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Fermentation Atlas

Soft drinks from Korea

Sikhye (malt rice drink) and Andong sikhye식혜

Sikhye is a boundary entry. Cooked rice is held warm in malt water so the malt's own enzymes turn its starch into sugar; no microbes are needed, and the drink is boiled and chilled. Andong sikhye is the true ferment of the family. Rice, radish, ginger and red pepper in malt water are fermented cold by lactic acid bacteria into a red, sour, spicy drink. Made in 5 steps over 6.2 h – 7.2 h. The longest step, hold rice in malt water warm until the grains float, takes 3–4 h (An Y.-H 2011) and runs at 60–70 °C (An Y.-H 2011). Lactic acid bacteria in Andong sikhye; rod-shaped Lactobacillus lead early, then cocci (Streptococcus) take over; L. delbrueckii chosen as the best starter in one study does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–4 hMeasured[an2011][yook1990]Hold rice in malt water warm until the grains float
Temperature60–70 °CMeasured[an2011][yook1990]Hold rice in malt water warm until the grains float
AciditypH 5 → 4.98Measured[an2011]Chill and serve with the rice grains
Fully documentedSoft drinks6.2 h – 7.2 hMore soft drinksMore from Korea

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceLaboratory batch of standard sikhye from a 2011 Korean study, giving about 3 L of malt liquid. Andong sikhye uses glutinous rice, malt, radish, water, ginger and red pepper; its amounts are not given here because the study that fixes them could not be opened.
400 gMalt powder (yeotgireum) · Soaked in 4 L of water at 40 °C[an2011]
4 LWater[an2011]
300 gRice, cooked firm (godubap)[an2011]
6 % of the malt liquidSugar[an2011]
Starternone (malt enzymes) for standard sikhye; lactic acid bacteria from the ingredients for Andong sikhye

Total time across the recorded steps: 6.2 h – 7.2 h

Start
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Close-up: water moving into a grain40 °C

What changes: Malt powder soaks in warm water and the clear, enzyme-rich liquid is drawn off

Step 1 of 5
Soak and knead malt to make malt water
Time
3 h
Measured
Temperature
40 °C
Measured
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Lactobacillus lead
Streptococcus
L. delbrueckii

Output: clear, enzyme-rich malt water (yeotgireum-mul); barley husks removed.

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

What makes this one different

Standard sikhye is sweetened by malt enzymes alone, like amazake made with malt instead of koji, and is boiled before any microbes can act. Andong sikhye goes further. Radish, ginger and red pepper are added and the drink is left to ferment cold, so lactic acid bacteria make it sour, red and spicy.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Andong sikhyeGlutinous rice, malt water, sliced radish, ginger and red pepper powder fermented cold (5 °C in one study). pH falls to 4.20 by day 2 and 3.90 by day 20 of storage; flavour is judged best around day 2–3.
  • Hobak-sikhyeMade with pumpkin.
  • Industrial sikhyeAdded amylases turn the starch almost all to glucose and fructose instead of maltose.

Safety

Boiling stops the malt enzymes but does not kill Bacillus cereus spores, which can survive in sikhye; keep it refrigerated. Andong sikhye is soured to pH 4.06–4.36 and kept at 4–5 °C.

Hazards the sources name: Bacillus cereus spores, which survive ordinary heating of sikhye (D at 95 °C of 2.8–4.9 min).

History and sources

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

A late-19th-century cookbook, the Siuijeonseo, describes rice saccharified with wheat malt water and mixed with yuja as sikhye. Andong sikhye probably took its present form after red pepper came into wide use in Korea in the second half of the 18th century. It is related to so-sikhae and fish sikhae of the east coast, which add salt, garlic or fish.

  1. [an2011] An Y.-H., Lee I.-S., Kim H.-S. 2011, Quality characteristics of sikhye with varied levels of sweet pumpkin during storage, Korean Journal of Food Cookery Science 27(6)paper
  2. [yook1990] Yook C., Hwang Y.-H., Pek U.-H., Park K.-H. 1990, Preparation of shikhae with starch hydrolysing enzymes/malt mixture in tea-bag, Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology 22(3):296–299 (abstract)paper
  3. [choi1992] Choi C., Son G.-M. 1992, A study on the preparation of traditional Andong sikhe with lactic acid bacteria, Korean Journal of Food Culture 7(3):259–270 (abstract)paper
  4. [choi1991a] Choi C., Lim S.-I., Seog H.-M. 1991, Changes in composition during aging of traditional Andong sickhae, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 20(4):381–387 (abstract)paper
  5. [choi1991b] Choi C., Seog H.-M., Lim S.-I., Lee W.-J., Cho Y.-J. 1991, Studies on the storage stability of traditional Andong sikhae, Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology 23(5):546–553 (abstract)paper
  6. [woo1995] Woo H.-S., Choi C. 1995, Organic acids and volatile flavor compounds in traditional Andong sikhe, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 24(2):208–213 (abstract)paper
  7. [yoon1988] Yoon S.-K. 1988, A study on the cookery of Andong sikhe (I), a historical study on the origin of the cookery of Andong sikhe, Korean Journal of Food Culture 3(1):101–111 (abstract)paper
  8. [kim2012] Kim H., Kim H., Bang J., Kim Y., Beuchat L.R., Ryu J.-H. 2012, Reduction of Bacillus cereus spores in sikhye, a traditional Korean rice beverage, by modified tyndallization processes with and without carbon dioxide injection, Letters in Applied Microbiology 55(3):218–223 (abstract)paper
  9. [heo2018] Heo J. et al. 2018, Ottowia oryzae sp. nov., isolated from Andong sikhye, a Korean traditional rice beverage, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 68(10):3096–3100 (abstract)paper