Has anyone cultured your own tempeh at home? Some sites online that mention tempeh-making are:
veganlovlie.com
makethebesttempeh.org
tempehtation.uk
putumayokitchen.com
Some of these sites I found by typing something in the search engine like
Homemade tempeh split peas
Or
Homemade tempeh in glass dish
I began my tempeh culturing journey when I found some oligosporus starter super cheap at a local Asian grocery. After a few failures, some successes, and more failures, I was hooked.
The tempeh culture is a fungus. It was "domesticated" in Indonesia.
One survey in Indonesia found that those elderly people who ate the most tempeh did better on a word recall test than others of the same age.
The tempeh culture needs a little bit of air to grow. It needs some moisture but not too much. It needs a temperature around 80°F, which I think is around 26°C.
This is how I make tempeh:
1. Soak my grain(s) or legumes for up to 48 hours or none at all. If they sprout, so much the better, but it is not necessary by any means.
2. If your beans have hulls (anything besides split peas or other beans sold with hulls already removed), try to break most of the hulls. I smash them with the plastic lid end of a jar. If the beans break up too at the same time that's OK. You do this because the fungus can't grow through those tough bean jackets.
3. Rinse and cook in way too much boiling water for about 1/3 as much time as you normally would.
Add a tablespoon of vinegar (any type) to the water, either at the beginning or after it is cooked. The vinegar diluted in the cooking water should give just enough acidity to discourage unwanted organisms while not being too acidic for the tempeh fungus to grow.
Drain off the water and dry the beans. Sometimes just stirring them in the still-hot pot is enough.
4. Wait for them to cool to at least lukewarm. If they are too hot when you add your spores, the heat can kill the spores. Cooled to room temp is fine.
5. I avoid plastic when I can. Some people culture their tempeh in plastic bags with little holes punched to give the tempeh enough air. Traditionally tempeh was cultured wrapped in banana tree leaves. What works for me is a glass pyrex dish with a ceramic or glass plate placed on top. I add the spores after the beans and/or grains are in my culturing dish. I add more culture than most people because I can get it cheap.
6. If there is any water pooled or puddled anywhere after you mix in your spores, add some rice flour, other flour, or oatmeal or any dry grain you have on hand until the puddles are soaked up. The tempeh needs some moisture but too much invites other organisms you don't want.
7. Your goal is to have a loose, fluffy appearance to your mix. The fungus needs pockets of air to grow into and through. When you stir it, it should seem amost like uncooked beans, nothing like cooked oatmeal.
8. Give the fungus a heat source at about 25°C or 78°F. An electric blanket that has at least 4 settings may work when set on the lowest setting. Some people use electric seed-starter warming mats or mats designed to keep pet reptiles warm. Provide some insulation. I do this by keeping it in a small drawer. Try to keep the temp between 80°F and 60°F or 16°C. At lower temps it will grow more slowly. Too hot and it will die of the heat. Too cold and condensation can invite other organisms you don't want, especially if it is much lower than 55°F or 12°C.
9. Wait about 30 hours. The fungus mycelium should begin to grow through and around. Eventually it will be fluffy and white and hold the beans together like a cake. You can harvest as soon as you like or let it grow more.
10. Cook again. The most popular way to cook tempeh is to fry it but I love it boiled or braised. If the fluffy the texture offends you, you can tamp it to condense it. The tempeh you can buy in the store has been vacuum packed.
veganlovlie.com
makethebesttempeh.org
tempehtation.uk
putumayokitchen.com
Some of these sites I found by typing something in the search engine like
Homemade tempeh split peas
Or
Homemade tempeh in glass dish
I began my tempeh culturing journey when I found some oligosporus starter super cheap at a local Asian grocery. After a few failures, some successes, and more failures, I was hooked.
The tempeh culture is a fungus. It was "domesticated" in Indonesia.
One survey in Indonesia found that those elderly people who ate the most tempeh did better on a word recall test than others of the same age.
The tempeh culture needs a little bit of air to grow. It needs some moisture but not too much. It needs a temperature around 80°F, which I think is around 26°C.
This is how I make tempeh:
1. Soak my grain(s) or legumes for up to 48 hours or none at all. If they sprout, so much the better, but it is not necessary by any means.
2. If your beans have hulls (anything besides split peas or other beans sold with hulls already removed), try to break most of the hulls. I smash them with the plastic lid end of a jar. If the beans break up too at the same time that's OK. You do this because the fungus can't grow through those tough bean jackets.
3. Rinse and cook in way too much boiling water for about 1/3 as much time as you normally would.
Add a tablespoon of vinegar (any type) to the water, either at the beginning or after it is cooked. The vinegar diluted in the cooking water should give just enough acidity to discourage unwanted organisms while not being too acidic for the tempeh fungus to grow.
Drain off the water and dry the beans. Sometimes just stirring them in the still-hot pot is enough.
4. Wait for them to cool to at least lukewarm. If they are too hot when you add your spores, the heat can kill the spores. Cooled to room temp is fine.
5. I avoid plastic when I can. Some people culture their tempeh in plastic bags with little holes punched to give the tempeh enough air. Traditionally tempeh was cultured wrapped in banana tree leaves. What works for me is a glass pyrex dish with a ceramic or glass plate placed on top. I add the spores after the beans and/or grains are in my culturing dish. I add more culture than most people because I can get it cheap.
6. If there is any water pooled or puddled anywhere after you mix in your spores, add some rice flour, other flour, or oatmeal or any dry grain you have on hand until the puddles are soaked up. The tempeh needs some moisture but too much invites other organisms you don't want.
7. Your goal is to have a loose, fluffy appearance to your mix. The fungus needs pockets of air to grow into and through. When you stir it, it should seem amost like uncooked beans, nothing like cooked oatmeal.
8. Give the fungus a heat source at about 25°C or 78°F. An electric blanket that has at least 4 settings may work when set on the lowest setting. Some people use electric seed-starter warming mats or mats designed to keep pet reptiles warm. Provide some insulation. I do this by keeping it in a small drawer. Try to keep the temp between 80°F and 60°F or 16°C. At lower temps it will grow more slowly. Too hot and it will die of the heat. Too cold and condensation can invite other organisms you don't want, especially if it is much lower than 55°F or 12°C.
9. Wait about 30 hours. The fungus mycelium should begin to grow through and around. Eventually it will be fluffy and white and hold the beans together like a cake. You can harvest as soon as you like or let it grow more.
10. Cook again. The most popular way to cook tempeh is to fry it but I love it boiled or braised. If the fluffy the texture offends you, you can tamp it to condense it. The tempeh you can buy in the store has been vacuum packed.