Fundamentals of fermentation: Rhizopus oligosporus.

 Hello to all who are hungry for knowledge and new ideas..) Perseverance is the key, so we continue to study and practice starter cultures of fungi and yeast. Finally the turn to tempeh. Little-known, but extremely promising culture of mold - Rhizopus oligosporus. The culture originated in Indonesia, where soy beans were fermented with the help of this fungus. The result was a white cake with a thick and soft texture. Actually this unique protein product was called tempeh. Over time, the name became a household name, and any product with the presence of the fungus became known as tempeh. In the photo the founder. Tempeh with soybeans. One of the universal concepts of our kitchen is the use of fermentation as a method of cooking. Cultural fungi fit perfectly into this concept, because they preserve the product in its natural form, and the change in temperature and time can radically change the final result, opening the field for experiments. So the new "culture" became the basis of 2 courses for our set menu. And now in more detail… Tempeh is actively developing in an acidic environment. The temperature window is from 29 to 36 C. when the temperature reaches 38 C, the fungus dies, so for its cultivation, accurate temperature control is needed. Time window from 24 to 48 hours. After 24 hours, it becomes visible loose white mycelium, resembling fluff or corduroy white fabric. Mycelium is also formed on fruits with high acidity. This observation led to the creation of the dish "Apple tempeh", one of the 25 courses in the tasting menu. When creating a new idea, we often turn to history. It is useful to change the products and their concentration in the original recipe. Starting from the recipe tempeh with soybeans, came the realization that the starting product for the development of mycelium can be any cereal or, for example, nut mix. We began to develop this idea. We managed to get a mycelium in a mix of cashew nuts and hazelnuts. In order to emphasize the delicate taste, we used the apricot kernel urbech. I am glad to present another conceptual dish — pecan pie. Many people know what a Petri dish is and what it is used for. The agar pillow is a universal nutrient medium for the development of cultural mold. It's used in micro-biological research around the world. At the moment we are trying to grow tempeh on a huge agar pillow. "Why ?"- you ask.. And we will reply… This is a new form of little-known and tasty product, a new culture can give a new round of fermentation technology… And to be honest, we just really like to mess with all this.))