FERMENTATION SHOWCOOKING: The Art of Fermentation: Koji, Garum, Miso, and Enzymatic Brines

In this cooking demonstration hosted at the Basque Culinary Center and featuring culinary instructors Txema Urda and Jorge Bustamante, we’ll explore how to ferment safely and with purpose. 👉 The goal is for you to understand the “why” behind each step so you can design your own fermentation processes with technical expertise. We start with the basics: selective environments (pH, salt, humidity, and temperature) and their impact on food safety. Then we dive into koji (Aspergillus oryzae): inoculation in rice/barley, mycelium, autolysis, and the release of enzymes (amylases and proteases) to generate sweetness and umami. In the fermentation showcooking, we apply these principles to real-world preparations: 👉 Miso, shoyu, and aminos (liquid/solid) with salt ranges of 8–14%. 👉 Modern garum (fish, meat, and seaweed), understanding how enzymes accelerate and refine flavors. 👉 Shio-koji / enzymatic brine for charcuterie (chicken and pork): protein tenderization, flavor development, and microbiological control. 👉 Sample dishes: enzymatic pastrami with bread miso mayonnaise, sautéed seasonal mushrooms with amanita amino and nori garum on a base of barley/malted molasses sauce. 👉 Key points: minimum 2% salt in lactic fermentations; for enzymatic acceleration, work at around 40–45 °C, avoiding browning. You can view all the culinary training programs offered at the Basque Culinary Center via the following links: 👉 Master's Programs: https://www.bculinary.com/en/masters 👉 Specialization Courses: https://www.bculinary.com/en/formacio... Online courses and other programs: https://www.bculinary.com/en/cursos-o... #showcooking #Fermentation #Koji #Miso #Shoyu #Garum #Umami #Enzymes #ShioKoji #FoodSafety #CuttingEdgeCuisine #EducationalCooking #BasqueCulinaryCenter #CookingTraining