Amazake is a sweet, nonalcoholic liquid made by adding kōji (the mold Aspergillus oryzae) to cooked rice and keeping it at 60 degrees Celsius for about 12 hours, a process which converts the starches to sugars. It's the first step in making sake and is markedly less repulsive than the way people used to brew sake in Japan. It's a popular dessert or drink around the New Year's holiday and Girls' Day. Touted for its healthiness, it's also been gaining popularity outside Japan and can be purchased at many health food stores. (Or even made at home using this simple recipe.)

I've never had amazake, but I'm inclined to think Amazake Soft Candy is an accurate representation of its flavor, sweet with an unmistakable sake tang and a faint milky fruitiness. The texture is less sticky than a caramel and harder than a taffy, so you can either chew it as it softens in your mouth or let it melt completely.

I like these. At first it was strange to be eating a candy that tasted like sake, something I associate more with nijikai (post-drinking-party drinking parties) than innocent work-time snacking, but I've since been won over by its refreshing creaminess. I also now want to try making my own amazake, perhaps using the same technique a Japanese family I know uses when illegally brewing their own organic sake -- incubating it under the kotatsu!