麹作りでは蒸きょうとか蒸しっていいます なぜ麹の原料は煮るのではなく、蒸すのかというと色々理由はありますが、個人的にはやはり大量に処理しやすいというのが一番大きいと思っています。水分量の調節ももちろん大切。 今回籾の浸漬が積算100度になりましたので、「蒸し」に移ります この頃になると特徴的な生命の匂いがします なんとも形容し難い匂いです 簡単にいうと臭いです 写真のように芽が出てきていますが、出ていないのもあります 不揃いですが、あまり気にしません目的は籾殻の一部を破ること 蒸して米が膨張し芽の部分からやぶれます
麹モルトの肝はそこから麹菌をはやし、大吟醸麹にならい、突き破精（ハゼ）の要領で、奥に進ませることです 籾殻の部分は破精ませんが、芽の部分から内部へと破精ていきます （せっかく芽が生えたのでそのままgerminationさせたいところですが、米芽は酵素力価が麦芽に比べ低いです。ここは一旦役目を終えていただいて麹菌に酵素の生成を任せたいという考え方です） （単純に発芽させなくてもできる可能性もあるなぁと思ってきました・・・また実験してみます） 蒸し自体は通常の麹と一緒です うちでは蒸気が抜けてから40分蒸しています その後冷却して種付け これも麹と同様 一つ違うのは籾殻が付いているのでサラサラです なので台に広げて麹菌をつける方法以外にも、袋に入れて麹菌を振りかけ混ぜる、なんてこともできます 私の想定としてはメインは焼酎メーカーさんや麦麹を作る味噌屋さんなどの回転式蒸煮缶を使用している産業で、 麹モルトに親和性が高いと思っています 焼酎に香ばしい香りの米の麹モルトを使えば・・・ 面白いですよね 回転式蒸煮缶をお使いのところは 蒸し後にジェットコンデンサーで冷却 その後、原料の一部を取り出し、そこに大量の麹菌を接種 缶に戻し、缶を回転させ残りの缶内の原料に接種 タイ米麹の処理や大麦麹の処理のやり方の応用でで問題ないかと思います 種付け後は35度に保ち乾燥しない状態で一晩放置です 写真はフジワラテクノアートさんより拝借
In making koji, we use a steaming process called "mushi" or "jo-kyou." There are various reasons why the raw materials for koji are steamed instead of boiled, but the main reason is that steaming makes it easier to process in large quantities. Now that the soaked rice has reached a cumulative temperature of 100 degrees, we will proceed with the steaming process. At this stage, it emits a distinctive and indescribable smell. To put it simply, it's an odor. As you can see in the photo, some sprouts have started to appear, while others haven't. They are uneven, but I don't pay much attention to it. The purpose is to break a part of the rice husk. Steaming the rice causes it to expand and break from the sprout. Following the process of creating daiginjo koji, we advance the koji mold from the sprout area to the center using the technique called "tsuki-haze" . The rice husk part doesn't break, but it breaks from the sprout into the interior. (Although it would be ideal to let the sprouts germinate since they have sprouted, rice sprouts have a lower enzyme activity compared to barley malt. So the idea here is to let them serve their purpose for now and leave the enzyme production to the koji mold.) The steaming process itself is the same as regular koji. We steam it for 40 minutes after the steam is released. After that, we cool it down and inoculate the seed. This is also the same as koji. The only difference is that it has rice husks attached, so it has a loose texture. Therefore, besides spreading it on a tray and applying koji mold, you can also put it in a bag, sprinkle the koji mold, and mix it. As I assume, it is mainly used in industries that use rotating steaming cans, such as shochu distilleries and miso makers who make barley koji. I believe they have a high affinity for koji malt. Using rice koji malt with a fragrant aroma for shochu... it's interesting, isn't it? For places that use rotating steaming cans, after steaming, they cool it down with a jet condenser. Then, they take out a part of the materials, inoculate a large amount of koji mold, return it to the can, rotate the can, and inoculate the remaining raw materials inside the can. I think it can be applied based on the processing methods for Thai rice koji and barley koji without any problems. After inoculation, it is left overnight at a temperature of 35 degrees without drying. The photo is borrowed from Fujiwara Techno Art.