Keith Wong
Chemical engineer and fermentation hobbyist with a background in wastewater, drinking water, and solid waste management. Keith enjoys natto and anything koji-related.
Posts by Keith Wong
Industrial computers (PLCs) for koji, natto, etc.
From time to time, I’ll hear about someone putting together an incubation room for growing koji. By now, most folks have realized that importing Japanese equipment is either too costl...
In industry, Aug 30, 2023
I wrote a book on Natto
It was fun to write. Here are a few thoughts on natto, writing, and academia…
In industry, Apr 11, 2023
Quorn™: a story about Single Cell Protein
What if you could make food out of just basic chemicals and microbes? At a first glance, this seems like a great idea since microrganisms grow quickly, are thermodynamically efficient...
In industry, Jan 14, 2022
Design of the koji room (koji-muro)
I hope this post will provide a bit of guidance to anyone trying to build a koji room (also known as the koji muro or sei-kiku shitsu), especially as they scale up to the 50-1500kg/ba...
In koji, Sep 07, 2021
Flavourzyme: a purified enzyme mixture from A. oryzae
Flavourzyme™️ is a trademark name given to a mixture of refined proteolytic enzymes branded by Danish biotech company Novozymes A/S. It’s produced by the submerged fermentation of our...
In food, Jun 04, 2021
The koji making process: temperature, mycelium, and moisture
Koji generates a considerable amount of heat as it grows - if you’ve ever made koji at home, it’s almost unsettling to feel the warmth of a koji cake. Controlling that heat, along wit...
In koji, Dec 16, 2020
Temperature, water content, and polishing effects on koji
I always wondered if researchers had played around with koji growing parameters - turns out they have, and with a great level of detail in numerous studies. This post will be the firs...
In koji, Oct 10, 2020
How koji is produced on industrial scales
This post will provide a list of commercial and industrial koji fermentation equipment. It is by no means complete - I will update the list as I discover new equipment. A glossary of ...
In koji, scale-up, Jul 26, 2020