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Alcoholic drinks from India

Sonti (Indian rice beer made with Rhizopus sonti)

Sonti is an Indian rice beer said to be made much like sake, but with a Rhizopus mould instead of Aspergillus koji to turn the steamed rice starch into sugar. It appears in a 1942 survey as sonti saru, an occasional drink of Madras-coast fishermen. No study of how it is made was found.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Sonti itself.

Short entryAlcoholic drinks

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
steamed rice
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (the mould Rhizopus sonti saccharifies, in place of the Aspergillus oryzae used for sake)
Start
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What changes: Rice is steamed

Step 1 of 3
Steam rice
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Rhizopus sonti

Output: steamed rice.

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

Sonti is an Indian rice beer said to be made much like sake, but with a Rhizopus mould instead of Aspergillus koji to turn the steamed rice starch into sugar. It appears in a 1942 survey as sonti saru, an occasional drink of Madras-coast fishermen. No study of how it is made was found. Rhizopus sonti does most of the fermenting.

What makes this one different

Sonti is described as sake-like, but its sugar comes from a Rhizopus mould rather than Aspergillus koji.

Related ferments

History and sources

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

In 1942, londa handa and sonti saru were country beers drunk now and then by fishermen of the Madras coast. Licences for their sale stopped in 1897–98, because toddy was thought a more wholesome drink, and toddy had largely replaced them.

  1. [WP:Sonti (rice drink)] Wikipedia, Sonti (rice drink) (outline only)wiki
  2. [CHOPRA1942] Chopra R.N., Chopra G.S., Chopra I.C. 1942, Alcoholic beverages in India, Part II, Indian Medical Gazette 77(5):290–296archive