Arrack
Arrak , also spelled Arrack , is a spirit distilled from pure palm sap or sugar cane and rice mash with 35–70 percent alcohol by volume.
Arrak production today is mainly limited to Sri Lanka , Indonesia and some Southeast Asian countries, with production methods and ingredients varying from country to country. Arrak is often classified between whiskey and rum in terms of flavor and taste and is the main component of traditional punch . It is believed that arrak , which originated in India , is one of the oldest spirits in the world and was produced in the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. Was invented. It is regarded as the forerunner of several well-known spirits such as rakı , vodka and rum and was one of the most popular spirits in Europe until the 18th century. It is not to be confused with the Arabic aniseed brandy Arak .
etymology
The origin of the word "Arrak" is not clearly proven. One theory says that the term “arrak” is derived from the Arabic term for “sweet juice” or “sweat”, which has developed into the current term for the Arabic aniseed brandy “arak”. It is assumed that the palm juices of the local date palms served as the starting point for arak production , which were later replaced by grape wine and aniseed .
Another theory says that the term arrak comes from the areca nut or the areca palm . The palm sap of the areca palm was originally used as a raw material for making arrakes. In his treatise on the origin of intoxicating drinks, the philosopher Samuel Morewood assumes that the term comes from Sanskrit and was first used by the Indus culture , which dates back to around 1,000-3,000 BC. BCE produced distillates with the simplest means: initially for pitch and tar to seal ships and later, based on the sap of the areca palm, for the production of distillates that were used as cosmetics, medicine and offerings. The root word “Arrak” then spread in Asia as a name for distillates of all kinds, which were mainly made from palm or cane sugar juices.
history
origin
The origin of the first arrak is believed to be in the South Asian region, especially India and Sri Lanka, where the production of palm wine (from the naturally fermented plant juices of date, sugar or coconut palms, also known as toddy ) has been widespread since early times and palm wine was a popular alcoholic drink. It is believed that the associated distillation process began around the first half of the 2nd millennium BC. Was invented in the region around East India.
The term “Arrak” then served until the middle of the 2nd millennium AD in many Asian and North African countries as a name for almost all spirits that were made from similar raw materials or had a similar intoxicating effect. Among other things, rakı, made from grapes, developed from this in the 16th century in the Ottoman Empire . The Arabic aniseed brandy "Arak" may also come from the Asian "Arrak".
Arrak in Europe
After Marco Polo reported in detail on Arrak in his memoir Il Milione at the beginning of the 14th century , Genoese merchants first brought him to Eastern Europe, where he was so popular that people began to create their own distillates from the locally available rye . In Russia, arrak is still often referred to as "Asian vodka". At the end of the 15th century it reached the western part of Europe, ranked far above gin , rum and whiskey in the popularity scale and was mainly consumed by the wealthier classes of the population.
Due to the enormous demand and the long, costly transport routes, the same Genoese merchants who brought the arak to Europe later also invested in the sugar cane planted on the Canary Islands to produce their own distillates, from which the cachaça emerged in the mid-15th century . The enormous increase in import tariffs for goods from Asia at the end of the 18th century made Arrak hardly affordable even for wealthier citizens, whereupon trade came to a standstill and Arrak almost completely disappeared from Europe.
present
Diffusion and definition
Today the production of arrak is still widespread, especially in Indonesia, India and Sri Lanka. As in earlier history, the term arrak is still used today in many tropical regions for slightly different spirits and variants. Apart from the Indonesian arrak, most arrak varieties are based on palm wine, which is available almost everywhere in the tropics. Due to the large number of different regional production variants that still exist, arrak is not clearly defined in Europe. The word arrak does not appear in the European definition of spirits .
In addition to the regional own creations, two types of arrak can be distinguished today: the arrak made in Indonesia from sugar cane and rice mash and the arrak distilled from pure palm wine, which is mainly produced in Sri Lanka, India and some Southeast Asian countries. A distinction is made here between the "Coconut Arrack" made in Sri Lanka, which is based on the palm wine of the coconut palms, and the "Arrack" available in Southeast Asia, which is made from the palm wine of the sugar palm.
Arrak production from palm wine
When arrack is extracted from palm wine, the cobs of the sugar or coconut palm are hewn for several days with a clapper, tied and cut after a few days. Sweet palm sap runs from the ends of the flower cobs, which goes directly into alcoholic fermentation in attached clay or bamboo pots and has up to 8% alcohol by volume after twelve hours. The juice is harvested daily and the flower head is cut again until it is completely used up and a new flower head is cut. This process allows the palm sap to be harvested all year round and thus also a continuous arak production. A single palm tree can supply up to 300 liters of palm juice per year. In parts of Africa, the palm sap used to make arrakes is also obtained by scratching the palm trunk or felling the palm. After felling, sweet palm juice collects in the knotholes over several days, which is either drunk straight away or used to make arak. Since the palm wine of the coconut palm naturally ferments up to 12% alcohol by volume, no third-party yeasts are required for the mash production with these production variants, which makes the arrak made from palm wine one of the few spirits that consists of a single ingredient. The part of the mash added molasses , of added caramel and caramel can be obtained from palm juice.
Arrak production from rice mash and sugar cane
When arak is extracted from rice mash and sugar cane, a saccharifying agent is first grown for the cooked, air-dried rice and the so-called tapej is produced, which later serves as a fermentation agent for the cane molasses. The main raw materials for the tapej are rice flour, crushed sugar cane, garlic schnitzel , cinnamon and galangal root , which are kneaded into a kind of dough. The dough is left to stand for several days until mold has formed and then shaped into small balls (“raggi”) which are later filled with dried, sweet rice into perforated wooden barrels in which yeast and molds develop. The resulting metabolic temperatures of up to 50 ° C prevent vinegar and putrefactive bacteria from appearing. The fermentation process is stimulated through the holes in the barrel and the tape can flow off unhindered. To prepare the mash, diluted sugar cane molasses is then left to self-ferment in shallow tubs, which is added in batches to the fermenting Tapej rice mass at intervals of 20-24 hours. After 3–4 days, the main fermentation process is over and the remaining mash is placed in clay pots for secondary fermentation.
Definition of terms
Only a product that has been imported from abroad and has not undergone any changes at home may be designated as an original Arrak . Real arrak is original arrak that has been reduced to drinking strength. The arrack can be designated as genuine or original in the decoration and in the advertising if the words genuine or original are used in direct connection with a geographical indication of origin. Varieties declared as premium are usually barrel-ripened for several years.
Properties and consumption
Arrak traditionally matures in wooden barrels made of Halmilla or teak wood for several years and thus acquires a slightly red-brown color, similar to rum and cognac. The clear, unripened or filtered arrack, which is slightly yellow in color, is also widespread. Good arrack is classified between whiskey and rum in terms of taste and aroma, but has a very individual note. While the arrack made from pure palm wine has a rather fine floral note, the arrak made from rice mash and sugar cane molasses is a lot stronger and more oily. The differences between the two variants can be very large. In today's Europe, clear (unripened) arrack is increasingly used in patisserie to flavor desserts. Arrak is traditionally drunk neat or with ginger beer and is one of the original ingredients of classic punch , as well as originally Swedish punch . In India it is sometimes mixed with hot tea. Because of its poor variety and often poor quality, it is rarely found in Europe and is little known.
A characteristic flavoring substance in Arrak is ethyl formate ( ethyl formate), which is also found in rum aroma .
Web links
- Arrack. Liquor madness in the fog , on mixology.eu, accessed on December 10, 2015
- Arrak - and what you should know at cremisan.de, accessed on December 10, 2015
- Schnapslexikon: Arrak , on kollmann-net.de, accessed on December 10, 2015
- Arrak story; The origin of the spirits: http://www.palmdrinks.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Morewood, Samuel: A philosophical and statistical history of the inventions and customes of ancient and modern nations in the manufacture and use of inebriating liquors . Ed .: W. Curry, jun. and company, and W. Carson. 1834, p. 140 .
- ↑ Ba Ba Than: Toddy Candy and Nectar. Myanmar Perspectives. Vol. 6/1, 2001 Toddy in Myanmar
- ↑ a b Jared and Anistatia: Arrak. Liquor madness in the fog. published on January 30, 2012; Bar culture magazine; Mixology Verlag GmbH
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 110/2008
- ^ SV Law et al. (2011): MiniReview- Popular fermented foods and beverages in Southeast Asia. International Food Research Journal (18). Retrieved January 20, 2012
- ↑ Wolfgang Legrum: Fragrances, between stench and fragrance. Vieweg + Teubner, Wiesbaden 2011, p. 86 ( limited preview in the Google book search).