Nutritional Content of Sake

Ask any city girl (or guy) what their favorite food is and likely the answer will be sushi. And what goes best with sushi? Sake, of course! Sushi and sake go hand in hand for many of us. One of my clients recently asked me how many calories are in a small sake. I did a little research on the nutritional content of sake and was surprised with the answer!

A little Sake trivia

Sake is a beverage fermented from rice, which is a grain – unlike wine which is fermented from grapes. It’s made in a fashion similar to beer but uses rice in place of barley (which is fermented to make beer). Sake-brewers add malt, yeast, and water to steamed rice, and allow the mixture to ferment to convert the starch in the rice into alcohol.

Typically sake is served in a flask called a tokkuri. Heated sake is prepared by placing the tokkuri in a pan of hot water, the narrowed neck of the flask prevents the heat from escaping. Finer quality sake is typically served chilled.  The tokkuri that I have seen in most restaurants hold about 4 to 5 1/2 oz. This would be the equivalent of a small order of sake.

Traditionally, sake was poured into cups made from wood. The wooden cups were believed to compliment the wine because sake is brewed in a wooden cask. However, today most sake gurus avoid drinking from the masu because they believe the wood affects the flavor of the sake. Most of the sakes served today would be in a ceramic cup called ochoko. It holds about 1 1/2 – 2 oz. of sake. That is why it goes down so quickly!

Nutritional content of sake

A typical 5.5 oz. (a small order or 1 “go” of sake) serving size of sake would have between 180 to 240 calories and about 20 to 27 grams of carbohydrates. (however I have found other web sites that  claim  it only has 7.5  grams of carbs per 5 oz) . The protein and fat content are negligible. Alcohol content is about 15-16% by volume. This is quite a bit higher than what is typically found in most wines (12%) or beer (4-5 %)!

Bottom line

For those of you watching your weight, keep tabs on how many “little cups” of sake you consume – at 180 – 240 calories per 5 oz! Keep in mind that soy sauce tends to make you thirsty. Make sure you are drinking plenty of water along with your sake.

For more info on sake, check out  The seven theories of drinking sake with food.