Korean rice wine-Cheongju-Baekhwasubok-01

''Cheongju'' (), sometimes romanized as ''Chungju'', is a clear, refined

rice wine Rice wine is an alcoholic beverage fermentation, fermented from rice, traditionally consumed in East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia, where rice is a quintessential staple crop. Rice wine is made by the fermentation of rice starch, during wh ...

of Korean origin.

Names

The word ''cheongju'' () consists of two characters: ''cheong'' () meaning "clear" and ''ju'' () meaning "alcoholic drink". It contrasts with ''takju'' (), as "tak" () means "turbid". The word ''takju'' usually refers to ''

makgeolli ''Makgeolli'' (), sometimes anglicized to makkoli (, ), is a Korean alcoholic drinks, Korean alcoholic drink. It is a milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine that has a slight viscosity, and tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and astr ...

'' (milky, unrefined rice wine). The

hanja Hanja (; ), alternatively spelled Hancha, are Chinese characters used to write the Korean language. After characters were introduced to Korea to write Literary Chinese, they were adapted to write Korean as early as the Gojoseon period. () ...

characters 淸酒 are the same as the

kanji are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are ...

pronounced ''seishu'' used on the labels of

sake Sake, , or saki, also referred to as Japanese rice wine, is an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran. Despite the name ''Japanese rice wine'', sake, and indeed any East Asi ...

. The native Korean word for "clear wine", ''malgeun-sul'' (), is also used to refer to ''cheongju''. Another name for ''cheongju'' is ''yakju'' (), which literally translates into "medicinal wine".

History

According to '' Things on Korea''—a 12th-century book on Korea written by Song Chinese scholar Sun Mu (孫穆)—the

Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korea, Korean Peninsula until the establishment of Joseon in 1392. Goryeo achieved what has b ...

people used non-glutinous rice to brew rice wine. Another 12th-century Chinese book, '' Illustrated Account of Goryeo'', reports that Korean rice wine that is made with '' nuruk'' is deeper in color and has a higher alcohol content; it says that when drinking this wine one gets drunk quickly and sobers up quickly. This book says that clear, refined rice wine was made in the royal court, while milky, unrefined rice wine was more popular among commoners.

Preparation

''Cheongju'' is usually brewed in winter, between the months of November and March. Steamed rice mixed with '' nuruk'' (fermentation starter) and water is left to ferment for 16 to 25 days, at a temperature not higher than . During the fermentation process, the rice starch becomes saccharified; the yeast fungi feed on the sugars created by saccharification and produce alcohol. The fermented wine is then filtered with ''yongsu'' (a wine strainer), which is dipped into the liquid. The clear wine inside the ''yongsu'' is ladled out to make ''cheongju''.

Consumption

''Cheongju'' has been widely used in a variety of traditional

ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

s and rites, as it is regarded as a well-prepared alcohol.

Varieties

Southern cities in South Korea such as

Masan Masan () is an administrative region of Changwon, a city of South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae District, Jinhae. Masan was ...

Gunsan Gunsan (; ), also romanized as Kunsan, is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in North Jeolla Province, South Korea. It is on the south bank of the Geum River just upstream from its exit into the Yellow Sea. It has emerged as a high-t ...

, and

Nonsan Nonsan (; ) is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It is located at . The origin of Nonsan's geographical names is said to have come from the small garden " Nolmoe, " which rises in the middle of farming fields, where rice paddie ...

are famous for producing good ''cheongju''. '' Beopju'' brewed in

Gyeongju Gyeongju (, ), historically known as Seorabeol (, ), is a coastal city in the far southeastern corner of North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. It is the second largest city by area in the province after Andong, covering with a population of ...

and '' sogok-ju'' brewed in Hansan are well-known varieties of ''cheongju''. There also are ''cheongju'' varieties made with glutinous rice or black rice. Flavoured ''cheongju'' varieties include '' gukhwa-ju'' made with

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

, '' dugyeon-ju'' made with

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

, '' songsun-ju'' made with

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

sprouts, '' yeonyeop-ju'' made with lotus leaves, and ''insam-ju'' made with

ginseng Ginseng () is the root of plants in the genus ''Panax'', such as South China ginseng (''Panax notoginseng, P. notoginseng''), Korean ginseng (''Panax ginseng, P. ginseng''), and American ginseng (''American ginseng, P. quinquefol ...

Similar beverages

''Cheongju'' is similar to other East Asian

counterparts such as the Chinese '' mijiu'' and Japanese ''

''. A dry white

vermouth Vermouth (, ) is an Italian aromatized wine, aromatized, fortified wine, flavored with various Botany, botanicals (roots, Bark (botany), barks, flowers, seeds, Herb, herbs, and Spice, spices) and sometimes Food coloring, colored. The modern ve ...

can also serve as a substitute for ''cheongju'' in cooking.

Gallery

Cheongju.jpg, ''Yi Sangheon yakju'' Cheongju 2.jpg, ''Cheonbihyang'' Cheongju 3.jpg, ''Upoui achim'' Cheongju 4.jpg, ''Anseong yakju'' Gyodong beopju.jpg, '' Beopju''

References

{{Alcoholic beverages Korean alcoholic drinks Rice wine