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 making needed koji.
And there is a saying in our local area, that is, koji can only be made at home, and you 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 could process and produce by themselves were reluctant to spend money. June is the dog days in the lunar calendar, and the temperature is high during this period, which is most suitable for making koji.
So how to make koji? In fact, the raw materials are all around us, all very common materials. Let's tell you about the raw materials and recipes needed for the production of farm distiller's yeast. In fact, it's not complicated to make, just follow the gourd painting gourd ladle, and basically you will learn it as soon as you learn it.
In some places, koji is also called wine cake, medicated koji, or shochu koji, wine cake and so on. It is an essential raw material for brewing rice wine and white wine. In the words of ordinary people, it is the "medicine primer" for brewing wine. Without it, wine cannot be brewed.
China's wine-making culture is profound and has a history of thousands of years. Moreover, since ancient times, the ancients paid attention to using local materials, so the raw materials for brewing distillers' yeast are also different in different places. In some places, the price is simple, and two or three raw materials can make distillers' yeast.
In some places, it is more complicated, ranging from dozens or even hundreds of raw materials. It takes many processes to produce excellent koji, but the more complicated the recipe for koji making, the less known it is now, because many of them have been lost.
In my hometown, the types of raw materials for making distiller's yeast are relatively rare, ranging from three or four to six or seven. 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 making koji are also different.
Let's talk about a relatively simple production method here.
No matter which formula 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 is in dry land. However, Polygonum hydropiper grass growing by the water is generally not spicy, only those growing in dry land.
Picking Polygonum hydropiper is also very particular. Picking early is not spicy. Only in the dog days, when the Polygonum hydropiper is old, just pick its tender stems and leaves.
In the early years, we used it when we made distiller's yeast here, but in recent years, bluegrass has been very 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 plant with a height of 26-60 cm. When its leaves are picked and rubbed with a little force, it will smell like blue grass.
A plant that looks like wild bamboo. Its plants are relatively short, and its leaves are needle-shaped, much like bamboo leaves. Generally, it grows in shady and humid places under forests on hillsides. But its roots have swollen spindle-shaped fleshy tubers. In some places, there is no bamboo leaf, and bamboo leaves are often used to replace it.
As for the remaining verbena, it is a very common plant, and it can also 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 increase fragrance. If you really can't pick it, you can do it without adding it.
In the past, mechanization was not as popular as it is today, and it was still very troublesome to make distiller's yeast. The general principle was that these plants picked in the mountains were mixed with rice and then mechanically mashed in a stone mortar. Then knead it by hand into small spherical balls or press it into cakes.
But today, the production method is much more convenient. Generally, all these raw materials are dried, then polished into powder by machine, and then mixed with crushed rice to make it.
First, all the raw materials are dried, and the ratio of Polygonum hydropiper to rice is prepared according to 1 ratio 13, that is, 13 kg of rice flour needs Polygonum hydropiper 1 kg. As for other raw materials, it is much less, generally one-twentieth of Polygonum hydropiper grass.
When these materials are crushed in proportion, they are then stirred with rice flour, and water is added while stirring. However, it is not advisable to add too much water. When it is kneaded into a ball by hand, it is better to keep it dry and wet without sticking it to your hands.
After everything is ready, you can make koji, grab a small handful with your hand, then hold it in your palm and squeeze it into the size of a meatball. When everything has been pinched, put them one by one in a big dustpan or a flat-bottomed tray.
At this time, it is necessary to take out the old distiller's yeast, mash it, then scatter them in the dustpan, and shake the dustpan to make each distiller's yeast covered with a thin layer of old distiller's yeast powder.
When it's done, it's time to start storing. Because the temperature of making koji is high in dog days, you can directly put a layer of straw in the basket, and then carefully put the koji in it, and remember to put another layer of straw on it. If the temperature is not enough, you may need to add a thick quilt or worn-out clothes to keep warm and moisturize.
If you put it in a cool and dry place for about 48 hours, you must remember the time. When the surface of the koji grows slender white fluff with a length of about three or four millimeters, it means that the koji 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 is necessary to take it out in time, then put it in a dustpan, take it to the sun to dry, and then store it well after drying. In order to prevent it from growing insects, try to dry it for a few days. If it's dog days, it should be completely dried in the air for five or six days, and then it's ok to seal them up.
The key to the quality of koji lies in the control of temperature. If the temperature is low, it will not work, and if the temperature is high, it will not work. Generally, it will be controlled in 24~36 hours. In the past, farmers didn't have thermometers, which were judged by experience. Because the temperature in dog days was generally over 30 degrees, which was very conducive to fermentation, they all concentrated on the dog days to make koji.
If you have no experience, when the koji has been fermented for more than 24 hours, you can open it and have a look. 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 and do a good job of ventilation and cooling, so as to avoid the fluff on the koji turning black because of the high temperature. In fact, this is a mildew-like plaque that will seriously affect the quality of koji.
Dear friends, when you see here, do you find that the production of peasant distiller's yeast is not complicated, and the raw materials are very common in life. Everyone can make it successfully as long as they have patience. Friends with strong hands-on ability may wish to learn.
Dear friends, how do you make koji in your hometown? Welcome to share, let's exchange and learn together.