sagohachi 200g

Sagohachi is a slightly sweet and salty rice-based paste. The traditional mixing ratio of ingredients is three parts salt, five parts cooked rice and eight parts koji rice. The name Sa-go-hachi, which means three-five-eight, is derived from this ratio. Our sagohachi is fermented in an earthenware pot for three months, giving it a mildly salty, delicately cheesy and slightly sweet flavour.

Sagohachi can be used in a similar way to shio koji to marinate vegetables, fish or meat. However, due to its finer nature and texture, it is particularly suitable for pickling vegetables, fish and poultry. Thanks to the koji it contains, meat becomes wonderfully tender and flavourful. Simply rub a thin layer of sagohachi onto tofu, fish, meat or vegetables and leave for a few hours to a day. Then dab off the paste and process to your own taste. Sagohachi is also a healthy alternative to ordinary salt and is characterised by a creamier consistency compared to our Shio Koji.

Sagohachi is made by fermenting rice inoculated with koji with cooked rice and salt. Sagohachi is very similar to shio koji paste, but is much less well-known and more common among grandmothers in the countryside. However, sagohachi is a much finer ferment with a more rounded flavour than shio koji. Koji is a noble mould that plays a decisive role in the production of many foods in Japan. It is just as suitable for consumption as other mould cultures that are used to mature salami or cheese. Koji is traditionally cultivated on steamed rice, cereals or pulses and has been a tradition in China and Japan for thousands of years.

Koji has the remarkable property of changing organic substances and producing useful products for humans. This happens through the activity of the enzymes present in koji. These enzymes enable the breakdown of starch, proteins and fats, which contributes significantly to the development of the flavour and aroma of the fermented materials, especially the emergence of umami and sweetness. The metabolic products are also easier for humans to digest and much more digestible. Koji ferments are therefore not only flavourful, but also extremely healthy.

Rice* 89% (Piedmont), sea salt (Mallorca), A. oryzae

*certified organic

DE-ÖKO-070 (organic control body)

You can find out more about our raw materials here .

Our Sagohachi has a best-before date of 12 months from bottling, but generally has a much longer shelf life. Warm storage temperatures can activate and accelerate fermentation, which can lead to the formation of bubbles and a build-up of pressure in the jar. We recommend storing sagohachi in the refrigerator to slow down fermentation and maintain the best possible quality.