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Alcoholic Rice Beverages

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Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures

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There are many “aqua vitae” – beverages made from millets, grapes, dates, palm, sugarcane, potato, and cereals including rice. Traditional foods provide a basic diet while alcoholic beverages supplement enhanced nutrition and palatability. People also drink alcoholic beverages to forget the aches of their daily toils. An abundant supply of rice in South East Asia has produced a variety of spirits, wine, and beers. Wong-tsiu and chaoxing of China, saman of Malaysia, chhang of Tibet, and sake of Japan are some of the favorites.

In some religions, alcohol is a taboo. However, rice alcoholic beverages (RAB), like rice itself, have attained the status of sacred items in many Asian countries including the tribes of the central, East, Himalayan belt, and North Eastern states of India. RAB constitute an integral part of dietary culture due to the climatic conditions and have strong ritual importance among the ethnic people. In contrast to tribal people, peasant Hindus do not employ rice beer...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Agriculture, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Kaul 136021, Kaithal, Haryana, India

    Ahuja Uma & Ahuja S. C.

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  1. Ahuja Uma
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  2. Ahuja S. C.
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Correspondence to Ahuja Uma .

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  1. Hampshire College, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    Helaine Selin

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Uma, A., C., A.S. (2014). Alcoholic Rice Beverages. In: Selin, H. (eds) Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10113-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-3934-5_10113-1

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