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A new batch of tempeh is in my tempeh incubator, following my usual method. I had intended to use kodo millet (as I did in this earlier batch), but I found I had run out of kodo millet, so I substituted barnyard millet, still quite a good millet. Barnyard millet is a good source of iron, as shown in the video at that link.
I use unpolished millet (bran still present) because bran is not merely fiber but also a good source of fiber and minerals. Barnyard millet in particular is a good source of iron, as shown in the video at the link. Some content on the internet warns against eating millet because it hinders iodine uptake — but so do broccoli, kale, and cabbage. It is not a problem so long a you have an adequate amount of iodine in your diet — for example, from iodized salt, from seafood, or from eating a couple of sheets a nori a day. If you don’t get enough iodine in your diet, the problem is not eating millet, the problem is lack of adequate iodine. Make sure you eat foods that are healthful sources of iodine and don’t worry about millet (though I do recommend eating a good type of unpolished millet).
That earlier batch — soybean and unpolished kodo millet — used 2 cups soybeans and 1 cup kodo millet, measured before cooking (and then cooked separately). In this batch I used 1.5 cups of each.
As usual, I bagged the prepared legume+grain a large Ziploc Fresh Produce bag, since those are perfectly perforated for tempeh cultivation. Judging from past experience I can remove this from the incubator in 24 hours and let it continue on a raised rack at room temperature for another 48 hours, or 72 hours total.
I finally got around to adding “Tempeh” as a category, so you can do a category search and browse my tempeh posts.
Millet and Diabetes
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After 24 hours
After 24 hours, Rhizopus has clearly taken hold, so I removed the batch from the incubator to a raised rack on the table. By tomorrow the slab will be completely white and reasonably solid, but I will let the mycelium continue its growth for another 24 hours, for a total of 3 days.
Tempeh production at this point if fairly routine, with each step familiar through repetition and the step’s purpose understood. I continue to be well pleased with the use of large Ziploc Fresh Produce bags.
In the meantime, I’m just finishing the previous batch of soybean and rye tempeh.
75 Hours and Done
It went a little longer because I had to make a side trip to the hospital, where I got a pacemaker. Both I and this batch of tempeh turned out fine. The post at that link provides more detail on my pacemaker adventure.
I will say that this is a very fine-grained tempeh that cuts and cooks quite well. I’ll definitely repeat this combination, and I’m also thinking that a lentil-and-millet tempeh would be very interesting. Maybe I’ll do that next — perhaps use Black Beluga lentils, which are round like millet but black instead of tan.
I had some of this for dinner — diced small and sautéed the tempeh and some chopped asparagus in a little olive oil, then used that in a salad with a yellow bell pepper, 4 thick scallions, 3 sliced mushrooms, 1/4 head of red cabbage (shredded), an avocado, and 2 tablespoons of walnuts.
I used Hollyhock Salad Dressing I made from a recipe my mail carrier gave me — it’s this one. But I changed it some (of course). Here’s what I did:
• 3/4 cup Bragg’s nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup tamari
• 1/3 cup Bragg’s apple-cider vinegar
• 1-2 tablespoons Dijon mustard [see note below]
• 3 large cloves of garlic, thinly sliced on garlic mandoline
• 1 cup canola oil
In a blender, combine yeast, water, tamari, vinegar, and garlic for one minute. With the blender on high, remove the centre of the lid and SLOWLY drizzle in the oil. Stop the blender as soon as all the oil has been added. Keep in a sealed jar for up to 2 weeks.
I used an immersion blender. I put the first 5 ingredients in the large beaker that came with the blender (or you could use a canning jar), blended, and then added oil slowly.
NOTE: I thought about adding 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard to help with the mix emulsify, and I’ll do that next time.
It makes a pint. Pick jar accordingly.
A couple of oddities in original recipe:
- The recipe said that the tamari could be gluten-free. Could be?! Tamari is gluten free, being made purely from soybeans. (Shoyu/soy sauce does use some wheat. That’s what makes it different from tamari.)
- The recipe suggested grapeseed or sunflower oil, both of which are terrible oils in terms of their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio. Canola’s ratio is 2:1, close to the ideal of 1:1. (Grapeseed oil is 676:1, and sunflower oil is 40:1 — see this post.) Canola oil also has the neutral taste they want. (I was warned that the flavor of extra-virgin olive oil does not work well in this dressing.)
Later On 