannot be mixed with miscellaneous rice, otherwise it will lead to uneven water absorption and cooking of soaked rice, retrogradation and aging of rice grains, precipitation and acidification, which will affect the quality of wine and reduce the yield of wine.

2. Japonica rice

The yield per mu of japonica rice is higher than that of glutinous rice.

Japonica rice contains 15%~23% amylose. Rice grains with high amylose content appear fluffy and dry when steamed, and are dark in color. After cooling, they become hard, and the cooked rice has a long stretch. When cooking, hot water should be sprayed to make the rice grains fully absorb water and gelatinize thoroughly, so as to ensure the normal saccharification and fermentation.

The amylose content of japonica rice is related to varieties and controlled by seed genetic factors. In addition, the climate in which it grows also has an impact.

3. Indica rice

Indica rice has slender grain shape, low starch fullness and fragile when it is white. Its amylose content is as high as 23%~35%. Hybrid late indica rice can be used to brew yellow rice wine. Because the early and middle indica rice absorbs more water during cooking, the rice grains are dry and fluffy, the color is dark, the starch is easy to age, and the wine yield is low. Aged starch is difficult to saccharify in the fermentation process, which becomes the nutrient source of acid-producing bacteria, making yellow rice wine mash sour and its flavor worse.

The content of amylose directly affects the difficulty of cooking rice, so rice with low amylose content and high amylopectin content should be chosen as far as possible to produce yellow wine.