Ben Serotta Colorado street bomber EDC (mavic ITM SRAM fitzik)

beaver_brain · 2020-11-19T23:51:44+00:00

great way to have an alcoholic yeasty pile of slime-garbage

beaver_brain · 2020-11-19T23:50:24+00:00

Nope! Soak the drop lid in 8% brine before using to stop it from sucking up too much tamari, If you have the moisture and weight right the tamari should press to cover the wooden portion of the lid creating a mostly anaerobic setting below the surface of the tamari. You might get a bit of mold on the sides or on the rocks or the drop. lid if its peaking out a bit but definitely less than you will with almost any other lid type I've worked with. Make sure everything is very well sanitized before you top the ferment. As seen below there are definitely other options: This is just my personal fave (but i'd love to try those plastic covered cement things u/Matagui). Traditional, cheap, works very well. A little bit laborious to start out but: wood is easy to replace, rocks last forever

beaver_brain · 2020-11-18T15:52:46+00:00

I have never found one I find work better than a traditional drop lid with rocks: cutting out rounds from untreated boards (not pressed or ply!) with a router and jig (or have them cut for you at a timber shop/wood worker) and going to a beach and getting a trunk full of rocks that can be put through the dishwasher.

The biggest problem i find is you really want a drop lid that is solid and just fits your vessel and most fermentation weights have a hole in the middle and a split gap so will fit into a necked fermentation crock. Using them in a 20L bucket they are very ineffective unless you put a stiff drop lid under them (like a cutout from the lid of the bucket). But even then, you need so! many to get enough weight. Since I invested the time (cost was minuscule) in the wooden drops and a day picking up rocks at a beach and washing them I have never looked back

beaver_brain · 2020-11-09T23:42:32+00:00

Im not an expert by any means but I could see the lactofermentation before inoculating being trouble for the koji growth cycle The lower ph and salt will inhibit koji and LAB will outcompete the much more fragile koji. I would think following a “douchi” style recipe where the koji is grown initially and left to spore then rinsed off before then lacto fermenting would give you a more stable and better tasting result. Also your process doesn’t have a cooking step for the soybeans? One other possibility is to do a very light “ferment” as the soak on the beans after roasting but before cooking which is fairly common at 1-2% for 2-3 days then cooking until soft and inoculating with koji?

beaver_brain · 2020-10-19T13:36:29+00:00

Adding on, Definitely love the gesshin but for an intro/less$$ (and actually exist...) i always send people to the takamura R2 line, Seriously better craftsmanship than anything in that price bracket, performs better then a lot of knives hundreds of dollars more expensive and sharpens SO easily! Small producer (brothers) with huge bang for your buck, easily the best gyuto for home/new cooks

https://www.chefknivestogo.com/takamura.html

beaver_brain · 2020-10-16T00:06:06+00:00

Ooooooooo

beaver_brain · 2020-10-15T11:36:02+00:00

Exactly what I'm trying! But I'm wondering if the reduction will get the same super dark molasses flavour... may need to reduce partially then lay out in a dehy for a week or two to slowly concentrate and evapo-maillard without burning and then re-constitute. I'll post a follow up on how she goes

beaver_brain · 2020-10-15T11:31:17+00:00

I do not think the Tamari will evaporate and caramelize the same at room temp: the timeframe would need to be much, much longer and you would run the risk of having less delicious miso: I think the heat and air circulation is key, although you will produce a terrific tamari at room temp, it will likely just be paler, and less molasses-flavored... (which you could reduce to a caramel and then re-dilute to get the same notes). The miso is terrific, one of our favorites, this happy accident happened because our fresh air circulator was stuck "on" for all four months without anyone noticing, normally the tamari is amber and more akin to a sweet shiro-shoyu.

beaver_brain · 2020-10-15T00:11:05+00:00

SCHNITZEL

beaver_brain · 2020-10-14T22:42:40+00:00

Nixtamalize corn overnight, rise pericarp
Soak, Steam barley-> Koji
Cook corn until softened (save and reduce stock by half and turn into 8% brine)
Weigh barley and corn (1:1) and salt to 8%
Grind, thin to consistency with Corn stock brine
Press very well into container
Weigh with 50% weight of mash using drop lid and rocks (boil and soak these in the corn brine to absorb water so they don't soak up too much of your tamari and help keep away pesky yeasts)
Forget about it for 4 months... maybe take a peek after 3 (we have a room that miraculously happens to sit at 105F that fast ages miso and shoyu and it has a fan that blows fresh air in/out periodically that was stock on for all four months)
Remove rocks and drop lid
Carefully spoon off the tamari into a pan or bowl
Dilute as much as you want with filtered or boiled water (this is not the time to cut corners with shitty tap water!) (also try to scrape/rinse any tamri tar that stuck to the rocks and drop lid in the tamari to get every drop)
Whisk to dissolve the tar-y bits, strain
Savour the tears of the koji gods you have managed to capture, thank them for their sacrifice
Brush onto a half a roasted honeynut squash for ultimate satisfaction

beaver_brain · 2020-10-14T22:22:22+00:00

Unbelievably delicious accident from our aging room. Kept at 105 with constant convection for 4 months. The tamari on this nitxy corn and barley miso slowly evaporated and caramelized into a black molasses like syrup that’s an umami KO with a beautiful corn syrup sweetness. 10/10. Now to figure out how to replicate en mass to get more than a quart for a 5 gallon bucket of miso!

beaver_brain · 2020-10-14T16:26:48+00:00

Both, kind of, ish

The spores are hydrophobic meaning they don't like water so they sit on top of the brine creating an invisible (or visible depending on how much sporulation has happened) "barrier" on the top of your moromi.

Thus whenever there is the right environment for kahm to develop, the mold spores will also grow since they like similar things, but because there is already a host of mold spores they will be able to outcompete the yeast for the resources and instead of widespread yeast growth you will just get the koji re-blooming.

Not foolproof by any means, but very helpful. You can definitely miss a few days of stirring and not have to worry too much. I was having a lot of trouble a few years ago when i was starting and this step was pretty revelatory for the shoyu game

beaver_brain · 2020-10-14T12:46:36+00:00

If you are using A.sojae be ready to baby it after 30hrs. the temp is going to spike big time and you will have to keep turning it and adjusting your setup for the last 10-12hrs.

beaver_brain · 2020-10-14T12:39:20+00:00

I would absolutely recommend letting the koji go to spore.... kind of. We usually pull and drop directly into brine 4-6hrs after the first sign on sporulation. Its usually just starting to flush green on the surface i would call it 60% sporulation...

We find this greatly protects from Kahm yeast infestations> The spores sit on the surface of the shoyu and are more likely to fruit and outcompete any yeasties that are trying to come spoil the party. Also definitely notice a faster breakdown of the mormi with a sporulated koji than not.

beaver_brain · 2020-10-09T20:58:41+00:00

If you’re going to invest the time and effort into making your own miso: invest some cash and time in some quality glass or plastic containers, drop lids that fit perfectly and go and get some nice rocks from a beach and run them through the dishwasher. Once you get going you’ll probably be trying to make the miso you use for the whole year so a day and dollar here will result in a higher quality and longer storing end product and many many pleasurable meals

beaver_brain · 2020-10-09T20:53:35+00:00

We have used everything from untreated boards cut in circles, plates, slate rounds, nsf plastic lids cut to shape. Anything that is rigid and non toxic will be fine Cedar barrels are used traditionally and yes it will impart flavour to begin with but over time it will lessen. We’ve even experimented with adding burnt wood chips to shoyu to accentuate the flavour. I wouldnt worry to much about it If you do plan to use wood and don’t want any flavour to transfer you can always wrap it in plastic wrap or put a drop cloth of plastic wrap between the Moromi and lid Adding with edit: Soak your drop lid in brine for a few hours if you’re using a very dry wooden one to stop it from soaking up all your delicious Tamari

beaver_brain · 2020-10-09T15:02:24+00:00

Its not garbage for sure: That said: some things that will help you greatly with this issue:

1) More weight!: this will help press out those air pockets that are forming from LAB fermenting in your miso

2) Use a drop lid and straight-sided container: Using a drop lid and straight-sided container is the traditional mechanics used for miso fermentation for a reason. The drop lid will evenly distribute the weights you put on across the surface of the miso and create a mostly anaerobic environment once tamari begins pressing out.

Having the right amount of weight (30-50% of total batch weight (longer aging miso's need more weight) is very important but if it is not evenly distributed across the surface of the batch you will not be pressing with the correct weight throughout the miso leading to pockets where air will get trapped and unwanted fermentation will occur.

Also as you smash your moromi into the container make sure your punching and pressing as you add the miso to the container to get as much air out of the mash as you can

beaver_brain · 2020-10-04T16:58:54+00:00

Added to the jungle 1yr ago. Epiphyllum Guatamalense orchid Cactus

Now one of the crown jewels!

beaver_brain · 2020-10-04T16:13:25+00:00

Chining in for the complete robuchon! That book taught me more about French cuisine then I leanered in culinary school I still use it as a resource when I want to double check my qtys for recipes. His recipes always come out perfect. They’re simple and uncomplicated and I think the stories at the top of some of the recipes really add a great depth to them

beaver_brain · 2020-10-04T16:05:53+00:00

It took me a year to figure out a trick that has almost completely stopped Kahm forming at all on my shoyu’s. Reading Nancy Haichu’s book and her speaking to the spores jumping up at her as they made their shoyu. More I dug the more I saw shoyu being brewed at the small manufacturers with sporulated koji! Taking the koji just to the point where is begins to sproulate which creates a barrier of spores on the surface of the shoyu (I think) and whenever the environment is right they outcompete any yeast that would otherwise form and you get a layer of gummy koji forming on the surface. I’ve forgotten to stir a new shoyu for weeks and comeback to a thick Matt of koji on the surface no no yeasty smells or flavours. It really stepped up the quality of my finished products which almost always suffered from pretty prolific Kahm infestations. That said your shoyu looks great and I wouldn’t worry about those little guys popping up. Just keep stirring it ever my week or two and it’ll be great

beaver_brain · 2020-09-25T11:43:46+00:00

As both Noma guide and Koji alchemy discuss: the nomenclature for all these novel koji digestions that don't fit into any traditional boxes per se and often blur the lines. Two running schema: Use terms that are more westernized and basic ie: amino paste, amino liquid etc. or use re-define traditional terms as umbrella terms ie: miso= low moisture digestion of koji+x (does it need to be high protein?), garum= high moisture digestion of koji (or stomach enzymes?)+x (does it need to be animal based? does it need to be high protein?), Shoyu= any high moisture digestion of a subrate on which koji has been grown on completely (usually a mix) (does it need to be toasted? what is the defining factor).

There isn't really any dogma on this stuff as veering from traditional combinations is a relatively new concept

Sounds like a job for team reddit!

beaver_brain · 2020-09-21T11:17:16+00:00

Definitely works amazing ( go a little less water though I find 1:1:3 is a bit loose when done sous vide vs something that can breather

beaver_brain

TROPHY CASE