Nuruk

Nuruk is the traditional Korean fermentation starter, a cake of coarsely ground wheat or other grain inoculated with wild yeasts, molds, and other fungi from the environment. It provides both the amylolytic enzymes that saccharify rice starch and the yeasts that ferment the resulting sugars, making it the engine of Korean rice wines such as makgeolli and yakju. Each nuruk cake carries a distinctive wild microflora that shapes the wine’s flavour. Modern producers increasingly use defined starter cultures for consistency, but artisanal nuruk remains prized for complexity, with hygiene and mycotoxin control essential in its preparation and storage.