Experiments
Birch Syrup Kombucha
Testing a simple dilution and fermentation of birch syrup to evaluate how the flavor profile shifts as the sugars ferment and acidity develops.
Sorghum Syrup Kombucha
Testing the viability of sorghum syrup as an alternative sweetener and fermentation substrate, specifically as a replacement for refined sugar in Kombucha production.
Cleavers & Rye Coffee Jun
1140 g cleaver juice (equal parts cleavers and water)
Lacto-Fermented Grain
This experiment compares standard and nixtamalized lacto-fermented grain to study flavor and fermentation behavior.
Chamomile & Toasted Rye Kombucha
This experiment explores the use of whole, yeast-heavy fruits to influence the fermentation profile of a jun-style kombucha beverage, aiming to develop complex, wild-fermented characteristics similar...
Rice Koji + Toasted Rye Jun
Tasting Notes: The flavor profile is reminiscent of a pleasant amazake-like taste or a sour rice wine. It is generally pleasant, though currently a bit too sour and somewhat too funky.
Malted Rye Bread Syrup
This experiment uses diastatic malt to turn stale rye bread into a sweet fermentable syrup base.
Shio Koji Tofu
also temperature experimentation to try to select for different types of lacto-bacteria
Maple Kombucha
Testing a new fermentation batch using maple syrup as the primary sugar source to compare its fermentation rate and flavor profile against previous trials with birch syrup and sorghum syrup.
Scape Kosho
The goal of this experiment is to upcycle garlic scape trim—specifically the woody bottom portions and the flowering tops—by fermenting them into a style of kosho. The trim is blended with various chi...
Strawberry Sichuan Peppercorn Kombucha
This experiment is a wild-fermented strawberry beverage utilizing fresh strawberries and a house-foraged Sichuan peppercorn honey. The goal is to capture the bright, fresh fruit notes of the strawberr...
Grain Tea
This experiment compares roasted grains, brew methods, and roast profiles for a grain-based tea.
Lacto Blueberries
This experiment lacto-ferments blueberries to compare acidity, funk, and temperature-driven flavor differences.
Concord Grape & Mugwort Kombucha
This experiment ferments Concord grape juice with mugwort to test a more bitter, herbal kombucha profile.
Riesling & Pineapple Weed Kombucha
Tasting Notes: The combination of Riesling and pineapple weed is pleasant, and both flavors are present, but they are experienced at the exact same time. Without a separation of the fruitiness and the...
Spent Coffee Ground Kombucha
The goal of this experiment is to evaluate a light, acidic beverage brewed from spent coffee grounds. The extraction yields a profile that is less harsh than fresh coffee, tasting similar to a diluted...
Toasted Wheat & Honey Kombucha
The goal of this trial was to evaluate the flavor profile of a toasted wheat and honey ferment. The toasted wheat character came through beautifully, but the honey lacked complexity. The resulting bev...
Black Oat Koji Tea
This note records a cold brew of black oat koji with cherry-like, fruity, and chocolatey flavors.
Lacto-Fermented Cabbage
This is a quick log for a new batch of fermented cabbage, utilizing a standard salt ratio and simple aromatics.
Lacto-Fermented Shiitake
This experiment lacto-ferments shiitake mushrooms to preserve them and capture a savory acidic brine.
Lacto-Fermented Squash
A fast lacto-fermented squash that turned sharply acidic within a few days and likely needs a shorter fermentation.
Shiitake Mushchovie
The goal of this experiment is to create a savory, fermented product using roasted shiitake mushrooms and koji, aiming for a deep, umami-rich profile. We’re treating this much in the same way an ancho...
Amazake
This experiment compares parallel amazake trials across different koji substrates and incubation setups.
Okara Ricotta
This experiment tests okara as the base for a cultured, plant-based ricotta alternative.
Oyster Mushroom 'Kimchi'
The goal of this experiment is to ferment oyster mushrooms using a dry-salting method to draw out moisture similar to kimchi, utilizing previously fermented garlic to help inoculate the batch with act...
Pickled Black Currant
Experimenting with pickling currants in a sweet, sour, and slightly salty brine using a base of lacto-fermented fruit juice, vinegar, and honey. The goal is to preserve the fruit while maintaining a p...
Pickled Daikon
The goal of this experiment is to prepare a pickled daikon infused with mint, aiming for a profile similar to Korean yellow pickled radish (danmuji).
Pickled Oysters Mushrooms
Combine the water, apple cider vinegar, apple cider syrup, and salt in a pot.
Pumpkin Seed Yoghurt
This experiment tests whether pumpkin seed milk can ferment into a thick, plant-based yoghurt.
Roasted Soy Milk
This experiment compares soy milk pre-treatments to reduce beaniness without sacrificing yield.
Set Tofu
These trials test coagulants, milk thickness, and steaming variables for making set tofu.
Shio Koji
We are experimenting with different grain kojis—specifically oat, rice, wheat, and nixtamalized sorghum—to see how they produce different shio koji tastes and functionalities.
Sorghum Koji
This experiment tests sorghum koji while focusing on moisture control during incubation.
Soy Bean Koji
This experiment grows koji on soybeans to assess mycelium growth and drying needs.
Sunflower Presscake Garum
This experiment compares roasted and unroasted sunflower presscake in a garum-style ferment.
Lacto Snap Peas
This experiment lacto-ferments snap peas in snap pea juice to preserve texture and deepen pea flavor.
Oat Garum
This experiment combines oats, sorghum, and kinako in a high-temperature garum to explore a roasted, savory flavor profile.
Oat Koji
This experiment refines a process for growing koji on oats by balancing hydration, grain cracking, and post-steam flouring.
Okara Miso
This experiment combines okara and koji to turn a dry soy byproduct into a rich fermented paste.
Black Oat Koji
This experiment blackens oat koji to test its bitterness and chocolate-like potential as part of the coffee project.
Chamomile Leaf Kombucha
This experiment ferments a chamomile leaf infusion with honey and starter liquid into a herbal kombucha.
Honey-Fermented Garlic Scapes
This experiment ferments garlic scapes in buckwheat honey to see how the drawn-out liquid develops over time.
Koji Salt Cured Tofu
This experiment cures tofu in a salty koji paste to test a shio-koji-adjacent approach without an extended fermentation.
Lacto-Fermented Burdock
This experiment lacto-ferments burdock root to test its texture and how it carries smoky heat.
Lacto-Fermented Cauliflower
A simple lacto-fermented cauliflower with a clean, acidic flavor and a straightforward lactic profile.
Lacto-Fermented Celtuce
This experiment lacto-ferments celtuce to see how a simple 2% salt ferment changes its flavor.
Lacto-Fermented Daikon
Testing a standard lacto-fermentation on daikon radish cut into small pieces to evaluate the flavor profile and pungency compared to traditional pickled daikon.
Lacto-Fermented Fresh Cranberry Beans
This experiment lacto-ferments fresh cranberry beans to test texture after a brief pre-boil.
Lacto-Fermented Kholrabi + Maple
This experiment ferments kohlrabi with maple syrup to compare flavor and texture against a standard lacto ferment.
Lacto-Fermented Strawberries
This experiment compares whole-brined and sliced dry-salted lacto-fermented strawberries.
Maize Amazake
This experiment tests whether nixtamalized Bloody Butcher corn can be saccharified into an amazake-style drink with wheat koji.
Mushroom Butt Garum
This experiment turns roasted mushroom trim into a garum by combining it with koji for a long enzymatic ferment.
Wine-Fermented Asparagus
The goal of this experiment is to evaluate the effects of a hybrid fermentation medium using a watered-down wine base, targeting a 2% salt concentration and a 5% total brine strength.
Wine-Fermented Tofu
This experiment tests how wine, lactose, and salt change tofu over a short fermentation.
Anasazi Bean Koji
This experiment inoculates anasazi beans with koji, then tests roasting and blackening them as coffee or chocolate substitutes.
Black Bean Koji
This experiment inoculates black beans with koji, then tests roasting and blackening them as coffee or chocolate substitutes.
Blackened Syrup
This experiment tests how sorghum, honey, and maple syrup behave under a long blackening process.
Canola Presscake Garum
This experiment compares roasted and unroasted canola presscake garums to evaluate their protein-derived umami potential.
Lacto-Fermented Asparagus
A quick lacto-fermented asparagus with crunchy texture, pickle-like acidity, and better flavor after chilling.
Nixtamilized Bloody Butcher Corn + Smoked Santa Fe Miso
Salt (6% of the total mixture weight, approx. 60 g)
No Salt Miso
This experiment tests a no-salt miso held at high heat to prevent spoilage while enzymatically breaking down the substrate.
Black Daikon
Timeline: By day 25, the daikon is almost black.
Black Hakurei Turnip
Tasting (Day 25): The ingredients have not undergone much blackening and the flavor is currently not very pleasant.
Black Sunchoke
This experiment explores the blackening process of sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) at 140°F. Sunchokes are a particularly interesting candidate for this technique due to their high concentration of i...
Vegetable Bushi
This experiment adapts katsuobushi-style preservation to vegetables and maps a simplified first trial.
Lacto Roasted Squash Trimmings
This experiment ferments roasted honeynut squash trim to see how lacto-fermentation changes both the liquid and dried solids.
Roasted Soybean Powder
This experiment roasts soybeans to test different paths toward a kinako-style powder.
Cranberry Bean and Sunchoke Miso
This experiment combines cranberry beans, soybeans, and roasted sunchokes into a composite miso paste.
Grain Tempeh Burger
This first iteration uses spelt and tempeh to explore a grain-based burger with meaty texture.
Koji-Blackened Vegetables
This experiment blackens several koji-inoculated vegetables to compare how each substrate develops under the same process.
Koji-Inoculated Tofu
This experiment tests whether salted tofu inoculated with koji can develop a cheese-like texture and umami profile.
Lacto Barley and Soy
This experiment uses blended cooked barley and soybeans in a salty lacto-fermentation to explore both the liquid and solid results.
Malted Oat Syrup
This experiment uses diastatic malt to convert rolled oats into a distinctive grain syrup.
Peanut Ice Cream Base
This experiment builds a non-dairy ice cream base from raw peanuts.
Soy Ice Cream Base
This experiment develops a dairy-free soy ice cream base for the Ninja Creami.
Soy Yoghurt
This experiment tests whether soybeans can produce a neutral yogurt suitable for fermentation.
Malted Grain Milks
This experiment uses malt to convert grain starches into sugars for plant-based milk alternatives.
Malted Stale Bread Caramel
This experiment uses malt enzymes to turn stale sourdough bread into a caramel-like syrup.
Grits Miso
This experiment turns toasted grits and fresh koji into a fermented paste with a toasty, corny flavor.
Soy Milk
This experiment produces a drinkable soy milk as part of the broader plant-dairy project.
Shio Koji Grain Cheese
This experiment ferments grains in shio koji to mimic the lactic, cheesy qualities of fresh mozzarella.
Einkorn Pasta
This experiment tests multiple approaches to making pasta with einkorn flour and cornmeal.
Barley Soy Miso
This experiment combines barley and soybeans into an awase-style miso with a distinctly grain-based character.
Blackened Squash
This experiment blackens buttercup squash to see how the technique reshapes its sweetness and savory depth.
Carrot Charcuterie
This trial uses leftover carrots to explore a koji-inoculated charcuterie-style preparation.
Koji (Pearled Barley)
This process outlines how to grow koji on pearled barley for later experiments.
Lacto-Wineberries
This experiment lacto-ferments foraged wineberries with salt to draw out their own brine.
Soybean Tempeh
This first scratch-made soybean tempeh establishes a baseline for later substrate experiments.
Black Emmer Tempeh
This experiment blackens emmer tempeh over a month to explore sweeter, chocolate-like flavors.
Resinous Polypore Garum
This experiment turns the woody parts of resinous polypore into a savory garum.
Emmer Tempeh
This experiment makes tempeh from black emmer using the soybean version as a baseline.
Cherry Umeboshi
This experiment uses cherries in place of plums to make an umeboshi-style lacto-fermented preserve.
Blackened Tempeh "Chocolate"
This experiment dries and grinds blackened tempeh into a chocolate-like paste.
Blackened Tempeh
This experiment holds tempeh at high heat for an extended blackening to develop deep savory and chocolate-like flavors.
Koji-Salt Cured Anise Hyssop Flowers
This experiment preserves anise hyssop flowers with salt and koji to build a fragrant cured condiment.
Lacto-Strawberries
This experiment lacto-ferments strawberries in their own juices with a 2% salt brine.
Malted Oat Amazake
This experiment combines malt and koji to make a less-sweet oat amazake with a more pronounced malty flavor.
Soybean Koji "Coffee"
This experiment blackens soybeans with koji to test them as a coffee or chocolate substitute.
Tops Garum
This experiment turns carrot greens and koji into a savory garum from what would otherwise be waste.
Lacto Cherries
This experiment lacto-ferments cherries in a light salt brine.
Blackened Beets
This experiment compares two blackened beet variations to see how koji changes the process and flavor.
Blackened Tomato
This experiment compares three blackened tomato variations to see how salt and koji affect the outcome.
Malt Garum (Diastatic Light Munich)
This experiment uses light Munich malt and koji to make a malty, high-temperature garum.
Oat Malt Garum
This garum combines oats, light Munich malt, and koji for a long, high-temperature enzymatic ferment.
Lacto-Amazake (Buckwheat)
This experiment lacto-ferments diluted buckwheat amazake to turn some sweetness into acidity while building carbonation.
Buckwheat Amazake
This experiment uses buckwheat and koji to make a variation on traditional amazake.
Clarified Amazake
This experiment uses freeze clarification to turn cloudy amazake into a clear, wine-like liquid.
Rye Amazake
This experiment uses rye berries and dried koji to make an overnight amazake.
Rye Koji "Coffee"
This experiment blackens koji-treated rye berries, then roasts them to test coffee- and chocolate-like flavors.
Unripe Peach Cheong
This experiment makes cheong from unripe peaches to test whether they yield a compelling sweet-tart syrup.
Toasted Rye Infused Vinegar
This experiment infuses vinegar with toasted rye berries to capture the grain's roasted flavor.
Frozen Amazakes
Amazake's high glucose content makes it a compelling base for frozen desserts like sorbet, granita, and ice cream.