Sake Kasu
/sa.ke ka.sɯ/noun
The white fermented rice lees left over after pressing sake, used in Japanese cooking, pickling, and brewing.
Did you know?Sake kasu is not merely discarded pulp: because fermentation leaves residual alcohol, enzymes, amino acids, and flavor compounds behind, it has long been used as a preservative and seasoning.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Japonic
Proto-Japonic
*saka-
“Alcoholic drink or intoxicating beverage; the precise reconstructed form and earliest sense are debated.”
8th Century
Old Japanese
酒 / sake
“Alcoholic beverage, especially a fermented drink; the word was written with the Chinese character 酒.”
Old Japanese
Old Japanese
糟・粕 / kasu
“Residue, lees, or sediment remaining after liquid has been pressed or strained.”
Medieval Japanese
Japanese
酒粕 / sakekasu
“The lees or pressed residue produced in making sake.”
Modern English
English loanword
sake kasu
“Japanese sake lees, increasingly used in English-language culinary writing for the fermented ingredient.”