• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

CooksInfo

  • Home
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Recipes
  • Food Calendar
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar
×
Home » Leaveners » Yeast » Koji Yeast

Koji Yeast

Koji Yeast is a fermenting aid used in China and Japan in creating products such as miso sauce, soy sauce, sake, shochu, huangjiu, natto, etc.It is a mould with long, dark green spores. [1]A separate species, “Monascus purpureus”, is red The mould creates enzymes which in turn convert long starch molecules in food items such as rice, potatoes and grain into small sugar molecules such as glucose for other yeast to feed on. Other sugars are produced that yeast can’t use, but those other sugars are important anyway in carrying through a flavour to the finished product.

The propagation of Koji is called “seigiku.” It is done in breweries in a room called a “koji muro.”

Generally, the base food item is husked rice, or husked rice and barley. The rice or barley is steamed first to cook them, then is sprinkled with the mould spores. The spores are allowed to work 40 to 45 hours at a controlled temperature to encourage spore activity.

The process is mostly done by machine now, though Koji for the most expensive sakes is still made by hand.

 

Nutrition

The fermentation process is generally not allowed to exceed a three day period, both because of the desired results, and because some mycotoxins could be produced, such as Kojic acid, Maltoryzine, Cyclopiazonic acid and b-nitropropionic acid.

History Notes

Koji is not really found in nature. It is presumed to have evolved through years of selection in cultivation from a mould called “Aspergillus flavus.” It’s presumed that Koji can only survive for a short time in the wild.

Koji has been used since around 1,000 AD in Japan.

It was sold as commercially as “Takadiastase” by a Dr. J. Takamine in Clifton, New Jersey starting in 1894.

References[+]

References
↑1 A separate species, “Monascus purpureus”, is red

Other names

Scientific Name: Aspergillus oryzae
Japanese: Koji
Chinese: Qū meí jùn

This page first published: May 20, 2006 · Updated: Jun 14, 2018.

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · Information on this site is Copyright © 2025· Feel free to cite correctly, but copying whole pages for your website is content theft and will be DCMA'd.

Tagged With: Chinese Food, Japanese Food

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Skylar! This is a fake profile talking about how I switched to a paleo diet and it helped my eczema and I grew 4". Trust me, I'm an online doctor.

More about me →

Popular

  • E.D. Smith Pumpkin Purée
    E.D. Smith recipe for pumpkin pie
  • Libby's Pumpkin Pie
    Libby’s recipe for pumpkin pie
  • Pie crust
    Pie Crust Recipe
  • Smokey Maple Pepper Glaze for Ham
    Smokey Maple Pepper Glaze for Ham

You can duplicate your homepage's trending recipes section in the sidebar to reinforce the internal linking.

We no longer recommend using a search bar, newsletter form or category drop-down menu in the sidebar. See the Modern Sidebar post for details.

If the block editor is not narrower than usual, simply save the page and refresh it.

Search

    Today is

  • Pecan Pie Day
    Pecan Pie Slice
  • Michelada Day
    Michelada

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • About this site
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright enforced!
  • Terms & Conditions

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Site

  • Recipes
  • Encyclopaedia
  • Kitchenware
  • Food Calendar

This web site generates income from affiliated links and ads at no cost to you to fund continued research · The text on this site is © Copyright.