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Jiuqu (simplified Chinese: 酒曲; traditional Chinese: 酒麴; pinyin: Jiǔ qū) is a type of East Asian dried fermentation starter grown on a solid medium and used in the production of traditional alcoholic goods throughout China.〔Chen et al. Perspectives on Alcoholic Beverages in China, in Ang, Liu, and Huang, eds. Asian Foods: Science and Technology. CRC Press, 1999.〕 The Chinese character 麴 is romanised as ''qu'' in pinyin, ''chhu'' or ''chu'' in other transcription systems. The literal translation of ''jiuqu'' is "liquor ferment", although "liquor mold" or "liquor starter" are adequate descriptions. Jiuqu specifically refers to a type of ferment (Qu 麴) used to manufacture alcoholic products (Jiu 酒), such as Huangjiu (Cereal Wines), Baijiu (Distilled Spirits) and Jiuniang (alcoholic rice porridge/pudding). There are other varieties of Qu specific for different types of fermentations, such as in the production of Jiang you (酱油 soy sauce), Cu (醋 vinegars), Sufu (豆腐 fermented bean curds) and Doubanjiang (豆瓣醬 fermented bean pastes). Qu is the direct Chinese counterpart of the more widely known Japanese fermentation starter called Koji, although Qu predates and differs from it slightly.〔〔Huang, H. T. "Science and civilisation in China. Volume 6. Biology and biological technology. Part V: fermentations and food science." (2000).〕〔McGovern, Patrick E., et al. "Fermented beverages of pre-and proto-historic China." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 101.51 (2004): 17593-17598.〕〔Huang et al Chinese Wines: Jiu, in Hui, Yiu H., ed. Handbook of food science, technology, and engineering. Vol. 149. CRC press, 2006.〕〔Rong and Fa, Grandiose Survey of Chinese Alcoholic Drinks and Beverages, 2013, http://www.jiangnan.edu.cn/zhgjiu/umain.htm〕 Jiuqu consists of a complex mixture of various molds, yeasts, and bacteria with their associated metabolites, cultured on a starch-rich substrate in a solid state fermentation process. They are typically stored and sold in the form of dried bricks (Daqu), balls (Xiaoqu e.g. Shanghai Yeast Balls), powders or as dried grains (Red Yeast Rice). The most common organisms found in Jiuqu are the filamentous molds ''Aspergillus oryzae'' and ''Rhizopus oryzae'' and the amylolytic yeast ''Saccharomycopsis fibuligera''. Amylolytic and proteolytic enzymes are the most abundant metabolites isolated.〔〔Zheng, Xiao‐Wei, et al. "Daqu—A traditional Chinese liquor fermentation starter." Journal of the Institute of Brewing 117.1 (2011): 82-90.〕 Although the art of making Jiuqu is a traditional practice of the Chinese that can be traced as far back as the Shang Dynasty (17th to 11th century BC),〔〔Shurtleff, William, and Akiko Aoyagi. History of Koji-Grains And/or Soybeans Enrobed with a Mold Culture (300 BCE To 2012): Extensively Annotated Bibliography and Sourcebook. Soyinfo Center, 2012.〕 it can now be technically classified as a type of biomolecule manufacturing process. Jiuqu preparation serves two parallel functions, the growth of the microbial species and their generation of enzyme metabolites. Both are dried gradually on the substrate, ensuring their viability for anticipated reactivation when the Jiuqu is added to a new source of water and nutrition. Jiuqu is therefore a source of both microbes and enzymes. The addition of Jiuqu to a cereal or pulse-based solution initiates the breakdown of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids into CO2, ethanol, organic acids and various other metabolites. This complex process of simultaneous catabolism and fermentation, often termed parallel or mash fermentation, is at variance with the beer and wine processes typical of the western world.〔〔〔〔Xiaoqing Mu et al Solid-State Fermented Alcoholic Beverages, in Chen, Jian, and Yang Zhu, eds. Solid State Fermentation for Foods and Beverages. CRC Press, 2013.〕 Like many other traditionally fermented foods in China, the production of Jiuqu is often empirical and takes place in non-sanitized conditions in homes, villages or small-scale manufacturing facilities. As such these products do not have the level of consistency or quality a consumer may expect. In stark contrast, Koji manufacture in Japan is highly industrialized with the use of isolated mono-cultures. In an attempt to refine the process, larger Jiuqu factories have begun to take advantage of laboratory methods utilizing selected pure cultures of each organism as individual starters. Selected microorganisms isolated from traditional Jiuqu practices now find widespread application in the Chinese biotechnology industry to manufacture such things as enzymes, organic acids, ethanol, polysaccharides, amino acids and vitamins.〔〔〔Steinkraus, Keith, ed. Industrialization of indigenous fermented foods, revised and expanded. CRC Press, 2004.〕〔Buglass, A. J. "Cereal-based and other fermented drinks of Asia, Africa and Central/South America." Handbook of alcoholic beverages: technical, analytical and nutritional aspects, volume 1 (2011): 211-230.〕 ==History== Jiuqu is also known variably across China as "starter cake" (Chinese: 麴餅; pinyin: qū bǐng), "liquor medicine" (酒藥, 酒药; pinyin: jiǔ yaò) or more simply known as Qu (麴 English pronunciation Chew). Classified among the multitude of starter cultures used for traditional cereal or pulse-based fermentations worldwide, Jiuqu in a modern context refers explicitly to types of microbes and their enzymes (Qu 麴) domesticated for usage in the manufacture of products containing alcohol (Jiu 酒).〔 In various other Asian nations Qu can be known as; Koji in Japan, Nuruk in Korea, Murcha/Marcha in India and Nepal, Banh Men in Vietnam, Paeng in Laos, Loog Pang in Thailand, Mochi kouji in Myanmar, Mae Domba in Cambodia, Ragi in Indonesia and Malaysia and Bubod in the Philippines.〔Tamang, Diversity of Fermented Beverages and Alcoholic Drinks in Tamang & Kailasapathy eds Fermented Foods and Beverages of the World, CRC press, (2010)〕 The process of creating Qu for use in fermentation is believed to have originated in China some 3000–4000 years ago and has been introduced throughout the rest of Asia.〔〔〔 Jiuqu is directly referenced in the Shangshu, one of the five ancient Confucian writings. In a chapter of the book from the Shang Dynasty (17th to 11th century B.C.) it is recorded "to make wine or sweet liquor one needs Qu Nieh". Although the precise translation of the text is debatable, most authorities concur that Qu describes a preparation of ferments, whilst Nieh refers to sprouted grain. They may have formed separate elements of liquor production (both Qu and Nieh) or possibly might refer to a single preparation made of fermenting sprouted grains (Qunieh). The Shangsu is considered to predate 500 BC, thus the ancient predecessor of Jiuqu may be the worlds oldest recorded example of biotechnological manufacturing using a domesticated microbial community.〔〔〔 Qu is also mentioned in the Zhouli (circa 150 BC), a collection of texts from the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, were it is described for usage in preparing fermented meat and a type of grain-meat paste (Jujiang). At the Mawangdui archaeological site of the Western Han Dynasty (200 BC to 10 AD), bamboo strips found in Han Tomb Number 1 document an inventory of tomb furnishings and list two sacks of Qu as part of the tombs contents. The Liji (100 AD), a collection of texts from the Eastern Han Dynasty, mentions Qu as one of the six requisites to make good wine. Another almanac from the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Shuowen Jiezi (121 AD), records a character for Qu modified to include the yellow Chrysanthemum flower. This has been interpreted as referring to the distinctive yellow colour formed on Qu by sporulating molds. The Shiming (151 AD) goes further to indicate several types of Qu, which are interpreted as being distinguished by the source of the starch and the form of the substrate. Importantly it reveals that since the Han Dynasty Qu was being produced in China from mostly wheat or barley and being pressed into cakes or bricks for handling. The earliest reference to actual preparation of Qu appears in the Qimin Yaoshu (544 AD) of the Northern Wei Dynasty. Here the techniques employed for making 9 separate kinds of Qu Nieh are described in detail, as are their usage in the manufacture of 37 different wines. The usage of Qu in making vinegar, soy pastes and soy sauces is also documented. With the release of the Qing Yilu (965 AD), the use of a special Hong Qu (Red Ferment) is recorded for the first time.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Jiuqu」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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