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Alcoholic drinks from China

Jiuniang / laozao (sweet fermented rice)酒酿

In the studies, steamed glutinous rice is cooled, mixed with jiuqu starter and pressed into a jar around a central hole of about 2 cm. The sealed jar is kept at 25–30 °C for 3–4 days. Mould and yeast turn the rice into a soft, sweet, low-alcohol ferment.

Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks3.5 days – 5 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOne laboratory batch of 100 g rice, as in both studies.
Glutinous rice100 g[zheng2026]
Jiuqu (sweet rice wine starter)0.4 % of the rice weightA commercial jiuqu made for sweet rice wine fermentation[zheng2026]
Sterile water75 mLMixed into the cooled rice with the starter[zheng2026]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (jiuqu; a commercial jiuqu in Zheng et al., an Angel rice leaven in Zhao et al.)

Total time across the recorded steps: 3.5 days – 5 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
Close-up: water moving into a grain25 °C

What changes: Water soaks into the glutinous rice

Step 1 of 5
Soak the rice
Time
12–24 h
Reported
Temperature
25 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Rhizopus oryzae
Rhizopus chinensis
Rhizopus arrhizus
Rhizopus
Yeasts

Output: soaked rice.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

In the studies, steamed glutinous rice is cooled, mixed with jiuqu starter and pressed into a jar around a central hole of about 2 cm. The sealed jar is kept at 25–30 °C for 3–4 days. Mould and yeast turn the rice into a soft, sweet, low-alcohol ferment. Made in 5 steps over 3.5 days – 5 days. The longest step, keep warm while the mould works, takes 3–4 days (Zheng Q 2026) and runs at 25–30 °C (Zheng Q 2026). Rhizopus oryzae and Rhizopus chinensis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–4 daysReported[zheng2026][zhao2026]Keep warm while the mould works
Temperature25–30 °CReported[zheng2026][zhao2026]Keep warm while the mould works
AciditypH 3.8–4Measured[zhao2026]Keep warm while the mould works

What makes this one different

Jiuniang is a short ferment, 72 h at 30 °C in a sealed jar with starter at 0.4 % of the rice weight in one lab method. Its sweet liquid measured 21.29–34.51 g sugar per 100 mL and 6.95–14.72 % vol alcohol after 4 days in a study of 16 rice varieties.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Tape ketan (Indonesia)Glutinous rice fermented with ragi starter; listed as a sweet, sour, mildly alcoholic dessert.

Safety

The liquid measured pH 3.76–3.96 and 6.95–14.72 % vol alcohol after 4 days in a study of 16 rice varieties.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Zheng et al. 2026 describe Chinese sweet rice wine as part of Chinese cultural and spiritual life for thousands of years. They say production has gradually moved from household workshops to industrial manufacturing, and that modern production mainly uses a pure culture of Rhizopus arrhizus as starter.

  1. [zheng2026] Zheng Q., Tian W., Yue L. et al. 2026, Revealing the flavor and metabolite differences of Chinese sweet rice wine fermented with diverse rice varieties using GC-IMS and UPLC-MS/MS, Foods 15(12):2137paper
  2. [zhao2026] Zhao X., Duan P., Fan C. et al. 2026, Correlations between the inherent components of grains in various rice varieties and the quality of sweet rice wine, Foods 15(1):179paper
  3. [tamang2016] Tamang J.P., Watanabe K., Holzapfel W.H. 2016, Review - diversity of microorganisms in global fermented foods and beverages, Frontiers in Microbiology 7:377 (lao-chao microbes)paper