For our kome koji, Italian round-grain rice is gently steamed and then inoculated with spores of the noble mold Aspergillus oryzae. Under carefully controlled temperature and humidity conditions, and with occasional mixing, the rice is allowed to ferment for around 46 hours. Afterwards, the koji is dried at gentle temperatures to preserve it.
Kome Koji
500g
Dried rice koji made from organic italian rice
Vegan • unpasteurized • gluten free
Fresh or dried kome koji can be used as a base for amazake, shio koji and miso. In addition to the classic recipes from Japan, koji can also be used as an ingredient for other ferments - there are hardly any limits to its use, there is still a lot to discover. Here are a few examples:
Ground as a tasty flour substitute.
Roasted as a full-bodied tea infusion.
As a broth for gentle umami notes.
For flavoring oil and vinegar.
You can find recipes here.
Koji (Aspergillus oryzae) is a mold that has been cultivated for thousands of years in East Asia (first in China, later in Japan) for the fermentation and refinement of food and is still the basis for the production of sake, miso, shoyu mirin, shochu and many other ferments. The name koji is used both for the product fermented with A. oryzae (e.g. kome koji) and for the spores.
A. oryzae is originally derived from Aspergillus flavus.
Both fungi are genetically closely related. In contrast to A. flavus, however, A. oryzae does not produce aflatoxins (toxic metabolic products). This difference is the result of the targeted development and cultivation of the mushroom and makes A. oryzae safe for food production.
Through centuries of selection, A. oryzae has been optimized for fermentation. It produces a particularly large number of enzymes that convert starch, proteins and fats, producing delicious flavors. There are now databases with thousands of different strains of fungi whose enzymatic activities differ from one another and are used specifically depending on the raw material and fermentation process..