Mirin is amazing - it's hard to go back once you start using it. The uses for the sweet wine are numerous, from desserts to braising, mixing in sauces, marinating, you name it. It is also one of the core pillars of Japanese cooking, along with sake, dashi, soy sauce and sugar, but it's not really consumed as a drink in the same way as sake is. The differences between sake and mirin are distinct: mirin is usually sweeter and less alcoholic, with a 14% ABV (alcohol by volume) profile. Sake as aforementioned is also consumed as a drink, whereas mirin is usually not, and sake is added earlier in the cooking process to evaporate some of the alcohol. Mirin is made by steaming mochi rice(glutinous rice), and mixing it with malted rice, a backslop of alcohol (either shochu, a spirit distilled from potatoes or sake), aspergillus oryzae, and rice koji. There are 4 categories of mirin: 1. Hon mirin (true mirin): This version contains 14% alcohol and no salt. It is made from steamed glutinous rice, rice koji, aspergillus oryzae and shochu, and it is fermented at 20-25 degrees celsius for 40-60 days. 2. Mirin: This version uses sake instead of shochu, and it is easier to come by in the US 3. Mirin-like condiment: It contains 8-14% alcohol and 2% salt, and is composed of starch syrup (rice or corn), water, alcohol, rice and salt. 4. Mirin-type condiment: The most commercial version, it contains no alcohol, and mimics the flavor of hon-mirin. It is made of starch syrup, brewed rice cultures, vinegar, and acidic components. It was manufactured by food conglomerates in Japan to bypass alcohol taxes and to mass produce, but it is also good for Halal Japanese cooking and for those who do not consume alcohol. Unlike sake, the process of producing mirin does not involve yeast, as aspergillus and the enzymes present do most of the work. The enzymes in koji cause the saccharification of amylopectin and amylose starch chains in rice, breaking them down into glucose and fructose monomers, and proteins are also hydrolyzed into amino acids and organic acids, creating volatile compounds that add to mirin's fragrance and flavor. According to an analysis done by Japanese scientists on the profile of mirin, there are at least 100 volatile compounds that have been identified such as ethyl ester groups, strecker aldehydes and phenolic acids, some of which are beneficial for your health. Mirin is traditionally used to mask fishiness and gaminess or to bring out the natural sweetness of ingredients. It is an integral part of real teriyaki sauce, and is usually the base for sukiyaki, a sweet broth that is used to cook sliced beef and vegetables hotpot style. The form we consume has been around for at least 300 years, but it was originally consumed as a sweet liquor during the Ashikaga shogunate (1467 to 1603). However, it would spoil easily so it was distilled into a wine with a higher alcohol percentage, and that is the version used today. It is similar to the fermented glutinous rice wine produced all over China, but the way it is used and its alcohol content separates it from their version. Mirin is an integral part of Japanese fermentation culture, and apparently there is even a holiday for hon mirin every year on November 30th. A lot of chefs use mirin religiously: one restaurant in particular based in Taiwan makes a poached egg dish where they marinate the eggs in mirin and sake, and make a corn potage (one of the French varieties of thick soups made using cream) using the wine as well. Mirin is also commonly used at ramen restaurants as well as an addition to the tare (seasoning), or as an addition to sushi rice. As to making it, that is up to you whether you want to homebrew (I don't publicly endorse anything haha don't come after me). In my opinion, making it could as long as you are of age could help improve your cooking, and provide another use for rice. It's also quite healthy as a natural sweetener due to its amino acid profile. However, another more practical reason might be that mirin in the US is quite expensive, especially the real kind (hon-mirin and mirin): one 10-oz bottle from Eden foods, one of few companies producing mirin without additives costs around 14.99. It's also not easy to come by, as the only supermarket I have been able to find non-commercial brands is at Whole Foods of all places. Whether you decide to make it or not, it's worth looking into as a staple pantry item - I use it in almost every dish.
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Hi everyone, In light of the current situation, I would like to share my thoughts on how fermentation can be of practical use to you. These are strange times indeed: the world seems to be in the middle of a wave of fear and pandemonium that appears not to have a definite end, and our lives as we know it have been compromised to protect our overall well-being. Statistics are unclear, and the media has misinformed the public through their alarmist rhetoric declaring national emergency and flashing headlines of death and misery. What does all of this mean for you and me? As you might have noticed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to buy certain foods at your supermarket, as they are out or have been limited for people to a certain amount of items. Fermentation can be of great use to you all right now, as you may want to extend the shelf life of certain foods or preserve them for future use. Before anything else, fermentation was initially a survival strategy, used during periods of famine, disease and war, which is exactly what we seem to be going through. Although the previous description refers to a more extreme scenario, it would be wise to consider how to store some of your ingredients, i.e ferment them, so you can use produce or any other ingredient for longer and waste less. With that being said, I would like to continue posting regularly on the blog, with the understanding that some of you may be less inclined to try these recipes, which is perfectly ok. However, I do suggest that you at least attempt some of the easier ones, as you may be surprised how much you enjoy having it in the house. **** Back to regular scheduled programming: on the agenda today is black garlic. Black garlic is a bit of an anomaly: it's not technically a fermented product, because no micro-organisms are present in its transformation, but it is preserved in similar ways and transforms the original ingredient into a shelf-stable item. So you might ask, then what is black garlic? It's basically garlic that has been held at a very low temperature for a long period of time, sufficient to catalyze the Maillard reaction and dehydration. In other words, it caramelizes very slowly, over the course of 3 weeks or so. Black garlic gets its color partly from chemical reactions such as pyrolysis, caramelization and Maillard, which are non-enzymatic, but some of the browning is caused by natural enzymes in the garlic. Polyphenol oxidase in particular is responsible, a compound key in maintaining a plant's health: once the flesh is exposed to oxygen, the enzyme alters phenolic compounds and produces melanins which turn the plant brown. While these products serve as antibacterial agents, in this case they darken the garlic. These enzymes are also responsible in part for lowering the pH of the garlic, which decreases from around 6.33 to 3.74 over the course of 30 days. In addition, the Maillard reaction, an enzymatic process of reducing sugars and amino acids is responsible for part of the transformation; thermal decomposition of organic compounds in the absence of oxygen, or pyrolysis produces a wide range of flavor compounds . Unlike fermented foods, black garlic is held at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature unsuitable for any microbes but high enough to catalyze reagents reacting with one another. Contrary to popular belief, the Maillard reaction can still occur at such a low temperature, because temperature is define as the average motion of billions of molecules, and even if a few molecules move fast enough to cause a Maillard reaction, they eventually add up and cascade. The Maillard reaction is classified as a redox reaction, short for reduction-oxidation, where electrons from the compound are donated back to their original owners (see Figure 1). It was discovered by Louis Camille Maillard in the early 20th century, who found that when food is heated, sugars like fructose and glucose or those bound in starch take place in redox reactions with other free amino acids or those bound in polypeptide chains. This process causes highly unstable intermediary products to form, as shown above in Figure 2 that further break down, creating volatile flavor compounds and a certain “browned” characteristic. The reaction is also coupled with dehydration, where more free water is released to the environment when amino acids and sugars hydrolyze. Different flavors develop depending on the type of amino acids present, and most Maillard reactions take place at temperatures above 239 F where there is enough kinetic energy to force the reagents to react. Dehydration promotes the Maillard reaction, because water prevents the formation of certain compounds and due to its high specific heat capacity absorbs a lot of heat energy, keeping the temperature at its boiling point. However, given enough time Maillard can occur in hydrated environments as aforementioned, because reactions will eventually cascade. Garlic is particularly suited for blackening for the following reasons:
“Extensive in vitro and in vivo studies have demonstrated that ABG has a variety of biological functions such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, anti-obesity, anti-diabetic, anti-allergic, cardioprotective, and hepatoprotective effects. Recent studies have compared the biological activity and function of ABG to those of raw garlic. ABG shows lower anti-inflammatory, anti-coagulation, immunomodulatory, and anti-allergic effects compared to raw garlic.” Because certain compounds are preserved through lower temperature exposure, black garlic retains much of its beneficial nutrients, without the pungency of consuming it raw. I would describe the taste as almost sweet like candy, with caramelized onion notes and a subtle roasted garlic finish. I often use it in braises to up the umami factor, or blend it to make a puree or paste for a dish, but there are really so many uses! It is becoming more available in stores (although I don't know now with the Coronavirus), but many Chinese stores carry the Chinese variety of garlic with one bulb that has been blackened. I highly recommend you try it! Hopefully when all of this madness is over, we will be able to return to some semblance of normalcy in our routines. However, we have to be positive and look for things that we can to do occupy our time, and fermentation fulfills this need while helping you stay healthy. Maybe you can't find black garlic right now, but please consider making your own ferments!! |
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May 2020
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