Last evening I took the soaked rice and steamed it.
After cooling, I inoculated it with spores of aspergillus oryzae from Higuchi Shoten in Japan.
Then put it into the incubator.
This morning I took the containers out to check, break up clumps and mix in air.
This procedure happens every morning and evening for 2 days (48 hours) until done, and I have the next batch ready to go. The harvested koji will then be dried for later use.
I finally got the package of koji starter (tane koji) that I ordered three weeks ago.
I sent in the order to Gem Cultures (find under links in the menu) via email, and they replied very quickly with a cost proposal and Pay Pal info. Pay Pal was easy to use and seems very secure. They sent the package off immediately, but then it took about three weeks for the postal service to get the package to me. It could also be that the customs controls caused delay, but there were no signs of that.
All in all, I’m very pleased with the service and highly recommend Gem Cultures for ordering starters and cultures from probably anywhere in the world. I have used their koji starters for years and they are excellent.
Later I will order some starter from Japan to see how that goes.
timogarden 