Mizuame

Common card · No. 385717

Mizuame (水飴, literally "water candy", also known as millet jelly) is a Japanese sweetener. It is a clear, thick, sticky liquid and is made by converting starch to sugars. Mizuame is added to traditional Japanese confections called wagashi to give them a sheen. It is eaten in ways similar to honey and can be a main ingredient in sweets. Some mizuame are similar to corn syrup in both production process and taste. Two methods are used to convert the starches to sugars. The traditional method uses glutinous rice mixed with malt and lets the natural enzymatic process convert the starch to a syrup consisting mainly of maltose. The more common method is acid hydrolysis of potato starch or sweet potato starch by adding acid, such as hydrochloric, sulfuric or nitric acids, to make glucose syrup. The resulting product from the traditional method is known as malt mizuame (麦芽水飴) and is considered more flavorful than the version made by acid hydrolysis. A similar product is called reduced starch syrup...

Read on Wikipedia · Image tanakawho from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY 2.0