Chinese food history
experts assert that the tradition
of Chinese wine has not less than 4000 years. According to a legend,
around 2100 BC the wife of the first dynasty's emperor Yu invented
genuine Chinese wine recipe,
based on millet. Later, when rice became more popular grain, millet
Chinese wine was called “yellow liquor”. Distilled
alcoholic beverages, which spread only in the 19th century, are
basically taken with Chinese food and specific appetizers.
It should be mentioned that the word “jiu” stands
not only
for Chinese wine but also for all alcoholic beverages, so the most
relevant equivalent is “liquor”. The same term
figures in
Japanese, being pronounced like “shu”, and in
Korean where
its pronunciation is “ju”.
There are two main Chinese wine varieties: fermented beverages like
Grain-based huangjiu or choujiu, and distilled beverages, such as
baijiu or shaojiu.
Fermented alcoholic beverages are brewed from grains, like wheat and
rice, and contain less than 20% of alcohol. Before bottling, fermented
Chinese wine is pasteurized, aged and then filtered. Huangjiu, or
fermented Chinese alcoholic beverages feature dryness and rice base.
As to distilled beverages, or baijiu, they are based on sorghum and
contain more than 30% of alcohol. The word “baijiu”
is
translated as “white liquor”, nevertheless it is
also
called “shaojiu” - or “hot
liquor”, referring
to the burning sensation in the larynx while drinking.
Apart from rice, Chinese wine is also processed from fruits. After
traditional Chinese wine cooking
tips,
beverage has to be warmed before consumption. This method makes Chinese
wine better exhale its unique delicious aroma to please the drinker.
The basic Chinese wine ingredients are liquor starter, water and grains
the choice of which varies from one part of China to another. Thus, in
the North Chinese wine is made from rice mixed with other grains, like
sorghum, millet, barley and wheat, while the southern version is based
only on glutinous rice.
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