Mould-based fermentation starter (qu)
Iniciador de fermentación con mohos (qu)
- Date
- c. 1000 BCE · confidence low
- Place
- Central Plain, Henan, China
- Credited to
- Brewers of the Shang and Zhou periods
- Field
- Life & health
⚠️ Disputed: the sources disagree.
What it is
A cereal mass colonised by fungi (Aspergillus, Rhizopus) whose enzymes convert starch into fermentable sugars without malting the grain. It is the basis of cereal wines, soy sauce and miso in East Asia.
Zhou texts already mention it; Shang-period residues suggest it, but the date of origin is uncertain.
What it led to
- rice and millet wines and spirits
- soy sauce, soybean paste and vinegars
- Japanese koji and modern enzyme biotechnology