It's Miso Making Time
 

I've realized that over the many years, I like to ferment things, whether it's cheese, wine, apple cider, soft drinks, tempeh, natto, chili sauce...You name it and I've probably tried to ferment it. I love foods that take a long, slow time to mature and make heavy use of Mother Nature to work her magic.

I made a big batch of Miso about 2-3 years ago and now, we're down to our last jar. Wah Wah. The kids have been bugging me to make more. It's been raining all month, so it's time to ward off cabin fever and get busy making more miso. It's hit and miss, because I don't have a formal incubator. I have to set my crock of miso next to the woodstove to keep warm, then cross my fingers. It's worked so far.

Today, I'm making a traditional, medium/dark, soy miso. (You can make miso out of a lot of other beans and legumes too.) To make miso, you first have to start out with Koji, which is a culture that is grown on rice, or barley. I'm starting my brown rice koji today, so I can use it in a couple of days to prepare my soy beans for the miso. If you're interested, I'll post pictures of the miso making progress. There's not much to see today. I'm just soaking the rice overnight.

If you are interested in making miso too, I have a great recipe book to recommend: Miso - Tempeh - Natto & Other Tasty Ferments, by Kristen K. Shockey & Christopher Shockey

Also, there's a good website on Fermentation: https://revolutionfermentation.com/en/ I don't know them and am not trying to sell anything, they just have a lot of good info.

It's MisoMaking Time
 

Well that's pretty cool! I do like miso and fermented items. Kimchi is what I'd do first and also cabbage. What type pot do you
put items into ferment? We are so lucky to have several farmer's markets here that often have fermented items (near Santa Cruz)
for easy pick up.

Ahhh...you're just down the coast from me. Hi neighbor! :)

I found a set of simple, black glazed crocks, S,M & L, that have weights to help hold everything down. I really love them. They can sit in my living room, or kitchen and not look bad...just part of the decor (if we even have that...LOL.) The weights are helpful in keeping everything submerged. I'll post pix of them later.

I love Kimchi too. I should make some of that at the same time. :)

My dau is into making fermented chili sauce. It's yummy! I just gave her a bunch of chilis that I grew. I'm hoping that she'll give me a jar of sauce.

This recipe book also has recipes for what they call "Tasty Pastes." They're sort of a freestyle type of fermented bean, or vegetable and mushroom pastes that are good on spreading on crackers, toast, etc. I want to try to make some. I have 3 crocks. I might as well put them all to work.

Is fermenting regional? Does weather affect it?

what brand of brown rice do you use? Or favorite is no longer carried around here and the replacements we've tried for steamed or fried rice dinner were yuck.
Yesterday we watched A Town Like Alice with Bryan Brown...lots of miso mentioned in the first 1/3, wonder if it was the same thing, or just Japanese for rice or food?

I ordered both the miso and the vegetable book. They were cheaper new then used.

I made my koji rice yesterday and found the perfect place to put it to ferment. The warmth of my built-in griddle on my stove added just the right amount of heat. By yesterday afternoon, I had fuzzy, white mycilium growing all over the rice. :) I left it on the griddle overnight to finish the process. However, when I got up this morning, the rice was gone...no where to be seen. I found it out in the outside fridge, where my DH put it after I went to bed to "keep it from spoiling." Augghhhhh! The koji is probably ruined now. It needs to maintain a temperature of around 85-90 degrees f. I'm trying to revive it, but it doesn't look hopeful. I've ordered more starter and rice, but I now have a huge pot of cooked soybeans. What do I do with those?

He's hiding in the bedroom, pretending to sleep in. No breakfast for you buddy.

Oh...fun! A fellow fermenter in the making. :D

I just use Safeway's Signature Select brand. I think that short grain is supposed to be better than long grain, because there's more surface area for the spores to grow on, but long grain works too. Actually, white rice works better. Koji doesn't need anything fancy. It's kind of like starting sourdough starter. Just plain, whte flour works for that. The spores don't care...it's the starch that they're after.

I'll have to watch that movie!