Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of Mold-Based Fermentation (Soy Sauce, Miso, Sake, Mirin, Amazake, Charcuterie) - Hardcover

Umansky, Jeremy; Shih, Rich

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 160358868X ISBN 13: 9781603588683

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2020

Synopsis

Techniques and Recipes for Transforming Vegetables, Meat, Dairy, and More

Koji Alchemy is devoted to processes, concepts, and recipes for fermenting and culturing foods with koji, the microbe behind the delicious, umami flavors of soy sauce, miso, mirin, and so much more. Not only that, authors Umansky and Shih take this magical ingredient to the next level, using it to rapidly age charcuterie, cheese, and other ferments, revolutionizing the creation of fermented foods and their flavor profiles for both chefs and home cooks. Koji Alchemy guides readers through the history, versatility, and a multitude of applications. Readers will learn how to grow koji, including information on equipment and setting up your kitchen, as well as detailed concepts and processes for making amino sauces and pastes, alcohol and vinegar, and using it for flavor enhancement with dairy, eggs, vegetables, and baking. With the help of friends offering a depth and breadth of tips and expertise, Koji Alchemy is a comprehensive look at modern koji use around the world.

About this title

About the Author:

Jeremy Umansky, along with Allie La Valle-Umansky and Kenny Scott, is a chef/owner of Larder: A Curated Delicatessen & Bakery in Cleveland, Ohio, a from-scratch Eastern European deli focusing on the use and promotion of local and wild foods that was nominated by the James Beard Foundation as the Best New Restaurant in America in 2019. Umansky is as a foremost expert on koji and fermented, preserved, and foraged foods and works as a consultant on the use and creation of these foods and ingredients. 

Articles written by and about Umansky’s work have appeared in Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, and Saveur, among other outlets.

Rich Shih is one of the leading culinary explorers of koji and miso in the United States and an in-demand food preservation consultant, helping chefs to build their larders and leverage fermentation to decrease waste, and offering ideas with which to experiment. Shih offers both public and private workshops across the United States to share koji knowledge. In addition to working with koji and fermentation, Shih is the Exhibit Engineer for the Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) based in New York City. His blog, OurCookQuest, provides a welcome environment for cooks of all experience levels to learn, share knowledge, and exchange ideas.

Sandor Ellix Katz is a fermentation revivalist. A self-taught experimentalist who lives in rural Tennessee, his explorations in fermentation developed out of overlapping interests in cooking, nutrition, and gardening. This book, originally published in 2003, along with his The Art of Fermentation (2012) and the hundreds of fermentation workshops he has taught around the world, have helped to catalyze a broad revival of the fermentation arts. Newsweek called Wild Fermentation "the fermenting Bible," and The New York Times calls Sandor “one of the unlikely rock stars of the American food scene.” For more information, check out his website www.wildfermentation.com. 

About this edition

• Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing
• Publication date: 2020
• ISBN 10: 160358868X
• ISBN 13: 9781603588683
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352