Down the AO rabbit hole...

In this fast paced world many don’t stop and consider all that goes on behind their food. As long as its fast, satisfying, and for most... cheap. Of course we owe a bit of food knowledge resurgence to the “foodies” that have brought their love of food and plastered it across the internet for all to see. I could claim I was into food porn way before it got popular when you still were spitting up gerber, but I wont... Although I kinda just did. Either way were all here and happy to get to the good stuff.

About two years ago I got introduced to AO. I believe I was watching an episode of The Mind of a Chef which is such a fantastic show if you like cooking shows. I wouldn’t even call it a cooking show. It is a show about food and the culinary world with a breath of fresh air away from the chef egocentric garbage of the reality show trash. Pardon my horrible writing but I guess you can tell my distaste from that sentence. I do want to mention if you do like The Mind of a Chef then you should look into the food journal The Lucky Peach. While it is no longer produced it is worth hunting down. Ok, back on track. David Chang is one Chef that has been experimenting with AO and using it in non traditional methods. No wait! David Chang did a MAD presentation about it! Ok just want to correct erroneous speech... So what is AO and why should you care?

Aspergillis Oryzae a.k.a KOJI

Many have probably seen the word "koji" applied in restaurant names. I recently saw it used as the name of a product that made plastic kitchen items. Don’t really understand that one. What many don’t know about koji is its function to create many products we are familiar with. We know Sake as rice wine. Soy sauce as fermented soy bean by product. Miso is a funny one because I come across people that think Miso means Miso Soup. Those that know Miso know it as a fermented bean paste. None of those products would be what they are without koji. Interestingly enough there is a different strain that is used to produce Citric Acid.

So what exactly is koji? It is a mold. It is cultured on rice, wheat, soy beans, etc. This lovely aggressive white mold gets good and fuzzy on its substrate breaking down starches and producing enzymes before it turns a shade of green and gives off its spores for another life. It is what allows rice to be converted to sugar for fermentation. The enzymes it produces are responsible for the fermentation of soy sauce and miso. These enzymes are the ones that give you that umami taste we enjoy so much.

While Koji was domesticated centuries ago and has been used to produce a wide array of things up until now there are many new avenues opening up. For the past few years chefs, really any interested party, have been experimenting with it in different ferments, aging steak, curing meats etc. The enzymes not only enhances flavor but also tenderizes. Applied to beef it can give the taste of a dry aged steak in a matter of 7 days, not 30+. Nordic Food Lab tested many batches of mixed koji grains & legumes in brine and had one come out reminiscent of Foie Gras. Truly amazing things are being found out in koji applications.

I personally have delved into what Jeremy Umansky, a chef that spear heads the koji movement, has dubbed “down the rabbit hole” with koji. My favorite is what is known as Shio Koji. A blend of koji rice, salt, and water. The liquid has replaced salt in almost anything I make. It has such a wonderful savory flavor not to mention it lowers my sodium intake. Koji’s effect on different grains brings out different flavors so it broadens the possibilities even further depending on what you use.

There you have it, a cliff notes to AO a.k.a. Koji. I wanted to do a quick post to try and keep the ball rolling on this blog. With everything I have going on it has been very hard to sit down and share with the world some of my thoughts. More to come. Until next time.