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Starters and koji from Assam

Emao

Emao is the Bodo rice-beer starter of Assam. Non-sticky rice powder is mixed with two or more herbs, shaped into cakes, dusted with powdered old emao and kept covered for 3–4 days until the surface turns white, then sun-dried for 2–3 days. Its microbes are mostly Rhizopus mould.

Fully documentedStarters and koji5 days – 7 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold recipe with no fixed amounts. The herbs change with what is available, and Narzary et al. write that of 7–8 types of herbs, using at least 2–3 is the traditional norm of the Bodo.
Dehusked non-sticky rice, powdered[narzary2021]
Jackfruit leaves (Artocarpus heterophyllus)Common to the recipes recorded in six Bodo villages[narzary2021]
Clerodendrum infortunatum, leaves or leafy twigs with flowersCommon to the recipes recorded in six Bodo villages[narzary2021]
Other herbs as availableScoparia dulcis, sugarcane, Musa balbisiana or pineapple leaves; 3–5 herbs is customary[narzary2021]
Mother starterPowdered emao from the existing stock, dusted over the new cakes[narzary2021]
Starterback-slop: powdered old emao dusted over the cakes

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 days – 7 days

Start
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What changes: Rice powder and chopped herbs are pressed into cakes

Step 1 of 4
Mix rice powder with chopped herbs and shape cakes
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Yeasts
Rhizopus

The rice is non-sticky; jackfruit and Clerodendrum leaves are the common herbs. Output: fresh cakes.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Emao is the Bodo rice-beer starter of Assam. Non-sticky rice powder is mixed with two or more herbs, shaped into cakes, dusted with powdered old emao and kept covered for 3–4 days until the surface turns white, then sun-dried for 2–3 days. Its microbes are mostly Rhizopus mould. Made in 4 steps over 5 days – 7 days. The longest step, dust the cakes with old emao and keep them covered, takes 3–4 days (Narzary D 2021). Rhizopus delemar and Wickerhamomyces anomalus (9 %), the main yeast do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–4 daysReported[narzary2021]Dust the cakes with old emao and keep them covered
AciditypH 3.8Measured[boro2022]Brew jou (rice beer) with the starter

What makes this one different

Unlike thiat of Meghalaya, which uses glutinous rice, emao is made from non-sticky rice. Its microbes are mostly moulds (9 moulds to 2 yeasts to 1 bacterium), led by Rhizopus delemar.

Related ferments

Safety

Boro et al. note that the makers take great care over hygiene in making emao and jou, because the quality deteriorates if the work is careless. The traditional jou made with emao measured pH 3.78 and 9.09 % v/v ethanol (Boro and Narzary 2022, Table 5).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Narzary et al. describe brewing with emao as an age-old tradition of the Bodo, one of the earliest settlers of north-east India. They write that the Bodo, Dimasa and Garo might have emerged from a common ancestor about 1500 years ago and have similarities in language, culture and brewing traditions.

  1. [narzary2021] Narzary D., Boro N., Borah A., Okubo T., Takami H. 2021, Community structure and metabolic potentials of the traditional rice beer starter 'emao', Scientific Reports 11:14628paper
  2. [boro2022] Boro N., Narzary D. 2022, Amylolytic fungi in the ethnic beer starter "emao" and their beer-producing attributes, Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems 6:869430 (Table 5, control jou)paper
  3. [boro2022b] Boro N., Borah A., Sarma R.L., Narzary D. 2022, Beer production potentiality of some non-Saccharomyces yeast obtained from a traditional beer starter emao, Brazilian Journal of Microbiology 53(3):1515–1531paper