Meet Sachi - the new booze developed by scientists that is actually healthy

Around Christmas, chances are you’ll be drinking a lot of alcohol.

You know the routine: couple of glasses of champagne with breakfast on Christmas morning, three or four tinnies while you help the kids open their presents, bottle of wine with dinner, bottle of port with dessert, Irishing up your coffee, the list goes on.

When coupled with a diet that can be generously be described as ‘heart-endangering’, you’ll probably find yourself chasing all the health points you can find.

Accidentally got a bite of Brussels sprout in with your turkey? That justifies another 24-person pig in a blanket. And as for a ‘healthy’ alcohol? Well that surely gives you a free pass to do what you want until New Years’ Day.

So we’ll be raising a glass (of healthy booze) to the creators of Sachi, which is made using an unlikely ingredient: tofu.

Scientists at the National University of Singapore created the drink, using tofu whey – i.e. the bit that’s normally just discarded when you make the vegetarian staple from soybeans.

“Very little research has been done to transform tofu whey into edible food and beverage products,” said Chua Jian Yong, who worked with Associate Professor Liu Shao Quan on the project.

“I had previously worked on alcohol fermentation during my undergraduate studies in NUS, so I decided to take up the challenge of producing an alcoholic beverage using the whey.” 

Its main health benefits come from the presence of antioxidants, and is made with a zero-waste production method, and the finished product is likened to a sparkling wine.

The development of Sachi involved a two-week fermentation process, while the creation of the drink took about three months from start to finish.

It’s not currently available to buy, as far as we can tell, but we doubt that will be the case for too long.

And you know what’s even better? According to Chua, “The drink turned out to be tasty, which is a pleasant surprise”.

(Images: iStock)