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Finally, “koji process” coffee is here, and we’re tasting it live! “Koji Supernatural” is a coffee produced by Phoenix Coffee in Cleveland, Ohio as a collaboration between coffee director Christopher Feran and Jeremy Umansky. We’re brewing and tasting it for the first time live on stream with some friends: Jack, Nick, and Kyra. See Christopher Feran’s Instagram post for information about the process. Live Sunday…
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For 3 years now, I’ve been growing my own koji on rice at home with very consistent results, thanks to some help from Jeremy Umansky’s koji class at Larder back in early 2019. I’ve seen some folks have a tough time with their own so I’m doing a livestream to show my process and equipment that gets me the results I’m looking for every time.…
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As Kojicon 2022 was coming to a close, presenter Takashi Sato, president of San-J, unveiled a new website that brings Japanese fermentation traditions to the English-speaking world: hakkohub.com. “Hakko” means “fermentation” Japanese, and Hakko Hub is a place to learn everything there is to know about the traditional ferments of Japan: shoyu (soy sauce), miso, mirin, and more. In his presentation, Takashi talked about the…
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The best virtual conference I’ve had the pleasure to attend is back! And I’m part of it this year! Well, kind of. I’m volunteering as a Slack moderator, so… y’all better behave! If you’re attending this year, be sure to say hello in the Slack. You can still purchase tickets to get access to the live sessions and the Slack workspace at kojicon.org. #KojiBuildsCommunity
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Another year has passed us by. Do you feel older? Wiser? Maybe not, but all of our ferments are aging with us, too. I suppose the primary lesson I learned in 2021 is that older doesn’t necessarily mean better always. My experimental hot sauce batches, even with some big variations (adding smoked chilies, adding mushrooms) tasted very similar to each other and last year’s standard…
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One of the best virtual conferences I’ve ever attended is happening again this year! There wasn’t a huge marketing push last time and I didn’t think to post about it in the few koji-focused communities I frequent until it was happening, and by that point it was too late to buy tickets. So this year, I’m spreading it far and wide: tickets go on sale…
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It’s time to put aged eggnog to the test. I’m making a fresh batch of boozy eggnog to give it time to mellow until Christmas, but I also have some of last year’s batch left. I’ll be able to taste a completely fresh eggnog next to one aged for one whole year! Which do you expect to be better? Find out in the replay below!
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The first official Crock of Time livestream is in the books! It was time to make the kimchi from the nappa cabbages and other vegetables in my garden and I wanted to share that with you all. I’ve decided to do livestreams on YouTube instead of Twitch. I just… do not dig the vibe over there, and I feel like more people have YouTube accounts…
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The final day of the conference was quite a crash-course for me about the current state of the science and industry of fermentation. I have thus far enjoyed home fermentation as a way to understand my food as well as preserve and transform what might otherwise turn into waste, but I’ve otherwise remained skeptical of some of the more radical claims about the health benefits…
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Phew, what a day packed with information! From regulations to a fermented bean flavor wheel and back around to cultural appropriation, this day had it all. I’m going to have to keep my comments a bit shorter to fit all of day 2 of the Fermentation 2021 conference into a single post. Note that this nor any of the other posts are a comprehensive list…
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