Amazake

Amazake (甘酒^?, [amazake]) is a traditional sweet, low- or non-alcohol (depending on recipes) Japanese drink made from fermented rice.

Amazake dates from the Kofun period, and it is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki.

There are several recipes for amazake that have been used for hundreds of years. By a popular recipe, kōji is added to cooled whole grain rice causing enzymes to break down the carbohydrates into simpler unrefined sugars. As the mixture incubates, sweetness develops naturally.^[1] By another popular recipe, sake kasu is simply mixed with water, but usually sugar is added.

Many Shinto shrines provide or sell it in the New Year.

Amazake can be used as a dessert, snack, natural sweetening agent, baby food, salad dressing or smoothie.

Amazake is believed to be very nutritious.[3]

The Kofun period (古墳時代 Kofun jidai^?) is an era in the history of Japan from around 250 to 538. It follows the Yayoi period. The Kofun and the subsequent Asuka periods are sometimes referred to collectively as the Yamato period.

The Nihon Shoki (日本書紀^?), sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history. The book is also called the Nihongi (日本紀 lit. Japanese Chronicles^?).

Kōji is a filamentous fungus (a mold). It is used in Chinese and Japanese cuisine for fermentation.