JAPAN ［AICHI］
Japanese Ingredients for the World’s Top Kitchens ＃52
That Hidden Special Ingredient
MIRIN
2025.05.13
Though the times are always changing, there are certain timeless ingredients from Japan that will never go out of style. Yukio Hattori, president of Hattori Nutrition College in Tokyo, introduces unique labors of love—items grown and produced with care and integrity by hardworking suppliers across the country.
連載：未来に届けたい日本の食材
“Many people seem to think that mirin is made by alcoholic fermentation,
but more accurately it’s the result of a mashing or saccharification process.We add glutinous rice and a kome-koji starter to rice shochu liquor. Then we let the enzymes go to work—it takes a year,” says Toshio Sumiya, president of Sumiya Bunjiro Brewery. More than 60 percent of the company’s mirin sales are to professional kitchens.
“What’s interesting about mirin is that unlike soy sauce and miso, which
convert proteins into umami flavors during fermentation, or sake, which does the same with starch, mirin breaks down both of those macronutrients to yield its characteristic sweetness,” he explains. Shochu liquor is used to control the enzymatic process and, unlike distilled alcohol, imparts extra fragrance to the final product.
◎Sumiya Bunjiro Brewery Co., Ltd.
6-3 Nishihama-cho, Hekinan, Aichi
☎0566-41-0748
www.mikawamirin.com
（The Cuisine Magazine / November 2016）
（The Cuisine Magazine / November 2016）
Online store
