Messy Vegan Cook

Sake kasu ice cream

Kip

Let's make vegan sake kasu ice cream from the sake lees that have been in my freezer for 700 years!

Two small bowls, one green and one blue, filled with cream coloured ice cream, cubes of black jelly, topped with whole roasted peanuts.
Vegan sake kasu ice cream with grass jelly and toasted whole peanuts
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Saku kasu, also known as sake lees, is the solid residue left after pressing liquid sake from fermented rice mash. Though it's a byproduct of sake brewing, sake kasu is incredibly versatile in the kitchen. It has plenty of culinary uses that range from pickling to desserts. Here, we're putting an unexpected twist on sake lees by turning it into vegan ice cream.

The texture of sake lees is paste-like, depending on the moisture content, and its flavour is mildly sweet with a moderate sake flavour. The alcohol content is around 8%, which means your ice cream is unlikely to become rock solid in the freezer.

Check Japanese grocers for frozen sake kasu or, better yet, find a brewer who gives away or sells their brewing waste. Kanpai, a London sake maker (with a very enjoyable taproom), sells sake kasu on their website.

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Sake kasu ice cream

Because of the alcohol content of sake kasu, you might find this doesn't solidify by the end of the cycle on your ice cream maker. Don't worry if this happens. Put the mixture, whatever its consistency, into a container in the freezer. Every few hours give it a stir, try to keep it in the coldest part of your freezer, and it will firm up.

Ingredients

  • 20 grams ginger
  • 250 millilitres barista style oat milk
  • 250 millilitres vegan double cream e.g. Flora or Elmlea
  • 175 grams sake kasu (sake lees)
  • 75 grams white sugar
  • 30 grams glucose syrup 1 ½ tablespoons
  • 2 generous pinches salt
  • ¼ teaspoon guar gum optional but it improves texture

Instructions

  • Find a piece of muslin fabric, a nut milk bag, or a sturdy piece of kitchen roll. Place on a small plate and grate the ginger (I can't be arsed to peel it) into a small, neat pile in the centre. Twist the muslin (or whatever you're using) around the ginger and squeeze around 1 tablepoon (15 millilitres) of ginger juice into a small bowl or ramekin.
  • Add all ingredients, including the extracted ginger juice from step one, to the blender. Blend until sugar is dissolved. Refrigerate the mixture for several hours until very cold and then prepare per your ice cream machine's instructions.
  • Decant ice cream from your maker to a container and pop it in the freezer.
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