In the hot summer, it is the prime time to make songs. I remember that 20 years ago, in dog days every year, in my hometown, almost every household would make wine songs, which are all ancient laws handed down.

Because at that time, every household in the village would make wine to drink, some people made white wine, some people made rice wine, and wine needed koji.

Moreover, there is a saying in our local area that we can only make our own koji and can't borrow it from others. If you really don't have it at home, but you want to make wine, you have to spend money to buy it. Never borrow it from someone else's house.

At that time, the conditions were not good and the villagers insisted on "self-reliance". Those who can process and produce by themselves are unwilling to spend money. June is the dog days of the lunar calendar, and the temperature is high during this time, which is the most suitable for composing music.

So how to make sake koji? In fact, raw materials are all around us, and they are all very common materials. Let's talk about the raw materials and formulas needed for the production of farm distiller's yeast. In fact, it's not complicated to do, just follow the gourd painting gourd ladle, and you will basically learn it.

In some places, koji is also called wine cake, medicated koji, or shochu koji, wine cake, etc. It is an essential raw material for brewing rice wine and liquor. In the words of ordinary people, it is the "drug primer" of wine making. Without it, you can't make wine.

China's wine-making culture is profound and has a history of thousands of years. Moreover, since ancient times, the ancients paid attention to local materials, so the raw materials for brewing koji are different from place to place. In some places, the price is simple, and two or three raw materials can make koji.

Some places are more complicated, with dozens or even hundreds of raw materials. It takes many processes to produce excellent koji, but the more complicated the koji-making formula, the less known it is now, because many of them have been lost.

In my hometown, there are fewer kinds of raw materials for making koji, ranging from three or four kinds to six or seven kinds. The common ones are Polygonum hydropiper, verbena, vanilla, lophatherum gracile, peach leaves and citrus leaves.

Some exquisite old people will also add wormwood, Smilax glabra, mulberry leaves, bamboo leaves, lentil leaves, laurel leaves and licorice. Because the distribution of plants in different places is different, the raw materials for koji making are also different.

Let's talk about a relatively simple production method here.

No matter which recipe is used to make koji, Polygonum hydropiper is an essential one. Polygonum hydropiper is very common in our life, but this plant can also be subdivided into two kinds, one grows by the water and the other grows in dry land. However, Polygonum hydropiper grass growing by the water is generally not spicy, and only those growing in dry land are spicy.

Picking Polygonum hydropiper is also very particular. Picking early is not spicy. Only in dog days, when Polygonum hydropiper is old, do you pick its tender stems and leaves.

In the early years, we used it when making koji here, but in recent years, bluegrass has been rare and can't be seen in many places, so some people don't use it.

Blue vanilla is also called mountain mint because its leaves are really like mint. This is a small shrub with a height of 26-60 cm. When its leaves are picked and rubbed with a little force, it will smell of blue grass.

A plant that looks like wild bamboo. Its plants are short and its leaves are needle-shaped, much like bamboo leaves. Generally grows in shady and humid places under forests on hillsides. But its roots have swollen spindle-shaped fleshy tubers. There are no bamboo leaves in some places, and they are often replaced by bamboo leaves.

As for the remaining verbena, it is a very common plant and can be seen in many roadsides, fields and some parks. Peach leaves are peach leaves, and citrus leaves are fruit citrus leaves.

These are all known without introduction, and the main function of adding these is to enhance fragrance. If you really can't pick it out, you can not add it.

Mechanization was not as popular as it is today, and it is still very troublesome to make koji. The general principle is to mix these plants picked from the mountains with rice and then mash them with a stone mortar machine. Then knead it into small balls by hand or press it into cakes.

But today, the production method is much more convenient. Generally, all these raw materials are dried, then ground into powder by machine, and then mixed with broken rice.

First, all the raw materials are dried, and the ratio of Polygonum hydropiper to rice is 1 ratio 13, that is, 1 kg of rice flour needs Polygonum hydropiper. As for other raw materials, it is much less, generally one twentieth of that of Polygonum hydropiper.

When these materials are crushed in proportion, they are stirred with rice flour, and water is added while stirring. But it is not advisable to add too much water. When kneading dough with your hands, you'd better keep it dry and moist, and don't stick to your hands.

When everything is ready, you can make a song, grab a small handful with your hand, then hold it in your hand and squeeze it into the size of a meatball. When everything is pinched, put them one by one in a big dustpan or flat-bottomed tray.

At this time, it is necessary to take out the old koji, mash it, then scatter it in a dustpan and shake it so that each koji is covered with a thin layer of old koji powder.

When it's finished, it's time to start saving. Because the temperature of koji-making is high in dog days, you can directly put a layer of straw in the basket, and then carefully put the koji in, remember to put another layer of straw. If the temperature is not enough, you may need to add a thick quilt or wear old clothes to keep warm and moist.

If you put it in a cool and dry place for about 48 hours, be sure to remember the time. When the surface of distiller's yeast grows slender white fluff with a length of about three or four millimeters, it means that distiller's yeast is fermented.

If it takes a long time, the fluff will turn black. If you smell an unpleasant smell, it means that the fermentation has failed.

When the koji is fermented, it should be taken out in time, then put in a dustpan, dried in the sun, and then stored. In order to prevent it from getting insects, try to dry it for a few days. If it is dog days, it should be thoroughly air-dried for five or six days and then sealed.

The key to the quality of koji lies in the control of temperature. Not if the temperature is low, not if the temperature is high. Generally, it will be controlled in 24~36 hours. In the past, farmers didn't have thermometers, so they judged by experience. Because the temperature in dog days is generally above 30 degrees, which is very conducive to fermentation, so they all focus on koji making in dog days.

If you have no experience, you can open it when the koji has been fermented for more than 24 hours. When you find that there is already a layer of white fluff on the koji, it means that the fermentation is very good. At this time, we should pay attention to it in time, do a good job of ventilation and cooling, and avoid the fluff on the koji from turning black because of high temperature. In fact, this is a mildew spot that will seriously affect the quality of koji.

Dear friends, when you see this, have you found that the production of peasant distiller's yeast is not complicated, and the raw materials are very common in life? With patience, everyone can succeed. Friends with strong hands-on ability may wish to learn.

Dear friends, how do you make sake songs in your hometown? Welcome to share, let's exchange and learn together.