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【47 Hakko Kanagawa】神奈川のくずもち Kuzumochi 〜川崎大師のめでたい発酵菓子〜

川崎大師のめでたい発酵菓子
川崎大師から葛飾にかけて珍しい発酵くずもちの文化がある。関西のくずもちはその名の通り葛粉を使うのだが、関東のくずもちは小麦粉を水にさらして長期間乳酸発酵させ、デンプンを取り出す。取り出したデンプンを何度も洗って発酵臭を取り、蒸して白くてプリプリのおもちにする。むかし水害で備蓄用の小麦粉が水浸しになり、それが偶然発酵して美味しくなったという言い伝えもある。通常の発想では生まれないマジカルな発酵菓子だ。

Festive fermented sweets magically born in Kawasaki Taishi
From Kawasaki, the town adjacent to the southwestern border of Tokyo that flourished around the shrine named Kawasaki Taishi to Katsushika located in the northeastern end of Tokyo, a unique type of kuzumochi found its place as one of the most culturally established sweets of this locality. The reason why this version is considered unique is because kuzumochi is actually more widely known as a product of Kansai (region around Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe) rather than of Kanto (region around Tokyo and prefectures in the east and north of Tokyo). While kuzumochi of Kansai is made from arrowroot flour called kuzu flour, kuzumochi of Kanto is made from flour soaked in water for a long time during which the flour is fermented by lactic acid bacteria that produce extractable starch. The extracted starch is washed in water for a number of times until the sour fermentation odor disappears. Then, it is steamed until the color turns white and the texture becomes elastic. It is said that the Kanto version of kuzumochi was born from a sheer accident. The legend says that there was once a flood that devastated the area, including the storages that had piles of flour stocked, which got all soaked in rainwater. The wet flour eventually deformed and produced tasty starch through natural fermentation and ended up becoming the source of this magical confectionery.

どう作って食べるか / HOW TO MAKE & EAT

❶小麦粉を水に浸け、1年ほど発酵させる 容器の底に溜まったデンプンを何度も水で洗い、発酵臭を取り除く。
❷ペースト状になったデンプンを蒸してもち状にし、黒蜜ときな粉を添える。
★ 発酵期間と洗い方で味の強弱が出るらしい。

❶Leave the flour soaked in water for about a year to ferment.
❷Take out the starch that had settled at the bottom of the container, wash it several times with water until the sour fermentation odor disappears.
❸Steam the starch paste until it turns white and fluffy. Add brown sugar syrup and roasted soybean flour on top.
★The taste can be arranged to become strong or mild, depending on the length of fermentation and the method applied for starch washing.

おやつとして
As a snack

食べられている地域 / Regions where it is eaten
神奈川県川崎大師〜東京都葛飾区周辺
From around Kawasaki Taishi in Kanagawa Prefecture to around Katsushika-ku, Tokyo

微生物の種類 / Types of microorganisms
乳酸菌類、その他細菌類など
Lactic acid bacteria and various other types of bacteria

  

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