Cultures for Health Tempeh Starter Culture | 4 Packets Starter Spores for DIY Plant Based Meat | Gluten Free, Non-GMO Indonesian Food | Make Meatless Bacon, Vegan Nuggets, & More High Protein Snacks

These were absolutely delightful. I was surprised by the spores that were in the packets. I made a tempeh with mung beans, rice vinegar, wakame & this starter wrapped in banana leaves. It tasted like a mix of porcini, chanterelle & portobello mushrooms once air fried, or roasted. I'm a little upset that I didn't have ikura, or truffles on hand to go with it. Would definitely purchase again. One caveat about this is that the directions stated that the fermentation process takes 72 hours. Would allow for more time in temperate environments (between 60-80F with no relative humidity) since it took between a week & a half to 2 weeks for the tempeh to ferment.

I was so pleased that my first attempt at making tempeh was successful. My end product was deliciously nutty and had a complex umami flavor I've never experienced in the store bought kind.I followed the included directions exactly, with a few minor adjustments based on recommendations of Sandor Katz:1. I found the de-hulling part a bit daunting at first. The Cultures for Health instructions recommend de-hulling by hand by massaging the soaked soybeans in a bowl of water and scooping out/straining the hulls that float to the top. I found that when I did this, I was left with a mushy mess, with not many floating hulls and many still attached to even the broken apart beans. While it did help to break the beans up, I found that simply boiling them and then skimming off the foam that contained the hulls was much easier.2. I also used raw organic apple cider vinegar instead of distilled white vinegar.For incubation, I placed a seedling heat mat on top of a cookie rack, placed that in a plastic container, put the tempeh on top of the heating pad, and closed the lid. I wrapped the plastic container in towels for extra insulation. My temperature did fluctuate a bit (sometimes dropping to 82 degrees and sometimes going up to 92-93), but I had mycelium growing by the 24 hour mark. At this time, I placed the heating pad next to the tempeh, rather than on top of it, because I noticed that the area touching the heating pad was too hot and was not growing any fungus. At the 32 hour mark, I removed the heating pad from the container completely. My tempeh was done after 40 hours.Another note: my tempeh had a really strong stinky mushroom/ammonia smell when I first removed it from the incubator. I was worried it was bad. After wrapping it in plastic and placing it in the fridge in the morning, I came home from work 9 hours later to find that it had a pleasant white mushroom/yeasty smell. After panicking and researching, the consensus was to trust your nose. Not sure why it was so pungent at first, but it was not an indication that the tempeh was bad.Also, the seller was great. My first package arrived with a damaged packet of culture, and they quickly sent me a replacement free of charge. Will definitely be buying from them again.

So I didnt have soybeans. But I found Garbanzo beans. Used the same recipe that came with the packets. I used Rice vinegar by the way. Just let it sit in the oven with the light on and it was done in 36 hours.So I sliced this stuff, and boiled it in chicken stock. Strained it and let the moisture steam off. Once dry I fried in Avacado oil. 5 min each side.O.....my.....HEAVENS. Even my 7 year old ate this stuff. Zero funk or bitterness. No wonder the eat the crap out of this stuff in Indonesia. I just bought Tempeh by the way at Trader joes and it was horrific and bitter. Anything I cooked it in took on a weird funk. Not this stuff. Was pure heaven. Deep fried goodness.Edit:: Here is some Pinto Bean Tempeh, Like I said wish I had some non GMO soy but if you follow the recipe given, this stuff likes to colonize alot of different things. Just add rice for a complete protein and you are golden.And another photo has some black beans. This stuff works on anything. Just follow the directions.

The instructions reminded me of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (DON"T PANIC in large friendly letters) as the first thing highlighted is "You can do this". Following the simple instructions would seem to be paramount (for example, making sure the beans are dry to the touch before mixing in vinegar and starter).I used a glass oven dish as my container, set it directly on a heating mat that would normally be used for starting garden seeds, set the mat's temperature probe outside the dish but next to the glass, set thermostat up around 91-93 degrees, laid a doubled up bath towel over all this. I came up with the right temp setting on the plant mat by checking the beans regularly with a kitchen thermometer (so your results may vary!). The following morning the bean mass was self-heating (much higher than the plant mat was set for) and had good growth so I was able to turn the plant mat off.Next time this will all be easier as I'll know the right plant mat settings and won't need to check the tempeh temperature as often.As an aside, I've had soy bean tempeh from a commercial source, but I was interested in something a bit different. I used chickpeas (garbanzos) on my first attempt as I expect I will like the flavor and texture better. Another 24 hours or so will tell that tale.