Sake "rice wine" question - short term storage of Kome Koji

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rocky6501

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So, about four days ago, I successfully "malted" a few pounds of steamed rice with Koji mold spores, and I've started the moto/starter culture with yeast, and its moving along.

That starter culture is in a gallon container, and it will be there for about 10-14 days at 47F to mature and prepare for the first big addition.

My question is, in the meantime, should I be storing my Koji rice in the freezer? I currently have it in the refrigerator, also at 47F, which has halted the mold growth. I am not sure how long it will keep at this temperature, since I don't want too much lactic infection to take over. I'm also not clear on whether there's any detriment to keeping it in the freezer (harm to amylase?).

There's surprisingly little detailed literature out there. So if anyone has any detailed input or suggestions, I'd the grateful to hear about it.
 
Storing it in the refrigerator is just fine for the short term, say up to a month. Beyond that, I would freeze it. Freezing koji doesn't hurt it in any way, so put that worry out of your head right away. =) In fact, I usually move my koji right to the freezer after it's done simply because there's usually more room in there than in our fridge.
 
Great, thank you for the tips. I think I'll just put mine in the freezer for now, if only for an abundance of caution on my first attempt. I'm going for a more natural lactic acid effect rather than adding acid, so taking it out of the fridge might keep the Kome Koji from souring additionally. Or at least I assume so.

Kampai!
 
The koji doesn't do any souring on its own, man. That comes from lactobacillus activity in the moto. Koji by itself doesn't have enough water to support much microbiological activity. =)
 
OK, that's good to know. I'm just being excessively cautious. Microbio in college made me just pretty much assume that bacilli are everywhere. Thanks for the support.

BTW, I used your online how-to for pretty much 90% of my process flow. Granted, its a lot of work, but I think it is a lot of fun. I'll probably be doing this a couple times a year to keep sake in the pipeline along side my beers.
 
Microbio in college made me just pretty much assume that bacilli are everywhere.
They are everywhere, but like just about any other living thing they need water in order to get hold of any kind of nutrients they need for biological activity.

BTW, I used your online how-to for pretty much 90% of my process flow. Granted, its a lot of work, but I think it is a lot of fun. I'll probably be doing this a couple times a year to keep sake in the pipeline along side my beers.
Practice makes perfect. =)
 
Coincidentally, I plan to launch my first attempt at sake this weekend.

Taylor-MadeAK, I did not know that you frequent these forums. Thank you very much for your online guide. As you know, there is nothing else like it. Thanks for sharing.
 
I don't really frequent them, but threads that link back to my site tend to get my attention. =) I've also got it set up so that any threads that I do post in send me an e-mail when you guys respond.

Oh, and you're welcome. =)
 
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