Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fermenting Grains and Beans Paperback – June 25, 2019

Wish I knew what to say exactly except that it is a great book to slide in alongside "The Art of Fermentation". It is not nearly as technical as Sandor's book but I think it is a great supplement. I must admit that some people will not find this book as informative as they believed. I recently received the book "Fermentation as Metaphore" by Katz and was sad and was disappointed because it held nothing informative regarding fermentation. Miso, Tempeh, Natto & Other Tasty Ferments: A Step-by-Step Guide to Fermenting Grains and Beans provides information regarding the fermentation of other beans and grains beyond soy. I just hope I have enough time to perform and savor some of the ferments listed in this fine book. It is 400 pages long of glossy paper making it a hefty paperback. There are illustrations, wonderful photographs and multitudes of recipes teaching how to make various ferments and a good section on how to make koji. I love the book and I believe you too will completely enjoy it.

Good, book, interesting to read. However, reading is not eating.I have had Tempeh (it's OK, nothing to write home about). I love tofu and soy. I love Miso. I had never tried Natto.After reading this, I tried Natto. Here is what you should know.1. Miso is quite tasty. It is also quite high in salt. If you dilute it enough reduce the salt flavor, well, there isn't much other flavor left. It is very subtle. Probably the best use is AS a salty seasoning.2. Tempeh has very little flavor, and it is NOT probiotic. You must heat it and kill the bacteria before you eat it, for safety. This is because it doesn't HAVE all that salt as a preservative. In order to make up for the lack of taste, it is frequently used with soy sauce and other flavorings to make it interesting.3. I dropped the $50+ on some New York Natto that is suggested in the book. They are a good company to work for (except that their minimum order is $50 !) and the product arrived well packaged with cold blocks.The natto, out of the jar, is one of the most disgusting, intimidating foods I have every tried. The flavor is quite mild, and not too bad. The texture is, well, awful. Not just sticky, but extremely gooey. It is so gooey that if you put some natto in your mouth, it is extremely diffcult to chew the soybeans because they just slide around in the goo. I tried it several times, and I almost threw up the last time. I will never eat natto like that again.The only way I could get it to work for me was to make up a batch of Miso soup, like 2 cups (16 oz), then after it has boild but is still hot, add a tablespon or two of Natto. Stir the Natto on in thorougly (so there sticky stuff disperses through the broth) and then it is edible. If you don't add too much Natto, it makes a nice filling Miso Soup with a little bit of heft to it.The problem is, if you buy NY Natto, you have 4 jars which will take me a year to use up, and they don't last that long, even in the fridge.

I was surprised to realize how little I know about miso and what you can do with it! Miso has always = miso soup only. Great book for anyone curious and/or adventurous; whether or not you want to use the recipes! I'm not an expert chef/cook; but I do strongly believe there's much value in learning how things are made and how they work. I love to cook and once in a while I'll be bold enough to try to make something I feel is difficult for me.I lived in a household where my father collected cookbooks but used only 1/4 of them. The benefit was understanding how things are made, even when you don't actually make them. I grew up perusing these books and it developed a sense of respect and understanding of different foods and how they are made. Later on, it really gave me the courage to take the leap (bc beginning to cook at 13 yrs was nerve wracking for me). Thank you for this great book filled with pictures, insight, recipes, and commentary! The commentary is what tipped the scale. I don't want just a list of recipes. I want to understand more about what's behind the recipes. I also cant wait to try the salt-rising bread!

This is the third Shockey & Shockey fermentation book I have purchased, and I believe it is now my favorite. A whole new world of fermentation has opened up to me with this deep, smart dive into learning how to make things like miso, tempeh and even tamari and shoyu. And, of course, the directions and information go above and beyond. They do their research and provide clear and concise details. In addition, their writing style is warm, friendly and sprinkled with funny asides -- making what could be a daunting and intimidating venture into something that's accessible and enjoyable!I also loved the recipes incorporating the ferments -- like Miso Marinated Eggs and the super inventive fillings for onigiri, as well as the Tempeh Fish Tacos. I simply cannot wait to continue to work my way through making things I never thought I could possibly make myself. Bravo and thank you, thank you!

Content is great but BEWARE shipping. Item said brand new and it arrived quite damaged. I bought it through Amazon but it is no longer available so an exchange is impossible. I see other reviewers have had the same issue so this isn’t just a fluke. The item is not being handled or shipped with care. I am thinking of returning and just buying the kindle version.