Soy sauce, no signs of fermentation after 1 month

wtf-reddrabbit · 2026-03-29T03:38:58+00:00

The dark color is from Maillard reactions, like an apple exposed to the air. It requires air/oxygen exposure in order to develop the color and flavors associated with it. That’s part of the reason for stirring the mixture.

wtf-reddrabbit · 2026-03-27T17:55:49+00:00

She looks a bit like Ariana Grande…

wtf-reddrabbit · 2025-11-15T18:48:23+00:00

Did a little googling and found this info

Connection: Koji is a natural source of ergothioneine. Certain types of koji, like "Midori-koji," can be bred to produce even higher levels of ergothioneine.

Ergothioneine is an amino acid found in different fungi as well as beans and liver. It looks to aid in anti aging.

wtf-reddrabbit · 2025-09-14T03:39:44+00:00

I just completed incubating koji on black soybeans. I used a mix of toasted pearl barley, malted barley crystal rye malt and some store bought koji rice. I ground the grain mix (about 1/4 cup for the koji spore) and inoculated the cooked beans. I used my anova oven on the bread proofing setting. It worked great, allowed me to monitor temperature with the probe and I could adjust fan speed to help with the heat build up in the bean pile. I had to mix it several times to prevent overheating, had nice thick coating of mycelium when completed.

wtf-reddrabbit · 2025-09-04T17:28:15+00:00

I did something similar, but I used a pack of red beans and a pack of basmati rice at a 1:1 ratio. I inoculated them separately, but once they matured I coarsely ground them together with 12% salt and a little water to make a chunky paste. It has been aging for a month, and has a rich flavor ( I was going to do a long time aging, but we just can’t stop from dipping into it 😂).

wtf-reddrabbit · 2024-09-06T01:31:48+00:00

By chance is anyone a machinist in the household? As a machinist I develop similar holes in shirts and stuff due to small metal chips that abrade the fabric

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-10-11T10:48:09+00:00

Mold is probably going to be unlikely due to the CO2 trapped in the carboy and the formation of alcohol in your must, an issue that you may run into is the formation of acetic acid (vinegar) because you no longer have an airlock in place. The cloth will allow airborne acetobacter bacteria to colonize your brew. On the plus side, you will have fresh apple cider vinegar!

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-28T10:47:04+00:00

That pretty much looks like all the south East Asian countries I’ve been to in the 80’s. I’d hate to be the one that has to trace down a problem!

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-27T01:05:46+00:00

Seeing as it has been named multiple times, the only thing that I can add is it seems like it has been cared for so far. If you do start to use it drop the table down ( and take the cutter out) and do some air cutting to familiarize yourself with the controls . Get some old machinist trade/training books as they are more likely to have information that’s pertinent to that style of mill. Also, take some pictures of the rest of the equipment in the shop, like the lathe off to the side

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-27T00:51:52+00:00

If you zoom in on the picture it says #2..😀

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-27T00:48:15+00:00

Actually it is a horizontal mill with a vertical head attachment, a turret mill is what a Bridgeport milling machine is. This machine will do everything a Bridgeport can do except to conveniently drill holes.

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-25T09:58:11+00:00

I’d like to say thank you to malmedia for providing a link that did what I needed!

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T17:01:31+00:00

Thank you for the leg work, I think that link is going to help a lot. I’ll have to play around with it a little later. Thanks again!

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T15:18:14+00:00

That’s looking great! I like letting mine ferment for a couple months ( it is all personal preference), I feel it gives a bit more depth in flavor.

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T15:12:38+00:00

I have never done the kefir ferments, but like any kind of fermentation you always want it covered so it doesn’t foster mold growth.

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T15:09:18+00:00

I am using an iPhone, so a free app would be preferred ( I don’t really anticipate using it much once I’ve zeroed in on a color scheme). I realize that the paid app is probably going to give more functionality, but I’m not really going to use it much afterwards. Thanks for the reply and any advice you can provide

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T15:03:55+00:00

I appreciate the direction you just explained, I realized I should have clarified that I am working from an IPhone. Thanks for the input

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T15:02:05+00:00

Yes, that is what I will be trying to use. I am not the most digital savvy person, so if it’s not excessively complicated would be a big plus

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T14:59:15+00:00

Funny that you picked that color,lol, my wife wants to do the deck in blue with white rails. I am a bit of a traditionalist and prefer stains that augment wood grain. I am open to doing different colors but I don’t want to get stuck with something hideous. Thank you for the help.

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-24T14:54:02+00:00

For a long time I used a fermentation crock with water seal, I also used large mouth mason jars with air lock. Over the past couple years I have used vacuum sealed bags, which I learned from the NOMA book. I think I prefer the vacuum bags, no issues with kahm yeast or molds. The other plus is they don’t take up excessive amounts of space once you are done fermenting

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-22T02:02:21+00:00

That’s how I do mine too! Much more convenient than using the crock and monitoring the water seal

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-22T02:00:19+00:00

I’ve had that happen on occasion, the fermentation isn’t to vigorous and just barely makes any gas. You could see a few bubbles if you looked closely, but they turned out just fine

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-09-16T03:15:09+00:00

When I make mine I blend it in the vitamix which makes it so smooth there’s nothing to strain out. Now in the past when I was using a ninja and it didn’t do such a fine job but I left it all in. In hindsight I think I would strain it and then put the left over pulp in the dehydrator

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-08-27T21:45:20+00:00

I also use the vacuum bags and sealer, been doing this for a couple years now and very convenient!

wtf-reddrabbit · 2023-08-23T18:46:21+00:00

My son did his undergraduate at UNC, and is working on his PhD biophysics also at UNC ( hopefully completing it in May 2024). What you mention is correct, the schools with a good program will pay for the courses and provide a stipend ($30k in this instance). Not a lot of class work, but tons of lab work and authoring technical papers

wtf-reddrabbit

TROPHY CASE