Jeremy Umansky - Koji Alchemy

They say a gram of koji contains millions of spores. Shih and Umansky equal that with insights, bringing scientific understanding to kojis magical powers of transformation (without spoiling any of the magic). Koji Alchemy is an immensely informative read.

DAN BARBER, chef/co-owner, Blue Hill and Blue Hill at Stone Barns; author of The Third Plate

I have always been intrigued by the technical and thoughtful fermentation practices of many cultures. Reading Koji Alchemy has opened my eyes to how simple working with koji can actually be, while remaining incredibly innovative and exciting. This book is not only full of information, its scientific, and most of all thrilling. Its a great reminder that we all have a lot to learn about the art of fermentation.

DANIEL BOULUD, chef and restaurateur, Daniel

Before this book, what Jeremy and Rich have done with food I wouldve thought impossible. As someone who has always had a deep love for the curing, brining, aging, and smoking of meat, I would have never thought these time-honored processes could be sped up without producing lesser results. Well, was I ever proven wrong. To take an ingredient like koji, which has been available and used for hundreds of years, and use it to speed up processes like pastrami and still maintain its integrity is truly astonishing. In Koji Alchemy, they show you what to me feels like magic, and guide you through every step so you can now make dishes at home or at your restaurants that would have previously taken not only lots of time but also space. They have opened my mind to kojis limitless uses and will do the same for you. Jeremy and Rich, thank you for always pushing culinary boundaries and reminding us all that there is something new to learn and be inspired by every day.

CHEF MICHAEL SYMON

Science is a very useful resource for understanding food, and, very importantly, it shows us how to make better food. This book succeeds in translating the language of science and its practical applications to everyday users. Exploiting and harnessing the effects that microorganisms have on food is a great tool that any cook can add to their repertoire, and Koji Alchemy will show you how. I hope Merriam-Webster adds the word kojify to the dictionary soon.

FRANCISCO MIGOYA, head chef, Modernist Cuisine

Koji Alchemy is the most in-depth study on the subject that Ive ever seen. As someone basically starting at zero, Im inspired to dig in and learn from the masters.

JEREMY FOX, author of On Vegetables

Rich and Jeremy have dedicated years to researching and experimenting with both traditional and utterly novel uses for koji. With Koji Alchemy, they open their notebooks to the rest of us, sharing their deep knowledge and infectious enthusiasm for this remarkable mold. This book, at once comprehensive and approachable, will prove invaluable to any curious cook looking to make more flavorful food, reduce kitchen waste, or experiment at the frontier of an exciting world of fermentation.

DAN SOUZA, editor-in-chief, Cooks Illustrated

Alchemist, chef, and master charcutier, Jeremy Umansky is the Albert Einstein of koji. Koji Alchemyhis book with Rich Shih, a first-rate koji exploreris fascinating, hunger-inducing, and the final word on the spore responsible for miso, soy sauce, sake, and so much more.

STEVEN RAICHLEN, host, PBSs Project Fire and Project Smoke

Like a magician revealing their tricks, Koji Alchemy has lifted the veil on the complex nature of some of the worlds most beloved foods. The authors brilliantly demystify the alchemy, giving the reader a straightforward view into the world of kojis secrets. Never before has a book broken down the building blocks of koji and its products so completely and in such a useful way in the kitchen.

KYLE CONNAUGHTON, chef and owner, SingleThread Farms

Rich and Jeremy have done an amazing job in creating an indispensable manual for both home cooks and pro chefs. Koji Alchemy offers a fresh set of transformative cooking fundamentals and a master class on fermentation.

RICK TRAMONTO, executive chef and vice president of culinary operations, Tramonto Cuisine Group

Its not every day that deeply passionate, creative, and collaborative people take on the demystification of a revered ingredient. But herein lies just that: a truly educational, comprehensive, and delicious exploration of one of the most versatile molds out there. So grateful for this book.

CORTNEY BURNS, chef; author of Nourish Me Home and coauthor of Bar Tartine

Koji Alchemy will make you want to immediately start experimenting. The fungus behind kojiAspergillus oryzaeis one of the top three most important transformative organisms in food, and this is the only book devoted to it. Shih and Umansky have put in years of intensive learning and testing of all aspects, both traditional and new, of this magical mold and have generously shared their insights and given us a roadmap to follow.

DAVE ARNOLD, author of Liquid Intelligence; Museum of Food and Drink

Koji Alchemy is ideally suited to this moment in food history when the nutritive and ecological benefits of fermentation as a means of processing food to greater edibility have become baldly apparent. This is a handbook explaining how the distinctive enzymatic effects of koji, a mold domesticated in Asia in deep antiquity, produce richer flavor (more than just umami), easier digestibility, and more beneficial interactions with gut microbes than other cooking agents. You learn how to grow it, apply it, and think about the possible interactions with different grains and starches. The authors explain how koji performs its transformations in all of the traditional Asian categories of fermented foodthe amino pastes, alcohols, meat cures, and picklesthen venture into transformations of eggs and dairy and western foodstuffs. More an invitation to work with koji to blaze creative paths in cooking than orders about how to ferment using Aspergillus oryzae, this book stresses the wonder of this funguss ability to give rise to subtle fragrances, comforting tastes, and a feeling of wholesome repleteness in food.

DAVID S. SHIELDS, Carolina Distinguished Professor, University of South Carolina; chair, Carolina Gold Rice Foundation

Koji Alchemy opens up a whole new world of endless gastronomic possibilities. Koji will be the next great wave for fermentation enthusiasts, and these authors are its heralds. I have watched from the sidelines with great anticipation and am now ready to dive in myself with this book as my guide.

KEN ALBALA, professor of history, University of the Pacific

In Koji Alchemy, Umansky and Shih have amassed and arranged kojis mystifying powers into an easily digestible reference for the whole world to use! Both seasoned veterans in the field of fermentation, they speak to enchanted newcomers and inquisitive professionals with the certain euphoria that Aspergillus oryzae has long-deserved. Koji Alchemy gives praise to past and present traditions, while bringing modern concepts forward. This book, like koji itself, will turn the confounding into commonplace, blandness into flavorsome, emboldening your appetite for more umami.