Soybean Utilization FAQ

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How to make tempeh at home We will enclose information on purchase of tempeh cultures, seleceted references, making a tempeh starter and making tempeh at home. Purchase of tempeh cultures Tempeh Gem Cultures 30301 Sherwood Road, Ft. Bragg, CA 95437 Phone 707 964 2922 Prices start at about five ($5) and increase according to quantities of tempeh to be made. 1. Preparation of Substrate In general, rice is used as a substrate. Most containers are suitable for preparing the substrate. The procedures using Fernbach flask and Mason jar are described as follows: In Fernbach Flask: Place 200 g of long grain white rice in an 2800 ml Fernbach flask. Add 80 ml of water to the flask and shake the flask immediately so that all the rice will come in contact with the water. Cover the flask with a cotton plug and let is set 1 hour at room temperature with occasional swirling. In Mason Jar: Place 1/4 cup of long grain white rice in a pint Mason jar. Add 2/3 oz (20 ml) water to the jar and shake the jar immediately to mix the rice and water. Cover the jar with a cotton cover made by placing layers of cotton between two layers of cheesecloth. Secure the cover by a rubber band or by replacing the metal ring (no lid). Let it set 1 hour at room temperature with occasional swirling. 2. Sterilization Use autoclave at 15 psi and 121EC for 15 minutes or a pressure cooker at 15 psi for 15 minutes. Remove the sterilized rice from the sterilizer and shake the flask or jar until the rice is broken loose or break up with a spatula, aseptically. Allow the rice to cool to room temperature. 3. Inoculation Make a spore suspension by aseptically adding a few ml of sterile water to an agar slant of Rhizopus oligosporus NRRL 2710. Use gentle mixing to loosen the spores. Add the spore suspension to the rice and mix well by shaking. 4. Incubation Incubate the containers at 30EC (86EF) for 45 days, at which time the rice will be covered with mycelia and black spores. The Mason jars

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Soybean Utilization FAQ

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should be incubated on their sides so as to gain maximum surface area. 5. Harvest Shake the flask or jar to break up the fermented mass so that they can be transferred to a sterile blender. Add enough sterile water to cover the mass and blend at high speed for just enough time (about 1/2 minute) to make a slurry. Transfer the slurry to sterile trays or bottles, freeze, and dry under vacuum (freeze-drying). Pass the dry material through a screen (1/16 inch) to separate spores from rice particles. If freeze-drying equipment is not available, blend the fermented mass in a sterile dry blender (do not add any water) for a short time. This material can be kept frozen to maintain the viability, but avoid repeatedly freezing and thawing. 6. Spore Dilution Make a spore count and dilute the spores with flour to make a starter that is convenient to handle, such as one teaspoon (2.3 g) per pound of dry beans. Because 1 x 107 spores is recommended to inoculate the amount of cooked beans obtained from 1 pound of dry beans, 1 teaspoon of starter should then contain 1 x 107 spores. Note: To prepare an agar slant, the mold (R. oligosporus NRRL 2710) was transferred to potato dextrose agar slant and incubated at 28EC for 7 days.It was then stored at 4-5EC. Preparation of Soy Tempeh Dehulled soybeans should be used (prepared by one of the three steps below) for preparing soy tempeh. Whole soybeans can be dehulled by soaking the beans and then removing the hulls by hand as described in Step 1a. Tempeh prepared from pre-soaked soybeans is somewhat beany in flavor. To avoid the development of beany off-flavor, the whole beans must be dropped directly into boiling water and cooked for 20 min before removing the hulls (Step 1b). However, dehulling of soybeans by mechanical means without pre-soaking or pre-cooking steps (Step 1c) is also desirable since no beany off-flavor develops in the process. 1a. Soybeans are washed and soaked overnight or for at least 8 hr in tap water. The seed coats of the soaked beans are removed by hand if a small amount is to be prepared. In doing so, the beans are split into two halves and the seed coats are discarded. Full-fat soybean grits, if available, are convenient to use. The grits are soaked only for 1/2 hour in tap water, and the seed coats can be floated off by excess water. 1b. Dehulled soybeans can also be prepared by dropping whole soybeans into boiling water followed by cooking for 20-25 min. This will inactivate the enzymes causing beany off-flavor and also hydrate the beans. Drain the blanch water and rinse the blanched beans. Remove the seed coats by hand. Since the beans are already cooked and hydrated, step 2 is omitted. 1c. Dry dehulled soybeans obtained by mechanical means 2. Heat processing of dehulled soybeans: In case of the hydrated beans from Step 1a, they are cooked for 15-20 min. In case of the hydrated beans from Step 1b, if the temperature of soybeans after

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removing the seed coats is too low, reheat the beans in boiling water. Dry dehulled soybeans from Step 1c are then boiled without pressure in excess water (35 times the weight of dry beans) for 30 min. 3. Drain and remove the cooked beans onto towels to drain off the excess water and to cool the beans, which are now swollen and soft, to about 37EC. 4. Sprinkle tempeh starter over the beans and mix thoroughly. The amount of starter required is given on the package of tempeh starter. Normally, one teaspoon of starter (containing about 1 x 107 spores) is recommended to inoculate the amount of cooked beans obtained from 1 pound of dry beans. 5. Pack the beans tightly into containers Suggested Containers: Shallow metal trays or shallow aluminum foil baking pans: The tray should not be more than 2.5 cm deep. The bottom of metal tray should be perforated with very tiny pin holes (0.6 mm) having a distance about 1 cm. The tray should be covered with plastic sheet such as Saran Wrap which is then perforated with very small needle. Plastic bags and tubes: Plastic bags with a size of 20 x 38 cm. and 13 x 21 cm and plastic tubing with a diameter of not more than 10 cm and any length desired are suitable to use. Bags and tubes must be perforated with holes at a distance of about 0.5 cm by a small needle. 6. Place the packed beans in an incubator at 31EC or at a warm place for about 2024 hours or until the container is filled completely with white mycelium and the entire contents can be lifted out as a whole piece. 7. Store in refrigerator, freeze, or dry. 8. To serve: The tempeh is sliced into thin slices about 1/2 cm or less in thickness, dipped into garlic salt water, and fried in a vegetable oil. The slices will become a golden brown color and are delicious when hot. One may want to add salt to suit ones taste and some like to add soya sauce or ketchup to the hot, crisp slices. Notes: a. The odor of the fermented product should be pleasant without the odor of ammonia. If this odor is present, then the fermentation has gone too long. b. Any other unpleasant odor indicates the development of undesirable bacteria because of excess moisture. c. The use of 0.85% lactic acid or 0.25% acetic acid as soaking water has been suggested to bring the pH of the beans to a range of 4.05.0. At this pH range, the growth of contaminating bacteria will be inhibited, but not that of the tempeh mold.

This information is provided by:

Karl E. Weingartner, Ph. D.

For more information about Dr. Weingartner, see the Soy Utilization Ask an Expert page.

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