hon mirin

You can use Hon Mirin to refine both sweet and savory dishes. This rice liqueur gives the food a gentle sweetness and a natural aroma. The alcohol it contains helps to make the added ingredients more tender. In addition, the alcohol causes unwanted odors to be released during evaporation, especially when preparing fish and meat. This also makes the flavors of other ingredients more pronounced. In Japanese cuisine, Hon Mirin is often used to add flavor to broths such as dashi, tsuyu or miso soup. Hon Mirin also ensures that the ingredients have a shiny surface, which is why it plays an essential role in the preparation of teriyaki sauce. Our Usukuchi Shoyu is the ideal flavor addition for making your own teriyaki sauce.

You can also enjoy Hon Mirin neat, served over ice or mixed into cocktails. Its versatile flavors and layered sweetness make it a pleasant choice for various drinks

Hon Mirin was originally a very exclusive drink because it combines three ingredients that were once particularly expensive and rare: white rice, mochi rice and alcohol. During the Second World War, rationalization measures led to different Mirin qualities, some of which no longer had anything to do with the original ingredients or their processing method. These variants are marketed under the term Mirin-Style or Mirin-Fu, which means "like Mirin" in Japanese. Only Hon Mirin, also known as real Mirin, is made according to the traditional recipe. Nevertheless, most manufacturers rely on short maturation times and neutral alcohol here too.

Today, Hon Mirin is an indispensable staple ingredient in Japanese cuisine. Similar to sake, the famous Japanese rice wine, Hon Mirin is based on rice. However, Hon Mirin differs from sake in that alcohol is added to prevent further fermentation of the rice. Another difference is that the mash is traditionally stored for a longer period of time. During this storage, fermentation takes place in which the enzymes of the rice koji break down the starch and proteins of the glutinous rice. This process leads to the formation of various sugars, different amino acids, organic acids and aromatic components, which together make up the characteristic taste of Hon Mirin.

In addition to real mirin, there are various mirin-like spices that differ significantly in terms of production processes, ingredients and ultimately, price. Some of these variants are enriched with salt or contain no alcohol. Real mirin, on the other hand, consists exclusively of the natural ingredients mentioned. Due to its natural components, which are created by the enzymatic action of rice koji, it is valued for its unique ability to refine dishes. Its individual components create a multi-layered effect that is difficult to replace.

Compared to pure sugar, which only offers an intense sweetness, real mirin has nine different types of sugar. These are responsible for the elegant and gentle sweetness that characterizes it. The different types of sugar also give the surfaces of the dishes prepared with mirin a special shine and shimmer. The amino acids and peptides that come from the fermented glutinous rice combine in a complex way with the sugars and other components to create a deep richness and umami.

The alcohol contained in mirin facilitates the absorption of these umami components in foods and intensifies the complex taste. The interaction of alcohols, amino acids, organic acids and sugars changes the chemical structure of odor components and thus, eliminating them.

Rice* 61% (Piedmont), rye spirit 30% (Schlepzig/Spreewald), spring water (Hameln-Pyrmont), A. oryzae

*61% of ingredients organic certified

DE-ÖKO-070 (organic control body)

You can find out more about our raw materials here.