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making tempeh!

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posted 4 years ago

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I've been trying to document my tempeh making in case anyone else is interested in making some...tasty and nutritious food!

I'm using organic soybeans here but the possibilities are limitless as many kinds of organic beans and grains will work, even bits of vegetables and herbs, nuts and seeds.

Do not use corn or coconut as explained here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongkrek_acid?fbclid=IwAR33hcprVe1O-pxAAQ_P_aD6fI3y2jN3OXEKYd-xubCXQBhniS1h3_97UYY ...we all can do our research and use trusted ingredients and starters.

I belong to an international group that has expanded my view of this food tremendously.

I buy tempeh starter from the Farm, The Tempeh Lab because it's as local as I can get here in the USA....there are many sources available in many countries.

I'm just going to give a brief description and then if someone wants I'll go into more detail...there are instructions that come with the starter and each is particular to that company's starter.

For us the biggest game changer was using our old Corona mill to split the beans....before that we soaked overnight and then squished forever to remove the hulls and try to split all of the beans.

...there are a few more pictures and info in this thread https://permies.com/t/18632/kitchen/Tempeh-Koji-Miso-Making#1102525

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grain mill with burrs set to crack soybeans

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hulls on right after swooshing the split beans in water to separate

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beans brought to a simmer with foam, including more hulls

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after foam is removed...boil for 30 minutes

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cooling to just under 100F before stirring in 2Tbs vinegar, then stirring in starter

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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posted 4 years ago

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I use our toaster oven as an incubator. I don't turn it on, just use pans of hot water to warm it...depending on the house temperature I reheat the pan of water once or twice until the tempeh itself is producing heat. At that point it's important to watch that it doesn't get too hot and adjust accordingly...pulling out the towel insulation and water, flipping the cake and even over the summer cracking the door to the oven.

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at less that twenty hours I flip the cake...this is the top

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done...there should be nice white mycelium between all of the beans

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cut in squares for twenty minutes steaming

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a different batch...a little sporulation is fine as long as the smell is good

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Mk Neal

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posted 4 years ago

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Thanks for posting this! I love tempeh and making my own is on my to-do list.

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Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 4 years ago

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Mk Neal wrote:Thanks for posting this! I love tempeh and making my own is on my to-do list.

Mk, you are welcome!
If you've only had store bought you are in for a real treat...homemade is even better.

There are a lot of ways a batch can go wrong.....too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry, not mixed well, not enough hulls removed and beans split, bad starter,....and all easy to avoid with a thermometer, a practice run with the 'incubator', towel drying, covering to prevent moisture loss, stir, stir, stir in the starter, crack the beans in a grinder.....and buy starter from a reliable source.

Looking forward to hearing about your experience....

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Burl Smith

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Location: Richwood, West Virginia

posted 4 years ago

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Thanks for the grain mill tip :thumbup: Is this a cup of beans or a pound in the first pic?

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Judith Browning

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Burl Smith wrote:Thanks for the grain mill tip Is this a cup of beans or a pound in the first pic?

I use 2 1/2 cups of beans for the batch but in that photo it might be just a cup or so in the grinder. Two and a half cups (I think that is a pound?) is what the Tempeh Lab recipe calls for although their starter is so active, I'm only using 1/2 tsp instead of the whole tsp they recommend (I asked about this and was told that it loses potency with age, so I'm watching for that...so far so good. I keep it in the freezer) and sometimes I approach three cups dry beans because by the time I've dehulled I feel like I've lost some of the original measurement?

To split them in the corona I have to open the burrs to the limit...and the beans split and bust into chunks that all seem to work well. What we don't want is flour or meal.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Burl Smith

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Location: Richwood, West Virginia

posted 4 years ago

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Judith Browning wrote:
What we don't want is flour or meal.

Hmm...I see the starter comes mixed with rice flour, perhaps I'll try making a batch with brown rice flour to discover why we don't want it

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Burl Smith

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Location: Richwood, West Virginia

posted 4 years ago

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Wow! The taste is reminiscent of cheese! Something the lactose intolerant could enjoy.

I floured rice in a processor then double-boilered it, course I couldn't pat it dry and it took twice as long to firm up but now I have starter drying and I've been adding this 'cheese' to my soup for days and I've got a bag full in the fridge and another batch on the way. Awesome addition to my diet, thank you very much!

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Judith Browning

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posted 4 years ago

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Burl Smith wrote:Wow! The taste is reminiscent of cheese! Something the lactose intolerant could enjoy.

I floured rice in a processor then double-boilered it, course I couldn't pat it dry and it took twice as long to firm up but now I have starter drying and I've been adding this 'cheese' to my soup for days and I've got a bag full in the fridge and another batch on the way. Awesome addition to my diet, thank you very much!

I'm wondering at the cheese flavor rather than mushroom.
Was this using the Tempeh Labs starter, Rhizopus oligosporus ?
Did you get a solid white sliceable cake?
What you have dried for future starter was allowed to turn black with sporulation?

...would love to see some photos.

There are those who make tempeh with okara, the pulp left from making tofu, and have some challenges fermenting it as the beans are in small pieces and don't have the air space that allow the mycelium to form in and around the beans.

I haven't heard of any other successes with flour or meal of any sort though...interesting that you tried that first

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Burl Smith

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Location: Richwood, West Virginia

posted 4 years ago

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I used the Ragi Tempeh starter:

It arrived as a white powder, but no, there was only a little darkening visible when I smeared it onto cardboard and placed it in the oven to dry over the pilot light (@ 80 F)

The second batch of rice I didn't grind and I squeezed out some moisture thru a cloth before adding vinegar and starter so maybe that will be different.

I'll give you a picture of the 'Cheese Substitute ' on Rubino's Pizza tonight (altho Wheaton's Fry Bread Recipe makes a better crust in my opinion)

Litter As An Edible Forest

Burl Smith

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Location: Richwood, West Virginia

posted 4 years ago

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Rubino's pizza topped with home-grown ingredients including 'Tempeh Cheese'

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Anita Martin

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posted 4 years ago

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Very interesting thread! I guess I should try tempeh and see if I (and family) like it.

By coincidence I had an article in my FB feed on making your own Tempeh.
There are online shops who sell Tempeh, starter for Tempeh, Seitan, Sake etc.

Apparently there is an organic soybean grower here in Bavaria, and one of the linked shops is located in Germany, the other one imports from Indonesia.

The article says it can be a bit tricky to cultivate your own starter but I guess you just have to be cautious and also have some experience.

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. (E.E.Hale)

Judith Browning

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The article says it can be a bit tricky to cultivate your own starter but I guess you just have to be cautious and also have some experience.

That is what I understand...To make ones own starter use the most perfect batch of tempeh and allow it to sporulate, turn almost black with spores, then slice very thin and dry at a low temperature. Once dried it is ground and mixed with a fine rice flour.

I've read a lot about it and never tried to make as the really good starters are fairly inexpensive and reliable.

The sporulation happens sometimes at the end with nice ripe tempeh but much past there will be an ammonia smell and taste that most of us do not like.

For edible tempeh, I like letting the beans go until the cake is solid white with a faint bit of black on the edges as that is when the mushroom flavor of good tempeh really comes through.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 4 years ago

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very interesting thread! I guess I should try tempeh and see if I (and family) like it.

By coincidence I had an article in my FB feed on making your own Tempeh.
There are online shops who sell Tempeh, starter for Tempeh, Seitan, Sake etc.

Anita, If you can, try to find some fresh tempeh to buy...the plastic packaged tempeh most stores sell has been pasturized to death and does not have the good flavor of fresh and homemade. I had only tried tempeh once and was not impressed until I started making my own.

If you are already on fb there is a wonderful international group that is all about making it and have professionals to beginners in the conversations....lots of help available there.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/551020808568378

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Burl Smith

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Location: Richwood, West Virginia

posted 4 years ago

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Mushroom flavor does well with pizza; I'm intrigued. My next attempt will be with beans

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Anita Martin

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Judith Browning wrote:
Anita, If you can, try to find some fresh tempeh to buy...the plastic packaged tempeh most stores sell has been pasturized to death and does not have the good flavor of fresh and homemade. I had only tried tempeh once and was not impressed until I started making my own.

If you are already on fb there is a wonderful international group that is all about making it and have professionals to beginners in the conversations....lots of help available there.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/551020808568378

Thanks, will keep that in mind!

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do. (E.E.Hale)

Judith Browning

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Burl Smith wrote:Mushroom flavor does well with pizza; I'm intrigued. My next attempt will be with beans

I like your enthusiasm!
I've heard of using many different kinds of beans either separately or a mix.

There is an on going discussion on whether to hull and split them or not. Most traditionalists and those who market tempeh remove hulls and split or 'chunk' the beans in some way. Others are experimenting with whole beans.
I like to split them and remove the hulls as I like the results when done that way and have understood that the hulls can prevent the mycelium from easily entering the beans and only makes a 'covering' with the beans often left untouched.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Alder Burns

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I've been making tempeh frequently for many years (maybe around 1986!?) I've basically followed the directions in the old "Book of Tempeh" from the '70's and pretty similar to what you do. Usually I just trample on the soaked, briefly cooked beans in a bucket barefoot to separate the hulls and break the beans in half, and then slurry them off with repeated rinsings. I often pre-ferment mine then, in a pot with water to cover and set somewhere warm for 24-48 hours more....sometimes I add a bit of kefir, homemade wine, or sauerkraut juice to this as s starter. This prefermentation naturally acidifies the stuff so you don't need to add vinegar, and it can improve it's nutrition also. Then I boil this up for 45m to an hour and proceed as you show. For an incubator I have small brooder heater in a cardboard box with some racks rigged over it....this has the advantage of a thermostat so I can basically set it and leave it till I think to check it. I have done pots of hot water in coolers and ovens and moving tempeh closer and further from woodstoves and things like that too. Been getting my starter from temephstarter.com direct from Indonesia...prices are good and several kinds available, but I also do my own starter and usually get several generations before it begins to degrade. Lately been playing with making it out of fava beans, since these grow easier in my climate....

Judith Browning

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Alder, I'm glad to hear your experiences with tempeh.
I'm getting my starter from the Tempeh Lab at the Farm. It seems good and the price for bulk economical and I like it's origins.

For a long time we soaked the beans and squished by hand to split and remove the hulls...your feet in a bucket method never crossed my mind.
I'm not telling my guy or he will want to try that.
I'm happy with using the corona grain mill myself

I've heard about soaking the beans to acidify, a lacto ferment I guess? Have sometimes inadvertently left for a couple days on the counter and have some bubbles...have not tried leaving out the vinegar though. We have been eating it so often I hate to experiment with a batch. Will have to try some larger batches or make it three times a week with one as the try something new batch. I've been stuck in cracked soybean mode and haven't even done black beans recently although a while back I added some soaked sunflower seeds.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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posted 2 years ago

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Back in business...had a short few months lull where I had neither starter nor beans...we missed our fresh tempeh

The tempehlab https://tempehlab.com/the-tempeh-lab-summertown-tn/tempeh-lab-starters/ at the farm has wonderful robust starter for an economical price and Azure
https://www.azurestandard.com/ had the organic soybeans in bulk...they have gotten expensive but even so it's an economical healthy food.

And I am 'acidifying' the beans deliberately now and skipping the vinegar and it's coming out great.

I've heard about soaking the beans to acidify, a lacto ferment I guess? Have sometimes inadvertently left for a couple days on the counter and have some bubbles...have not tried leaving out the vinegar though. We have been eating it so often I hate to experiment with a batch.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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posted 1 year ago

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Each time I buy a new batch of starter it seems like it has it's own particular quirks.
Nothing drastic but it keeps me on my toes.
This is the fourth batch from this particular starter and it came out perfect!
The others were fine but tended to heat up quickly so that it was the middle of the night when I needed to remove some of the towel insulation.
Now I've learned by incubating by 7am I can remove towels early evening even though in the past that cools it down too much...flip the next morning at 4am and a perfect cake of tempeh at 1pm. 30 hours exactly

The gray is sporulation....it's good! And it is where the best flavor comes through.
Too much past a nice marbled gray though and an ammonia smell begins...caught early, no problem...left too long and it's inedible.

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"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Judith Browning

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posted 3 months ago

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Summertime tempeh!!!
I always start early no matter what time of year so the soaked split beans are drained and ready to start cooking at 5am...I let them simmer for almost 2 hours before draining and cooling to inoculate.
Different than wintertime tempeh where I'm adjusting things to keep it warm enough, summertime, once it starts putting out it's own heat, I need to remove some of the towels I use to insulate and sometimes open the door to the incubator.

No ac here so I'm running the whole house fan to pull in a little cooler overnight air.

This morning coincided with my weekly yogurt making so that is cooling almost ready to inoculate.

We only use organic non gmo soybeans for tempeh (from Azure) and have been able to get the starter from The Farm in Tennessee reliably for a whilenow...it's a really economical, tasty protein source.

anyone else making tempeh?

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Benjamin Dinkel

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posted 2 months ago

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I’m making tempeh off and on.
I have a bag (1 lb) of raghi tempeh starter from Indonesia in the freezer.
In Germany I could get split soy beans and dehulling was super easy.
Here in spain they’re not cracked so I have to massage them after cooking. My hands react to the raw-ish soy beans, so I have to wear gloves. A little bit too much work for my taste at the moment.
Incubation I do in flat glass trays in a styrofoam box with a seedling heat mat and a thermostat. Around 24h and the tempeh is well grown and not yet black.
Now that I have a banana plant I also experiment with tempeh wrapped in banana leaves.

What’s your favorite way to eat the tempeh?

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Judith Browning

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Location: Ozarks zone 7 alluvial, clay/loam with few rocks 50" yearly rain

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posted 2 months ago

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Benjamin,
The biggest advance in our tempeh making was realizing we could use the corona grain mill to crack the dry beans...I've found I like them in even smaller pieces than split...chunks, I guess? Even then I soak and then cook for 1-2 hours.

We used to crush by hand after soaking all night and it took for ever...the mill makes 8t easier to do a batch a week.

I just took this batch out at 32 hours...I've been trying for just enough sporulation for more flavor as some recommend...I think starters are different though and some instructions say let it get just barely grey around the edges, some pure white...The Farm instructions say 'marbled' with gray.

Favorite way to cook is sauteed...browned on both sides in rice bran oil lately then served with sauerkraut or pickles or cubed up in a salad or with rice.

I sometimes have cooked cabbage for breakfast with a piece laid on top to steam along with.

I've intended to try some marinades one day.

how do you prepare it to eat?
I could use more ideas...we love the flavor.

...and banana leaves! that's great!
I've considered different leaves here but the only ones large enough is burdock.

"We're all just walking each other home." -Ram Dass
"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

Benjamin Dinkel

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posted 2 months ago

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Thanks for the long and fast reply Judith.

I’ve been looking for a corona mill for a while. There seem to be a couple of models, some working better than others. So I haven’t decided yet. Any tips?
Sounds like that’s what I need to pick up soon.

I like the tempeh fried in oil and salted on top of currys or on a sandwich. Or marinated and baked in the oven.

When I was still in Germany I tried burdocks leaves. It was bad. Because they’re hairy they completely stuck to the tempeh, so I can’t recommend them.

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Judith Browning

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thanks for the heads up about burdock leaves!
I use a large pyrex/glass baking dish and cover with foil with holes poked every inch...I have to flip once when it is solid enough and heating up...

here's a link to a good thread about corona mills...we bought ours mid seventies and have recently replaced plates as they had worn almost smooth.
I don't know if the quality of the mill is the same as back then? https://permies.com/t/63467/Corona-Corn-Mill-grain-mill
We only crack soft wheat and bulgur now and the soybeans...we're not using much flour anymore.

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"Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder."-Rumi
"It's all one song!" -Neil Young

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