raptorsfan

Hi all. I'm still reading through and am inspired by The Noma Guide to Fermentation by David Zilber and Rene Redzepi. I'm interested in building the fermentation chamber using the instructions from the book for the larger model using the speed rack, and to use it to grow koji as well as all the different types of ferments listed. Have any of you built your own? I live close to a restaurant supply store so getting the small speed rack and cover won't be an issue. I've browsed through reddit and going with inkbird for the thermostat/humidistadt seems to be the way to go. However I've read many opinions on which heater and humidifier to purchase. Can anyone direct me to what to buy and for any additional information? Thanks for the time!

Thanks for the replies @kayb and @jmolinari. jmolinari, I think you're right here, thanks for the clarification. So this is what I have for the recipes I'm attempting. 1. Hazelnut Miso original - 1.8kg toasted hazelnut meal, 1.2kg fresh barley koji, 120g salt, 4 percent salt brine modified - 1.8kg toasted hazelnut meal, 600g dried barley koji, 96g salt, 4 percent salt brine 2. Coffee Shoyu original - 800g fresh barley koji, 200g leftover coffee grounds, 1kg water, 80g salt modified - 400g dried barley koji, 200g leftover coffee grounds, 1kg water, 64g salt 3. Roasted Chicken Wing Garum original - 1.6kg chicken stock, 2kg roasted chicken wings, 450g fresh barley koji, 480g salt modified - 1.6kg chicken stock, 2kg roasted chicken wings, 225g dried barley koji, 459g salt Does this sound right? I'll be preparing the ferments tomorrow. I also have one more question. The Roasted Chicken Wing Garum recipe references the Beef Garum recipe as a template. The Beef Garum recipe states that the garum can be fermented directly in the bowl of a rice cooker, assuming it has a capacity that's close to the total volume of the garum mixture. How important is this? The Roasted Chicken Wing Garum recipe only mentions fermenting in a container, which is to be placed inside the rice cooker. I was actually planning to scale down the recipe by one-third, because a 1 litre jar is the best I can fit inside my 8 quart electric pressure cooker (that has a keep warm setting for rice). The full recipe states to place everything inside a 3 litre vessel; will I be fine doing a full recipe and placing everything in an 8 quart bowl of my pressure cooker instead? Thanks again!

Hello all, first official post here. Hopefully we can all help keep this topic going, as I feel that "The Noma Guide to Fermentation" is quite groundbreaking and I'd love to learn more about fermentation from you guys. I have the same issue as @BadRabbit in trying to use dried product instead of fresh in the recipes. I purchased dried barley koji from gemcultures.com, which is a product imported from Japan, and wanted to use it specifically for 3 recipes: hazelnut miso, coffee shoyu, and roasted chicken wing garum. Some of the ingredients I had to purchase were quite expensive (especially the hazelnut meal) so I'm really hoping to do this right the first time. Interestingly enough, I sent a DM to David Zilber himself asking for advice in substituting dried barley koji for his recipes, and he actually got back to me, and replied, "Hey, use half its weight, and then adjust water (or brine accordingly)" So there you go, but I still don't understand what he means by adjusting the water or brine accordingly. Any thoughts on this? I tried asking him again for clarification but he hasn't responded since, and frankly he's a busy guy so I'm not going to keep pestering him. Does using half the weight in dried barley koji make sense? And what do you think he means by adjusting the water or brine? Thanks all!