Pumpkin Seed Sauce/Koji
After reading for quite some while about the topic, I startet my first try. I should have probably started with a classic experiment, but whatever. My goal is, to create a substitute for classic soy sauce out of pumpkin seeds. Where I come from there is a similar product on the market, so I know that it has to work somehow.
Anyway, what I did was I soaked ground pumpkin seeds (I only have those ground seeds available as a byproduct) and then steamed it. Yesterday afternoon I broke up the chunks as good as possible, mixed with Aspergillus oryzae spores and put in trays not even an inch high. My Incubator broke and since I ran out of time I let the trays sit at room temperature (24°C), covered with a wet cloth in an insulated container. I planned to fix my incubator today. However when I came today the temperature within the mix was already at 39°C, the air in the box at 29°C. I was really suprised how fast it started at this temperature.
It already has a very good smell and visible growth, not even 24 hours after start. I planned to let it incubate until spores build, however since I believe that I have a strain with white spores, I'm not sure how exactly I can distinguish mycelium from spores.
I plan on updating soon. Let me know what you think about the experiment. I am aware that the whole setup and ingredients is far from ideal, however I really like to find good use for byproducts.
The foto is from about 20 hours after inoculation and before mixing it up.