A Detailed Explanation of the Steeping Process and Methods for Snake Wine

Using snake wine to treat diseases has a long history. Modern pharmacology has also proven that snake wine has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and sedative effects. It can enhance the human body's immunity and has a marked effect on treating rheumatoid arthritis. Snake wine has a strong effect of dispelling wind and unblocking the collaterals, making it truly the "chief of a hundred medicines."

1. Choice of liquor

The liquor used to make snake wine should be baijiu, and can be either distilled liquor or blended liquor. In addition to strictly complying with the stipulated standards, the liquor must also meet traditional quality standards; liquor brewed from grains such as sorghum can give the finished snake wine a rich and lasting aroma. It is also important to get the concentration and amount of liquor right; if tonic medicinal herbs are also added to the snake wine, the liquor concentration can be a little lower.

2. Steeping methods The most commonly used is steeping fresh snakes, and there are three ways to prepare fresh snakes:

The first is steeping live snakes.

After cleaning the snake, do not feed it and let it go hungry for about a week. Before steeping it in liquor, start from the snake's stomach and grip it with your thumb, pressing downward from top to bottom to the anus, expel all the food from the intestines, rinse it clean, and then steep it.

The second method is to first steam fresh snake meat until cooked and dry it, then steep it in liquor.

Its advantages are that the snake wine has no snakey smell, has a special aroma, a pure taste and a relatively clear color, but its medicinal effect often does not match the first method.

The third method is to make dried snake and steep it in liquor, either as a whole snake or cut into small sections.

Steeping with dried snake has the characteristics of a golden, transparent liquor color and no fishy smell, but repeated steeping will cause cloudiness. After steeping, the sealing and storage time should generally be at least 6 months or more, and can be appropriately shortened in hot seasons. In terms of ratio, the proportion of fresh snake to liquor is 1:5, and for dried snake it is 1:10; for the first steeping you can use a little more liquor, and for the second steeping reduce it accordingly.

3. Production process of snake wine

1. Maceration method

This refers to steeping snakes and medicinal herbs in a suitable extraction solvent at room temperature so that the active ingredients leach out. It can be divided into cold maceration and hot maceration. Cold maceration is a common steeping method: the snake wine is kept at room temperature, covered and sealed, and stored in a dark place; when the time is up, pour off the upper clear liquid, let it stand, and filter it to obtain the product. It can be repeatedly macerated 3 to 4 times. Hot maceration is basically the same as cold maceration, but the maceration temperature is higher, generally carried out at 40°C to 60°C using water-bath heating. Because the maceration temperature is higher, the extract often has cotton-like sediment after cooling.

2. Percolation method

The percolation method is suitable for making wine from dried snake. The method is to first steep the dried snake in liquor, and after it has swelled appropriately, put it into a percolation cylinder. A percolation cylinder is a cylindrical device with an open top and a percolation outlet at the bottom; the liquor flows in from the top, slowly percolates through the dried snake, and flows out from the percolation outlet at the bottom. This method can create a good concentration difference, and the leaching effect is better than that of the maceration method, the components are more fully extracted, and the production time is shorter. It can also be repeatedly percolated; where conditions permit, pressure, heat or countercurrent percolation can be used, but certain equipment is required.

3. Medicinal fermentation method

This is a method commonly used in ancient China. This method uses rice, starter and medicine, and directly ferments them into liquor; it is the best method for producing snake wine. Through this method, the active ingredients in the snake can be well extracted, and the liquor color is clear and pure.

No matter which method is used to prepare snake wine, the containers and personnel must meet hygiene requirements. Ceramic, glass and similar containers are preferable; lead and iron utensils should not be used. During the preparation of snake wine, a certain amount of flavor-correcting and coloring agents can be added to soften the medicinal properties, make it easier to take and improve the quality of the preparation. The flavoring agents currently used are mainly sweeteners, such as brown sugar, white sugar, rock sugar, stevia sugar and honey. Coloring agents include tabasheer and Spatholobus suberectus.

Before the finished snake wine is filled into containers, it must be clarified and filtered to remove suspended matter and sediment. A common method is to add about 1% egg white powder and stir it evenly. Another method is filtration through a medium; for large production volumes, a plate-and-frame filter press can be used. Snake wine is generally allowed to contain a small amount of sediment, mostly from natural settling.