From Dulse Dashi, Pork-Bushi, Peaso, and Barley Tempeh—To Mackerel and Grasshopper Garum

Some projects at Nordic Food Lab involve both traditional and new raw materials and methods to create foods that are rich in umami. In many cases this work has been inspired by ancient Japanese approaches involving seaweeds, fermentation using kō-ji (traditionally used in sake, miso, and shoyu production), as well as aging methods similar to katsuobushi production.

Developing new and diverse sources of umami is a central pursuit at the lab. This work has given rise to all sorts of discoveries: dashi made from red dulse (a kind of seaweed), pork-bushi, peaso and other miso-like pastes, as well as garums and fermented sauces made with herring, mackerel, grasshoppers, and other proteinaceous substrates. In the quest for umami synergy, the lab has implemented the traditional Japanese techniques for katsuobushi production by fermenting hot-smoked, dried lean pig muscle. The resulting “pork-bushi” has a pleasant smell and taste, similar to Parma ham. Other fermented products using kōji, a grain substrate colonized by the mold Aspergillus orzyae, include a kind of Nordic tempeh or fermented cake of pearl barley, and peaso, a miso-like product based on split yellow peas. Fermentation of fresh fish such as mackerel using its own intestinal enzymes has resulted in a Nordic version of the classical Roman fish sauce, garum, which is a rich source of umami. Recently the lab has focused on fermenting insects, developing new umami-rich products that bring previously inedible substances into the realm of the edible through delicious taste. One such product is a grasshopper garum fermented with barley koji.