Jans Wira Tempeh Starter (Ragi Tempe) 17.50 ounce (Pack of 1)

You can make excellent tempeh at home using this starter. This starter is vigorous and inexpensive but comes with no directions to use. I use one teaspoon of starter to 2 cups dry beans. I like the beans from Laurasoybeans.com but any soybeans will work. Homemade tempeh is much better than the store bought stuff. Making tempeh is a learning process and a project that takes a couple of days. I watched a lot of YouTube videos and failed a couple times at first but have it down pretty well now. Guidelines: Bring 2 cups of dry soy beans to a boil then let them soak at least four hours. Some use hands to rub the hulls off the beans. This way takes 30-40 minutes. I use a potato masher to dehull the soaked beans. It takes about 5 vigorous grinding minutes. Then use multiple rinses to float and skim the hulls off and discard them. After this, boil the beans for 30 minutes. Drain the beans then spread them on a towel on a baking sheet to dry and cool. Once below about 90 degrees, stir beans WELL with 2 tablespoons of vinegar. Then stir in one teaspoon of starter WELL. Bag them in ziplock bags and press them flat. Pierce holes all over both sides of bags about an inch apart. I use a toothpick. Lay bags on a wire rack. Put them some place they'll be at about 88 degrees till tomorrow. I put them in an unheated oven with just the oven light on. An Instant pot on LOW yogurt works too. Be creative. Use a thermometer. After about 20 hours they begin to make their own heat. Take them out of the warm place and let them mature on the countertop. If the tempeh gets too hot for too long (over about 96 degrees) it will die. Sadness. Finished tempeh is white and solid like a brick of brie cheese. Peel off the bag, slice tempeh and cook it. If it gets gray or black areas, this is okay. It's just happy and healthy and making spores. You can still eat it. Stinky or slimy or pink or orange. Pitch it. Try again. Best luck to you.

So happy for my fresh tempeh.

Works better (faster fermentation), less waste, and the results taste better than the expensive single-batch packets I've tried. One teaspoon is plenty for 2 cups of dry beans (after hydrating them, of course). There's enough in the bag for at least 150 batches of that size! There are no instructions on the bag, but there are plenty of websites with detailed instructions for fermenting tempeh from a starter. I store the opened vacuum bag inside a gallon-size freezer bag in the freezer. I expect this to keep it viable for at least a year - I'll add a note here if it dies before then. Consistently finishes in about 36 hours for me, when incubating in a bread proofer at 88 °F (usually I turn the proofer temperature setting down a few degrees after 24 hours, when the mycelium is clearly visible, to avoid excessive self heating). Tempeh culture can be propagated, but at this price for starter, it's not worth the hassle to me. As long as this is still available when I run out, I'll just buy another bag.

The tempeh starter was delivered as a hard “brick” because it was vacuum packed. Once the package was opened, the product was consistent, fine granules that appeared to be good quality. I have used another starter - the one that comes in 4 little packets with instructions. This starter seemed to work better/quicker for me. It made perfect tempeh. Expiration date of 1/2025 was clearly marked on the package front. No instructions. I used approximately 3/4 tsp starter (plus 1/2 tbsp white vinegar) for 1 cup cooked beans. This may have been more starter than needed because it worked so quickly. I am a beginner tempeh maker, but there seems to be multiple reasons why someone’s tempeh may fail… beans too wet, too hot, or not the right environment. I make tempeh in my food dehydrator set at the lowest setting 95 degrees (furthest away from heating fan). I place the beans in a freezer zip lock bag, and then use a toothpick to poke holes eatery inch front and back. Total time in dehydrator is approximately 48 hours. I recommend trying this product. Good quality. Good value. Plenty of starter for an entire year!

The fungus grew quickly and produced delicious tempeh! My first tempeh growing effort was a total success with these spores, yielding yummy tempeh for pennies on the dollar versus store bought. Placing the spore-inoculated soybeans in square glass containers, and placing those on a microgreens grow tray covered with its humidity enclosure and a heating pad on low beneath the tray, the fungus grew completely (as shown) in just 24 hours.