Osmanthus sake is made by fermenting steamed glutinous rice with koji to ferment into sweet rice wine, adding an appropriate amount of osmanthus flowers. In the streets and alleys of Jiangnan, osmanthus wine has become a unique traditional food, and it can also evoke the memories of many people's childhood.
Osmanthus sake brewing is composed of glutinous rice, sake koji and osmanthus flowers. Glutinous rice, also known as yuan rice, river rice, rice, as early as the Ming Dynasty Li Shizhen's "Compendium of Materia Medica" has been recorded: "Glutinous rice, southern paddy fields are diverse. Its sex is sticky, can be made wine, can be steamed, can be steamed cake, can be boiled, can be fried. "Because of its sticky and soft texture, it is often prepared to make various flavor snacks. Winemaking koji is because there are a large number of microorganisms growing on the koji, and after the catalytic action of various enzymes, the starch can be converted into ethanol, that is, alcohol. Osmanthus flowers, pale yellow and white, Qing Wang Mengying in the "Diet Recipes of Living with The Breath" has "osmanthus flowers, xin wen to dispel odor, wake up the stomach and dissolve phlegm." Steaming, dipping in wine, salting, sugar harvesting, making points, making fillings, all taste delicious and pleasant". Modern can be used to make a variety of food products such as pastries, sweets, etc., and can also be used to make wine.
Osmanthus wine has a good therapeutic value. It can be eaten cold or hot. Wine is sweet, spicy, warm, beneficial to qi, blood dispersion, water and swelling, is conducive to edema during pregnancy, and is also suitable for lactating women. Modern research has found that wine is rich in glucose, maltose, organic acids, a variety of amino acids, vitamin B1, vitamin B2 and other nutrients. In addition, the unique mellow aroma of sake can stimulate the body's digestive glands to secrete digestive juices and arouse people's appetite. Osmanthus flowers are added to the wine, which is fragrant and pleasant, and also helps to relieve the tension after work.
Osmanthus wine also has a beautiful meaning. Osmanthus is one of the top ten traditional Chinese flowers, and the aroma can be described as clear and dusty, thick and overflowing, which is a must. The osmanthus of the osmanthus flower is in harmony with the "gui", which has an auspicious meaning. The ancient wine brewing is called "Li", which is a traditional Chinese specialty wine. When osmanthus flowers and wine are organically integrated and made into osmanthus wine, they integrate color, aroma and taste, making it not only a delicacy, but also a unique traditional cultural connotation.
It is worth noting that there are also contraindications to taking osmanthus wine. Wine is warm, and eating more is easy to help damp heat, so people with heavy dampness and heat in the body, such as acute gastroenteritis, long-term cough and phlegm and fat body, should not eat more. The sugar content of wine is very high, and eating too much is easy to cause blood sugar to rise, and diabetics should eat with caution. Although the alcohol content in osmanthus sake is very low, it is best to avoid it before driving. After taking cephalosporin antibiotics, do not consume osmanthus wine to avoid a "disulfiram reaction" with alcohol. In addition, people who are allergic to osmanthus flowers and alcohol should also avoid eating them. (Wu Liqiang, Taicang Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Jiangsu Province)
Note: This article was published on December 3, 2021 in the 7th edition of China Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine