Refrigerator

How do you store Japanese sake when you buy it? In most homes, UV rays should be avoided, and corridors and entrances should be placed in cold places.

Sake is very delicate. The taste of sake will deteriorate if it is not properly stored and managed at home after purchase.

This time, in order to taste the sake that you got to the end,

  1. How to store sake
  2. Recommended sake refrigerator

I will introduce you.

No expiration date for sake

Sake has no expiration date. The Food Sanitation Law requires foods to have a shelf life, but for sake, the shelf life is optional.

Therefore, only the date of manufacture (the month packed in the bottle) is displayed on the bottle. That's why you shouldn't be glad to say, “Alcohol is more than 10%, so it does n’t get worse and you can drink it forever.”

Before opening, you can store it for a long time while paying attention to the temperature and make it an aged liquor, but once it is opened, the quality will deteriorate rapidly.

 

What is generally said [Deadline for drinking delicious sake]

Unlike wine, Japanese sake does not contain antioxidants.It is delicate enough to change the taste even with slight temperature changes, fluorescent light that contains ultraviolet rays, and vibration.Therefore, temperature management and UV management are indispensable.

Then, how long will it be possible to drink sake? There are various theories about the expiry date, and the table below summarizes them.

 

Types of sake

Number of fires and precautions

Expiration Soon
Genuine sake, regular sake
  1. There are many fired 2 times
  2. Yeast is not alive, so quality is stable
 Within 12 months from the date of manufacture
Ginjo Sake, Junmai Sake,
  1. Refrigeration is required for 1 times of fire treatment
 Within 10 months from the date of manufacture
Fresh storage
Fresh sake
Pure rice fresh sake
  1. No fire treatment or only 1 times
  2. Keep refrigerated
  3. Sake quality changes more severely than other sake
  4. Drink quickly after opening
 Open and drink as soon as possible after purchase
Active sake (fresh sake)
  1. No fire treatment
  2. Keep refrigerated
  3. The yeast is fermenting even after bottling, so the change is severe

 

 Best just after bottling. Open and drink as soon as possible

The above expiration date is for sake before opening.

This brewed liquor and ordinary liquor that have been fired 2 times can be stored for a relatively long time because the yeast is not alive and the quality of the sake is stable.

If Daiginjo, Ginjo sake or Junmai sake has been fired 1 times, store it in the refrigerator. This class of sake is recommended to be refrigerated even if it has been fired 2 times.

Yeast is still alive in sake without incineration. Since the quality of liquor is easy to change, refrigerated storage is a rule. However, storing it indefinitely is an idea. Take it as soon as you get it. Of course, this is not always the case if you like to change the taste by storing it for a long time according to your personal preference.

Store in a refrigerator with proper temperature control after opening.

Also, if possible, it is safer to store genuine brewed sake and regular sake in the refrigerator after spring when the temperature rises.

 

Can I drink cloudy sake?

Unfortunately, even though I used to care for temperature and ultraviolet rays, sake sometimes becomes cloudy. The cause of white turbidity, which is different from muddy liquor, is "fire eradication".

Fire eradication bacteria are a kind of powerful lactic acid bacteria that grow in alcohol of 20 degree.

It is rare that fire brewing bacteria will occur because genuine brewed liquor and regular liquor are fired 2 times. Fresh sake, etc. will start to work if the storage condition is poor.

Sake, which is clearly whitish, has a very high acidity. The smell called fire odor is also intense.

Fire eradication bacteria are not bad bacteria for the body. However, it is safer to dispose of cloudy sake because it produces an unpleasant odor and tastes unpleasant.

So what is the best way to keep sake in the best condition without causing fire-breaking bacteria?

 

3 points to keep in mind when storing sake

If sake is stored as it is without opening it, it may ripen or deteriorate.

Here are some points to keep in mind when storing sake.

1. Sake is not wine! Storing upright ◎

 

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Wine is usually stored aside, but it is not the case for sake.

The disadvantage of lying down with sake

  1. In the case of a metal cap, sake touches and the taste of the cap shifts, causing deterioration.
  2. Rust may occur on metal caps
  3. Since the lid of a bottle is often inferior in airtightness, it can be oxidized by storing it next to it.
  4. Laying sideways increases the area where sake in the bottle comes into contact with the air, increasing the speed of oxidation.

Etc.

I want to put it in the refrigerator, but there isn't enough space to put it vertically, and there is a hand in the cool and dark place of the room, but I'm worried about temperature control.

There are tricks that can help in such a case.It is a method of refilling into a small bottle and refrigerated.

 

When refilling into a small bottle, boil-free disinfection

In the case of a one-jar bottle, it is difficult to store it upright, so some people take the method of transferring it to a small bottle, but if you put it in a bottle that is not completely boiled, the taste and aroma may deteriorate.

Therefore, we recommend boiling and disinfecting the bottles that are refilled with sake.

The method of boiling disinfection is

  1. Prepare a pot large enough to completely sink the bottles you want to transfer sake to
  2. Spread the cloth so that the bottle does not hit the pot, put water, bottle, lid, and when it starts to boil, continue boiling from 15 minutes to 20 minutes
  3. Take out the bottle with tongs
  4. Place on paper colander and dry

It's quite troublesome, but if you can keep it in the refrigerator and keep the taste of delicious sake, it's time consuming.

However, at the time of transfer, please be extremely careful not to get any germs.

 

2. Avoid UV

The major weak point of sake is ultraviolet rays.

If you store it in a room where sunlight falls, the color of sake will change in just 30 minutes (colored by sunlight), and “bottle incense” and “sunlight odor” will be generated.

However, ultraviolet rays are not only contained in sunlight.

Be careful not only with sunlight but also with room light!

 

For example, indoor fluorescent lamps.The amount of 1 / 1000 sunlight. Although it doesn't seem to be a big amount, if you've been exposed to fluorescent light for 10 hours, you've been exposed to sunlight for 35 seconds.

You say it ’s a pile of dust and piles. Since it is sake that you have earned, store it in a place where it will not be exposed to sunlight or the ultraviolet rays of room lights.

If it is difficult to store it in a place where it will not be exposed to light, wrap it in newspaper or store it in a box without taking it out of the box.

Don't overestimate refrigerated showcase

Also, if you use a refrigerator dedicated to liquor with a glass door, such as a refrigerated showcase, the temperature seems to be in an ideal state, but the problem is ultraviolet rays entering from the glass door.

To prevent this, use a UV-cut bag. Newspapers are fine, but in a refrigerated showcase that has 1 as the concept of seeing and enjoying it, it is not very good looking.

There are 720 types of UV cut bags for single bottles and 2ml.The color of the bag is either transparent or translucent, but a semi-transparent UV-cut bag is recommended because it has a light-shielding effect and allows you to see sake from outside.

 

3. Storage temperature is as low as possible

It is said that the storage temperature of general sake is below 20 ° C, but there is a theory that strictly speaking, 5 ° C to 10 ° C is even better. Especially for fresh sake that has not been fired, it should be stored below 5 ℃. This is because we want to stop the fermentation of yeast as much as possible and keep the taste of the bottling moment.

That means that it must be stored in the refrigerator, but there is no one bottle in the refrigerator. So some people give up the bottle and buy only the inside bottle and store it in the refrigerator, but it takes up space anyway.

Therefore, I would like to recommend “Sake for refrigerator”. If you can remove the shelves in the wine cellar, the bottles will fit easily.

Why don't you think about purchasing refrigeration for sake that makes you feel happy just by looking at the cold sake?

 

Protect the taste of sake! [Recommended sake refrigerator] 3 selection

As I've said so far, the sake saver of Japanese sake fans is the place to store precious Japanese sake with great thoughts.

I want to try it for as long as I can without sacrificing quality, taste, fragrance, etc. But the refrigerator is already packed with food that seems to be punctured ...

What I want to use there is a sake refrigerator. I chose a sake fridge that doesn't take up space even in a small room, has a quiet design, and doesn't break the atmosphere of the interior.

There is also room for 9 bottles! [Remacom 4 surface glass refrigerated showcase front opening type 63 liter "RCS-4G63SL"]

 

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9 surface glass refrigerated display case that can be refrigerated with 4 bottles.

The specs are

  1. Contents: 63L
  2. Outside dimensions: Width 425mm x Depth 412mm x Height 837mm
  3. Bottom center: Width 325mm x Depth 345mm x Height 460mm
  4. Temperature range: 1 to 12 ℃
  5. Features: 4 surface glass allows sake to be seen from any angle
  6. Reference price: 43,450 yen (Amazon). Researched on December 2019, 12

This is the perfect refrigerator for those who want to enjoy different sake every day while watching sake.

 

Reviews:

We purchase for outdoor events.
The cooling temperature that I was worried about also falls to below 25 ° C even at outside temperature of 5 ° C.
I don't feel the key is poor or the necessity of the key.

Source:Amazon

 

Fresh sake is OK because it can be stored at ice temperature [Remacom 3 temperature zone frozen stocker 100 liter RRS-100NF]

What are the three temperature zones?

  1. Refrigerated
  2. Ice temperature
  3. frozen

 

A stocker that can be selected with the above 3 types of cooling. Ice temperature means the temperature just before the food starts to freeze, but if you always use it at ice temperature, you are not afraid to buy fresh sake, raw raw sake, or new sake! It is also suitable for storing fresh fish, so you can enjoy the fresh taste for a longer period of time.

The showcase-type refrigerator is ideal for people who are concerned about deterioration due to UV rays or who want to mainly stock fresh sake! This is because some breweries require stores to store minus 5 ° C.

The specs are

  1. Contents: 100L
  2. Outside dimensions: Width 554mm x Depth 578mm x Height 866mm
  3. Inside dimensions: Width 440mm x Depth 440mm x Height 509mm
  4. Temperature range: Minus 20 ℃ ~ 8 ℃
  5. Reference price: 26,510 yen (Amazon* Price as of December 2019, 12

 

Reviews:

Purchased for sake storage. Even if it is set to be 0 degree in the cabinet, the power consumption is small and the electricity bill of my home has not changed much. I did a good shopping. This kind of refrigerator that can be filled with bonbons (which can be used as a freezer, rather as the main product) is something convenient.

Source:Amazon

 

For those who want to chill both sake and wine [Forstar Japan Home Seller 54 liter FJN-65G]

A wine cellar where 5 bottles can be stored by removing the shelves. Even if you store a bottle, you can put 4 bottles of wine in the upper part of the wine cellar.

Urban and luxury design recommended for those who want to put it in the living room and those who are particular about style. Since the color is black, it will fit nicely into any interior room.

It should be noted that if the inside temperature is too low or too high for more than 1 hours, a buzzer and warning light will notify you. It's safe because you don't have to worry about ruining your stored sake!

The specs are

  1. Contents: 54L
  2. Outside dimensions: Width 400mm x Depth 526mm x Height 685mm
  3. Cut UV by 99%
  4. Temperature range: 5 ℃ ~ 20 ℃
  5. Reference price: 53,340 yen(Amazon)※lowest price

 

Reviews:

I was curious to see the review when I was worried about the sound, but there was no problem at all.
You can turn on and off the lighting that is not available in the cellar, so if you turn it on, you can create a luxurious kitchen and feel the luxury. More than the price, more!

 

Source:Amazon

 

Summary: Be careful about preserving delicate sake

4 bottles of sake and meal

If sake is stored in a wrong way, the taste will be spoiled. So, you can get a sake fridge, but if it becomes expensive and rare sake, it will be a waste of security that you put in the refrigerator, so you will open it on a special occasion, and stretch the slack and open There is also.

The characteristic of sake is that the flavor changes even if it is stored at a suitable temperature. Japanese sake with freshness, such as fresh sake and fresh sake, is NG.

I understand what you think is important, but don't miss out on drinking Japanese sake!

 

 

Reference site:

Laurel Wreath "Best time for sake Sake for 10 months for ginjo sake and 1 for regular sake'

KURANDIs there any expiration date for sake? 3 points to keep in mind when preserving sake'

OSAKETO!How long is the expiration date for sake? Important point in how to store sake!'