amasake

[Saffron]

I am trying to make white amasake using the purple amasake recipe from The Splendid Grain. I used 4 cups of water for 2 cups rice. The jar of "koji" was labeled as such on the shelf of my local asian market, but it doesn't say this (in English) on the jar, it says it is fermented sweet rice sauce. It looks like raw soaked rice in a watery liquid and contains sweet rice, water, sugar, and yeast. So after fermenting 6 hours, I have something that looks like rice pudding and smells like bread dough. Does this sound right? Or was the "koji" actually amasake already?

Also, assuming this is right, is it OK to feed to a baby? The recipe mentions giving it to the very young but I did notice the "koji" contains up to 3.3% alcohol.

[Rebecca]

It sounds like you purchased amasake. Koji is a dry white rice (that has been steamed, inoculated and then dried).

If your amasake tastes sweet, enjoy it.

I'm not sure why you're offering it to your baby. If you're nursing, she's getting ample sweet from your breast milk.

[Saffron]

Hmmm...well it seemed to work, I think what ever I got, the culture was still alive.

The baby is 11 months old, so she is eating lots of solids. I was thinking of giving it as a probiotic because she has multiple food allergies and can't have dairy or soy yogurt. But since it's cooked and yeast-based, I guess that would not actually work.

[Rebecca]

I like your thinking! You might also try some homemade sauerkraut--I'd start with a an 1/8 of a teaspoon mixed with something sweet like squash and she'll gradually develop a taste for it.

[Saffron]

I actually have some in my basement! But it appears not to have worked. The cabbage refuses to wilt and the top has gotten brown. It has no smell after 3 weeks, so I am going to toss it and try again. Maybe it is too cold down there.

[Rebecca]

Check my recipe on the web page for kraut.