KODAWARI SAKE EDUCATION
  • Home
  • Sake training
    • Introductory Sake Professional Course
    • SAKE SOMMELIER COURSE
    • Testimonials
  • Corporate Sake Event Planner
    • Private Sake service
  • About Me
    • Sake Business Academy
    • Blog
    • Student Registration
  • CONSULTANCY SERVICES

Masterclass with Sake & Cheese

10/2/2019

2 Comments

 
Back in the Swan Valley, appreciating what makes us WA.  Glorious weather for a Sunday morning session to learn about sake.

Perception was really what was highlighted here , our guests were all first timers to Japanese sake and didn't know what to expect.  The unknown to the Sake world brought forth curiosity and excitement the same time.

When asked about their experience to Japanese sake it was discovered that the perception of the "rice brew" had misguided them to open their hearts. Some of our guests felt that sake might be too  strong as they had assumption from what other people said . Some guest felt they definitely would not like the "rice brew" before even trying it. 

I have encountered these fake assumptions and incomplete experiences to sake throughout  my years and  frequently and I make it a point to correct this wrong perception people have in Sake.

Picture
Our First sake:
Ozeki 
Nama Chozo Sake
“Nama-Chozo-Shu” is pasteurised only once before bottling to bring you a refreshing flavour and tanginess only in a chilled sake. The chilling brings out the refreshing aftertaste, mellow aroma and moderate sweetness.  Honjozo is a another classificaiton of sake which is usually sake that has distilled alcohol added .

We experimented with two different temperatures to let our guest experience different characters and flavours. It was educated to our guest that aroma experience and palate experience do differ from each other. Our guest were fairly new to the experience , some couldn't capture the aroma at all as they were unfamiliar with sake. I have encountered this all the time in my workshops , most guest think there is expectation to capture the aroma or you must have a peculiar taste to accept the flavours of sake. This is not required, sake is unbiased, we do not educate you to make sure you have a level of palate or aroma experience. The sake world does not judge it actually encourages you to find the character and let it create on its own to suit your own taste.

Picture
Picture
Sake Culture:
Guest thoroughly enjoyed this beautiful tradition and learning the japanese customs made guest learn to appreciate the sake culture evenmore. As manner is preached in Japan through tradition our guest followed through with the custom without hesitation.

So the next sake is Sawahime Yamahai Junmai Sake from Tochigi Prefecture: So this sake is one of the traditional method and used mainly as a yeast starter. This methods normally creates more lactic flavours and full body flavoured sake. 

Guest who enjoyed mostly red wine style or rich whiskies tend to relate to the full body flavour of Sawahime Yamahai. The contrast of the room and cold temperature really left an impression of difference how the same sake can change so much in different temperatures.


Picture
Cheese & Sake 
Does it work?  of course it does !
Cheese is  the perfect companion to sake because they both have the same ingredient ( lactic acid)

Our first pairing comes from the Miyagi Prefecture and is called Urakasumi Junmai. Junmai means pure rice and this sake has a rice polishing ratio of 65 % using manumasume rice which is known to full body and have rice richness. This is a perfect well balanced sake to suit all palates.

Kytren Chèvre Fresh style is fresh cheese coming from Gidgegannup, using goat’s milk.
After Pasteurisation the milk is gently heated to form a curd. The warm curd are then poured into individual mould, to drain overnight
The fresh chèvre is very soft and light in texture. That has a pleasant feel in the mouth.Its flavour is delicate and not overpowering. 

Our second pairing with is Ippin Plum Nigori from Ibaraki prefecture.
  • Nigori Sake is a cloudy or opaque presence of sake lees which provide a white creamy colour:
  • Dancing rabbit is unique. Brew Sake until 10% alcohol with Moromi.
  • After this, we add fresh Ume Juice and control taste. Which will bring the alcohol
    to 5% With this sake it creates a beautiful texture and plum flavour with the sake
    lees .
  • Creamy and well balance of plum goodness . Drink preferably very cold.
  • Rice: Miyama-nishiki sake specific rice tends to be rich an robust sometimes some
    grains in their texture. 


  • So the cheese we will be pairing is Healy’s Pygenna Cheddar
    Australian Aged Cheddar
    • Cows milk coming from Adelaide it is tangy and creamy with salty aged style which gets more rustic on the rind. It is nutty and sweet in the middle.
    • Paired with Ippin plum nigori the texture helps to cut through the cheddar flavours to combine with the sweetness of the plum nigori and the sake lees balances of the tangy creamy flavour to give it a overall balance. 
​
​
Last sake is a very different style altogether it will totally surprise your palate. The next sake is Hakutsuru Koshu sake from Hyogo prefecture Koshu (means matured sake) this is aged sake that was brewed 2007 and preserved in a tank. It has matured aroma , smokey and rich in taste which resembles a whisky or a guinness beer. The flavour starts out really bold and heavy body but suddenly disappears with cleansing on the palate which doesn't linger.

The Cheese we are pairing with is Italian Blue Gorzonola.
Italian Blue (Cows Milk)
  • Blue cheese is definitely a challenge for most people. But this blue cheese is not as powerful.
  • The Italian Gorgonzola blue displayed lovely sweet caramel with occasional hints of salt it is creamy texture that melts nicely on the palate
  • Hakutsuru Koshu Aged characteristics of soy, aniseed, burnt caramel like taste creates a contrast match with this perfect cheese. Bringing different layers which doesn’t over power the cheese . ​

Highlights for sake was Urakasumi & Sawahime most guests loved the mouthfeel on the palate and richness of of sake rice which left deliciousness.

The favourite cheese was all , as most of our guest were cheese lovers they couldn't fault too much about the cheese but the pairing was something the wouldn't have guessed or even comprehend that could exist.

It is always a joy to see fresh new faces at my workshops and I am so glad everytime our guest have taken something to remember about the Sake World.
2 Comments
Elisa
10/11/2019 10:10:48 pm

Hello! I have so much to say. I don’t know where to start!

100% agree with this perception of sake, especially for the first timers. Honestly, I just started drinking wine as my first alcoholic drink and had the chance to taste sake. I thought sake had a strong taste like soju (a Korean drink which I heard makes your chest burn). Recently, I drank sparkling, dry and sweet sake at a Japanese event. I have to say sweet sake is my favorite. Too bad that in my country, sake is not easily available and popular enough for importation, but I look forward to taste other sakes especially Sawahime Yamahai Junmai Sake. As you mentioned, your guests who preferred red wine were more likely to like this particular sake and I believe that I can easily familiarize myself with it.

You are totally right. I wouldn’t have guessed that you can pair cheese and sake. I mean cheese and sake? You cannot imagine how excited you made me when you talked about cheese. I just cannot live without cheese. I have to definitely try this out, but I do have to get my hands-on sake first!

Reply
Kodawari Sake Education
10/12/2019 07:33:06 am

Hello Elisa,

Thank you so much for your comment. The great thing about sake there is so much diversity. The fact you have started with sparkling sake is the perfect start to enter the Japanese sake world. Most people who enjoyed sparkling or sweet sake means their palate has not been developed to enjoy more richer flavours of alcohol yet.

This is not a bad thing everybody has a different palate development. I was the same I use to enjoy very sweet drinks or such but now I look for more drier drinks as my palate has already developed and changed.

So don't feel that you need to accomodate to all sakes straight away with time and experience you will get there.

If you have more questions about sake follow my social media on facebook or instagram where you can freely chat with me I can share my passion and experience with you any time. Thanks Sandra

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    September 2022
    August 2022
    August 2021
    April 2021
    January 2021
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    February 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

© COPYRIGHT 2021 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Sake training
    • Introductory Sake Professional Course
    • SAKE SOMMELIER COURSE
    • Testimonials
  • Corporate Sake Event Planner
    • Private Sake service
  • About Me
    • Sake Business Academy
    • Blog
    • Student Registration
  • CONSULTANCY SERVICES