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Building a bioreactor, part 1: Introduction
Let’s jump right into what even is a bioreactor. My friend Luiggi said it best: an example of a bioreactor is your sourdough starter. It’s full of microbes, you keep it protected from...
In bioreactor-project, Sep 18, 2020
little mold hyphae everywhere
Though not the traditional way to propagate, you can use submerged or liquid cultures to grow molds and fungi. This has been a recent change in mushroom propogation too: more and more...
In Sep 09, 2020
Fermenting seaweed to taste like anchovies: Part 1
As part of the plant-based anchovy project, my work partner, Stephanie, and I have been experimenting with seaweed to match the flavours of canned anchovies. Different seaweed species...
In anchovy project, Sep 03, 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
tempeh.io
The core piece in my incubator is the Inkbird temperature controller. It’s a very simple device: a thermometer measures the temperature of the incubator (or substrate), and when a pre...
In data-science, Jun 30, 2020
Microbe miso (yeast & algae)
Miso is made up of [source of protein & carbs] + koji + salt. Traditionally, that [source of protein & carbs] is soybean, but modern misos use chickpeas, beans, mushrooms, or ...
In koji, Jun 09, 2020
Time-lapse of quinoa tempeh burgers
I recently got my hands on some Rhizopus Oryzae spores from mycoboutique.com. Traditionally, R. oryzae has been used to make tempeh. I’ve been making soy tempeh at home, which has bee...
In tempeh, Jun 06, 2020
Measuring cell density using a Secchi stick (and lots of math)
In liquid-state fermentation, like yeast, bacteria or algae cultures, one of the most important metrics is cell density, that is, how many cells there are per mL. This metric gives y...
In data-science, May 24, 2020
Algae as a plant-based anchovy flavour - success!
Last week, I started my experiments on a plant-based anchovy. I mentioned that algae was a possible interesting flavourant to add a “fishy” flavour. I have been culturing some algae (...
In anchovy project, May 14, 2020
The start of a plant-based anchovy
A long term goal of mine is to create a plant-based canned anchovy substitute. My market research has shown me that everyone is asking for this! Kidding, of course. The anchovy market...
In anchovy project, May 07, 2020