Flavor Hunter

Five Unexpected Ways to Use Fermentation

From kombucha to kimchi, fermentation is all the rage, and the Flavor Hunter has tips for tapping into this process to create signature flavors in restaurants of any size and style.

1. Start with soy sauce
People don’t always realize that fermentation—breaking down a substance with bacteria, yeasts or other micro-organisms—is an integral part of brewing authentic soy sauce. The Kikkoman process blends soybeans and wheat under carefully controlled conditions. After a seed mold is introduced, the mixture matures in large, perforated vats with plenty of air circulation. The resulting culture, or koji, is transferred to fermentation tanks and mixed with saltwater to produce a mash. Following months of fermentation, the raw sauce is separated from the solids through layers of filtration cloth, refining it for finished soy sauce. It’s a precise, time-consuming process, and for those who are new to fermentation, adding Kikkoman fermented products can really help provide a great flavorful taste.

2. Try new ingredients
Pickling is Fermenting 101, especially when you put Kikkoman sauces in the brine. Adding fermented soy sauce, ponzu and mirin blend magically—ponzu because of its citrus notes, and mirin because it doesn’t change the color of the brine. I enjoy pickling vegetables that I don’t particularly like to see whether I like them better pickled. Okra, for instance, changes texture because the acidity and aging of pickling diminish its inherent sliminess, but it doesn’t go away entirely, so you’re left with an interesting, but not overbearing, mouthfeel. I find it much more appealing, especially when it’s split lengthwise to show off its cool shape and beautiful seeds.

3. Consider Color
Green colors get duller with acid, while red colors get brighter. Pickled red cabbage and beets have an intense color and a vibrancy that add so much to a dish. Play up different colors with different spices, so that beets and red cabbage don’t get the typical German flavors; maybe add more heat or try a kimchi flavor treatment.

4. Mix and match
I like pickling the shredded carrots in a classic Tunisian salad. The acidity and salt are great when balanced with the sweetness of the raisins, and adding some fresh ingredients to the mix also helps. Having a salad with raw, roasted and fermented vegetables creates a rounded dish with complex layers of flavors and textures. I also ferment açaí juice for a vinaigrette with an orange and citrus seasoned ponzu. The flavors are so bold that I can reduce the oil and vinegar and let the açaí shine. Using small doses of pickled or fermented foods as accents is a great way for chefs to create simple innovations, and guests don’t need to see a radical difference in flavor to appreciate what the processes can do.

5. Amplify umami
When I develop plant-forward dishes, I always look for ways to create flavors that are as complex as protein-based dishes. Mushrooms are an important, umami-packed ingredient for creating plant-based dishes. Fermented mushrooms develop even more dynamic flavors. You can grind fermented, dried mushrooms and add them to anything that needs a boost of umami.