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Fermentation Atlas

Alcoholic drinks from Nagaland, India

Zutho (Angami rice beer)zutho

Zutho is the milky rice beer of the Angami Naga. Sticky rice is soaked, dried and pounded to a powder, mixed with water and a starter of sprouted rice (akhri), and left in an earthen pot for four to seven days. Water is then added and the beer is strained off; strained without water, the same mash gives the thicker, sweeter thutshe. Made in 7 steps over 4.1 days – 7.2 days. The longest step, ferment, takes 4–7 days (Neihu K. 2018). Saccharomyces cerevisiae does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step4–7 daysReported[morung2018]Ferment
AciditypH 3.6Measured[kaken-teramoto]Ferment
Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks4.1 days – 7.2 daysMore alcoholic drinksMore from India

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedHousehold recipe with no fixed amounts; the account gives times, not proportions.
Sticky rice (kemenya)[morung2018]
Akhri starter cake · Sprouted rice[morung2018]
Water · To make a thick mixture, and again before straining[morung2018]
Starter: other: akhri, a starter cake of sprouted rice

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.1 days – 7.2 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countSaccharomyces cerevisiaeYeasts

What changes: Rice sprouts to make the akhri starter

Step 1 of 7
Sprout rice for the starter (akhri)
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
Yeasts

The account says only that akhri is sprouted rice; it gives no method. Output: akhri starter cake.

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

Zutho's starter is sprouted rice, so the enzymes that turn starch into sugar come from sprouting, as in a malt beer. Neighbouring rice beers such as judima use a dried starter cake of rice and plant bark instead.

Related ferments

Variants

  • ThutsheThe same mash strained without adding water; thicker, stronger and sweeter.
  • KheMade from a rice called arai with its own sprouted-rice starter, khekrie.

Safety

No safety limits specific to zutho were found. It is sour (pH 3.6 in one sample).

History and sources

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

Zu was part of festivals, rituals, marriages, births and deaths among the Angami. It was given to mothers after childbirth and offered in leaf cups during 30 days of mourning, and brewing was once a skill expected of a married woman. A 2018 account describes it as a dying tradition.

  1. [kaken-teramoto] Teramoto Y. 2002–2003, Rediscovery of rare alcoholic beverages in Muslim countries and India and application of their microbial resources, KAKENHI grant 14580156 final report (zutho sample)gov
  2. [morung2018] Neihu K. 2018, Nagaland's dying tradition of rice beer making, The Morung Express, 10 June 2018 (method as described by a Kohima brewer)web
  3. [WP:Zutho] Wikipedia, Zutho (outline only)wiki