Pretty darn chuffed this actually worked.
이화곡 to 찹쌀 단양주 🤩
Pretty darn chuffed this actually worked.
이화곡 to 찹쌀 단양주 🤩
I've only used a koji-like nuruk before when I was living in Korea. This makgeolli definitely has a different flavour profile to that makgeolli. Arguably, it is probably a unique profile to where I'm living now. I ran this ferment relatively warm as at 23-24°C. The next batch, I'll run at 18-20°C to contrast the flavour difference.
This batch currently has a sweet, almost croissant-doughnut aroma to it with subtle fruity notes. I'd take a punt that the fruitiness is from the warm ferment.
Either way, tomorrow I'll have to make bindaetteok to eat with it 😍
Fwiw I've heard the warmer the ferment the more sour the beverage ends up being.
Correct, it encourages the lactic acid producing yeasts. Also, boiling instead of steaming rice will lead to a very sour ferment (Greek yoghurt on steroids was my experience the first time I naively brewed makgeolli).
Could you please post more about your process of using koji instead of nuruk. I would be interested in trying to replicate your recipe. The "sweet, almost croissant-doughnut aroma" has me very intrigued.
Nevermind, I just found your other posts 😁. Going to try this!
The flavor sounds amazing. I’m in the middle of making my first nuruk so hoping it turns at as well too.
I’m surprised to see you ran your ferment at 23-24C. Most guides I’ve read specific much higher heat, around 30-35C. Does rice nuruk require less heat?
When making Nuruk I kept the humidity at over 80% and the temperature in the 33-35°C range. The temperatures mentioned above were for the fermentation of makgeolli.
Your end result looks very creamy and white. Is that the lighting or is it milk white? Mine always turns out off white to yellow'ish.
Milky white because I used 이화곡 (purely rice based nuruk), so no grains to alter the hue.
Okay, that makes sense. I like the color over the traditional. I noticed that a lot of commercially made Makgeolli are also white, wonder if they stopped using a wheat-based nuruk also.
They often don't use nuruk and opt for just using enzymes to ensure reproducible results at scale and adjust flavour with additives (e.g. non-saccharide sweetners).
How many inches wide are your bamboo steamers/how long do you steam the rice?
26cm in real units 😉 (approximately 10 inches) and can comfortably fit 1kg of rice.
I steamed the rice for 40 minutes. Swapping the layers at half time. Next batch, I will go as long as 50 minutes.
Swapping the layers is a good tip! I’ve tried this method once and didn’t think to do that, although my attempt failed for other reasons anyway. Thanks!
Have you noticed any difference using your own homemade nuruk instead of store-bought?