Tempeh is an excellent source of protein and is really easy to produce in a home kitchen.
While most people think of soy tempeh, which I also make, my personal favourite is made with beluga lentils.This batch of lentils was sprouted before cooking to increase the bioavailability of the nutrients.
This tempeh has a great chewy texture and we love it air fried just as it is, no need to add any flavouring.
1/2
It's very forgiving of the growing conditions. This batch went through periods where the internal temperature varied between 5° and 38° C (it heats itslf). The very cold patch was when I was afraid it would get too hot overnight when I couldn't monitor it and I put it into a room with fridge like conditions. I just brought it out next morning and it gradually warmed up itself and kept growing.
2/2
Very satisfying production @wfpb@vegan #EllieKPosts#wholeFood#PlantBased#vegan#Veganuary2024
@EllieK
Thank you, very interesting.
I'm german. Would it be possible for you to write the recipe for the tempeh with Beluga-Lentils in simple words and how mutch lentils you take for it, how you do it ? So I can better translate it. 👃
I don't use an incubator, I start my tempeh in an oven with the oven light on. A thermometer of the kind used to monitor the internal temperature of such things as bread etc is useful as it helps gauge when to take it out of the heated environment and let it continue to heat on its own.
If you decide to try it, don't hesitate to ask if you have questions. Also @Leisureguy makes different tempehs as well and is very knowledgeable.
@EllieK@werawelt@Leisureguy hmm, I haven’t tasted or even heard of tempeh made from legumes other than soybeans but it makes total sense! Scared to ask how long the whole process takes 👀
@airfive@werawelt@Leisureguy
In the case of this batch of lentils, I'm trying to remember, as I became sick in the middle, and am a little vague on timing.
Tues afternoon it went into an oven preheated by lightbulb. Lightbulb left on.
Tues night I thought I would turn off the light and by Wed morning it was down to 21°. Light back on. As temp rose >36° I brought it into room temp.
Wed night... 1/2
2/2
...Wed night, temp above 37°, put into cold room. Temp 6° Thurs am. Warmed to room temp and it kept growing at room temp.
Thurs night it went into a cool room and Friday morning it was still nice and warm (~36°) and growing. . Friday late morning/ early afternoon, it was ready, so I steamed it.
The whole process took about 64 hours of fermenting.
Useful exercise, working out the times it took . But it will vary. It generates so much heat!
@airfive@werawelt@Leisureguy
I guess it would.
I find it only needs help to warm for a very few hours, though, so can't see it would be worth the expense, or worth the hassle of making one that needs to be stored somewhere in between.
When I discovered the oven light trick I didn't bother any longer with my home-made one (heating pad inside an insulated box, rack to hold it above the pad). Most heat sources would need a thermostat for this. @Leisureguy made one, pls share instructions LG
I agree an oven is a more convenient solution than an incubator. I made the incubator only because my apartment oven is too small and I had a string of failures after I moved in (which turned out to have nothing to do with the oven).
But now that I have the incubator, I like it, and I now use the oven for storage since I do my roasting in an air fryer.
I use the incubator only until the starter culture has taken hold, usually about 24 hours. Once things are going well, I remove the batch from the incubator and put it on a raised rack at room temperature. It generates enough heat to keep itself going (and very thick batches — 4-cup batches in the bags I use — can get a little too hot, with the result that there seemed to be a little sporing internally toward the center. See: https://leisureguy.ca/2023/09/21/purple-tempeh/
I think this was where the cold night helped to slow the process. The packs are thicker with the sprouted lentils, slowing it down by actually chilling it seemed to help keep it going longer.
Otherwise, it goes easily above 37° at times. Too hot is worse than too cold. https://www.tempeh.info/science/incubation-temperature.php
Egg incubators start at a setting of about 37°, I think, where this article suggests 32-34°.
It's worth reading this page. #tempeh
@EllieK@Leisureguy@werawelt I have regular oven so can use it instead of incubator then. Just need to get few things inc. the culture/ starter, bags, and a thermometer. If I understand it correctly, observing the temperature (of the room/ environment, not tempeh?) is critical.
@EllieK@Leisureguy@werawelt thanks, I will check out the resources you folks shared and reread this thread (bookmarked for future reference) but in terms of health and safety, what’s the most critical part in the process? Temperature and timing?
@airfive@Leisureguy@werawelt
It's not a risky process, as long as you practice the usual cleanliness of working in the kitchen.
In the early days I was a bit over cautious with temperature etc.
Don't over think it. Cook it as directed with the lactic acid (or Vinegar for some) , follow the directions with clean utensils etc and you should be fine.
That article implies that I should not be eating my fermented vegetables without first cooking them to kill the microbes in them — that is, to heat them enough to pasteurize them, which of course makes the fermented vegetables useless as probiotics.
I do cook my tempeh just as I cook other fungi, because from what I've read, it's inadvisable to eat fungi (mushrooms, the mycelium in tempeh) uncooked. But I ferment vegetables specifically for their probiotic value. I
@Leisureguy
That's interesting. I didn't apply that to sauerkraut and other fermented foods.
I also thought that it also was related to the fact that most tempeh tends to be soy. And even soy milk has to be cooked. @airfive@werawelt
Most of my tempeh is not soy, but it is all fungi (in part: the mycelium of Rhizopus oligosporus. I had seen this video a long while ago and more recently read an article about shiitake dermititus: https://youtu.be/HI76tB-5H3A
The article's sole focus was on the fact of fermentation and the presence of the living agents of fermentation. Nothing about soy, just "Don't eat fermented foods without cooking (to kill the probiotics)." Bad advice, I think.
@Leisureguy@airfive@werawelt
Thinking about sauerkrauts etc, the acid in them would make them quite safe, I'm sure.
You don't cook yoghurt, do you? That's a type of fermented food.
The acidic (and salty) environment of fermented vegetables does, I imagine, stave off harmful bacteria. However, the article does not mention this. The article simply comes out strongly against eating a food because the food is fermented. In the article's presentation, the problem is the fermentation.
In other words, I think the article is off-base and missing the point. The problem is NOT fermentation, since we routinely eat raw fermented foods.
@airfive@Leisureguy@werawelt
For bags I buy them from the supermarket ‐ the vegetable/ produce storage plastic large bags that are already pierced with tiny holes. They work perfectly. Same size as large freezer bags, but with tiny holes. And not so thick plastic. I reuse them, washing after each batch.
@EllieK@airfive@Leisureguy
Hello, these are great links and tips! I find it all very exciting. Making an incubator is also great.
I'm going to try it all out.
Unfortunately, these food bags are not available in Germany - I'll probably have to make holes with a needle...
I wish you all more great ideas for recipes and bon appétit! :awesome: #vegan#fermentieren#tempeh#inkubator
#vegan#fermentieren#tempeh#inkubator
That should work fine, making holes with a needle. That's what I did to start with. A very thick needle, like a darning needle, which was what I used. I looked at it as a therapeutic exercise. Ha ha
Add comment