2 o8 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES 



tion and even distribution of the solid ingredients by stirring. Pro- 

 gressive digestive changes take place over a period of from six months 

 to several years, changes which are partly due to bacteria and yeasts, but 

 mainly to the enzymes of the mould. The rather thick, dark brown mash 

 is" siphoned or pressed to produce soy sauce which is boiled, filtered 

 and, in most modern manufactories, processed or Pasteurised. 



Tamari is another sauce made either entirely from soy beans alone or 

 with rice as a starchy component. The fermentation, where carried on 

 empirically, is said to be due to Aspergillus Tamari. 



Miso is the general name for another series of soy-bean products 

 resulting from fermenting cooked soy beans with an Aspergillus koji. 

 It is one of the commonest breakfast foods for children. 



There is a wide range of oriental foods produced by fermentation with 

 Aspergillus. Chinese curd, To-fu, is made from soy-bean milk fer- 

 mented with mould and ripened in brine. The curd is cut into squares 

 which soon become covered with fungus. They are then placed in brine 

 for further ripening. The curd is canned as white or red squares in a 

 salty liquid. 



The national Japanese beverage is Sake, with a history going back more 

 than two thousand years. The starch of hulled and steamed rice is 

 converted into sugar with selected strains of Aspergillus Oryzce of high 

 diastatic power known under various commercial names : the fungus 

 was not isolated until 1878. The sugar produced is then fermented 

 by adding yeasts (Saccharomyces Sake, S. tokyo, S. Yeddo, etc.). A 

 claret-yellow liquid results which is of the same general type as whisky 

 with about fourteen per cent, alcohol. The sugar resulting from the 

 saccharification with A. Oryzce is also concentrated for use as a syrup, 

 Mizaume. 



The importance of the four large industries in Japan in which Asper- 

 gillus Oryzce is employed may be gathered from the following figures 

 which give the approximate total yearly quantities : Sake (rice wine), 

 812,000 kilolitres ; Shoyu (soy sauce), 902,000 kilolitres ; Miso (soy cheese), 

 1,690,000 kilograms; Shocho (distilled alcoholic liquor), 39,700 kilo- 

 litres. The annual money value of all the fermentation industries is 

 approximately £40,000,000. 



Yam brandy is prepared similarly by the malting of the starch of yam 

 tubers with Aspergillus Batatce and fermenting this with yeast. 



Chinese Red Rice, Angkhak, is of peculiar interest. Its origin was long 

 kept secret, but it is now known to be due to the fungus Monascus 

 purpureus. Damp rice is spread out in caves and infected with old angkhak. 

 After a few days the rice is coloured an intense purplish red by the 

 luxuriant growth of Monascus. The rice is dried and crushed and prepared 

 with a volatile oil. It is exported to other countries, and is employed 

 for colouring all kinds of food-stuffs in a way which recalls the use made of 

 cochineal insects. Monascus purpureus occurs naturally on rice grains, and 

 it occasionally causes alarm when seen on rice imported into this country. 

 It is frequent in silo tanks in America : I have seen it also on tallow. 



Perhaps it would surprise the music hall comedian to learn that moulds 

 are definitely associated with the ripening of some kinds of cheeses apart 



