Korean rice wine-Cheongju-Baekhwasubok-01

''Cheongju'' (; literally "clear wine"), sometimes romanized as ''Chungju'', is a clear, refined rice wine 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'' ( ko, 막걸리, raw rice wine ), sometimes anglicized to makkoli (, ), is a Korean alcoholic beverage. The milky, off-white, and lightly sparkling rice wine has a slight viscosity that tastes slightly sweet, tangy, bitter, and ast ...

'' (milky, unrefined rice wine). The

hanja Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom. (, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...

characters 淸酒 are the same as the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and 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 ...

pronounced ''seishu'' used on the labels of

sake Sake, also spelled saké ( ; 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 indee ...

. 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 kingdom founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Korean Peninsula until 1392. Goryeo achieved what has been called a "true national unificati ...

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 ''Nuruk'' () is a traditional Korean fermentation starter. It is used to make various types of Korean alcoholic beverages including '' takju'', ''cheongju'', and soju. It is an essential ingredient in Shindari and is mixed with rice.Nowicki, Step ...

'' 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 ''

'' (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 sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

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 in the South Gyeongsang Province. It was formerly an independent city from 1949 until 30 June 2010, when it was absorbed to Changwon along with Jinhae. Masan was redistricted as two distric ...

Gunsan Gunsan (), also romanized as Kunsan, is a 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-tech manufacturing industrial city and an i ...

, 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 paddies ...

are famous for producing good ''cheongju''. ''

Beopju ''Beopju'' () is a type of ''cheongju'' (clear rice wine). The name literally means "law liquor", as it is made following a fixed procedure. On 1 November 1986, a variety called ''Gyodong-beopju'' was designated by the government of South Korea ...

'' brewed in Gyeongju 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, '' dugyeon-ju'' made with

rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nati ...

, '' 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. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

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 Korean ginseng ('' P. ginseng''), South China ginseng ('' P. notoginseng''), and American ginseng ('' P. quinquefolius''), typically characterized by the presence of ginsenosides ...

Similar beverages

''Cheongju'' is similar to other East Asian rice wine counterparts such as the Chinese ''

mijiu Mijiu () is a Chinese rice wine made from glutinous rice. It is generally clear in appearance with balanced sweetness and acidity, similar to its Japanese counterpart sake and Korean counterpart cheongju. The alcohol content ranges between 15% ...

'' and Japanese ''

''. A dry white

vermouth Vermouth (, ) is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th centur ...

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, ''

References

{{Alcoholic beverages Korean alcoholic drinks Rice wine