水飴 (mizu-ame)

starch syrup

  • みずあめ
  • mizu-ame
  • Pitch 0, 3

Meaning

水飴 (みずあめ, mizu-ame) is starch syrup — a Japanese food.

What is starch syrup?

Mizuame is a sweetener made by breaking starch down into its component sugars. Traditionally, this syrup is made by adding malt to glutinous rice and allowing the enzymes in the malt to convert the rice into sugars, mostly maltose. The result is clear, thick, sticky liquid. Modern versions typically are made from sweet potato or potato starch by treating the starch with an acid, resulting in a glucose syrup. The traditional method produces a more flavorful product.