Cultures
Tempeh starter (Rhizopus)
The Rhizopus starter for tempeh is a fungal culture, labelled Rhizopus oligosporus or R. microsporus var. oligosporus. Its growth binds prepared soybeans into a firm cake.
What it is
Tempeh is made by inoculating prepared soybeans with a Rhizopus culture. The fungus grows through the beans and binds them into a cake. The starter is the material that carries that fungus. Food-grade preparations are commonly labelled Rhizopus oligosporus or Rhizopus microsporus var. oligosporus, and the label is the supplier's, not a confirmed identity for a given batch.
The culture is a defined fungal starter, not a bacterial or mixed household culture. Tempeh made with it is a made product, so the process belongs to the tempeh recipe rather than to this page.
Sources for this section
Use and handling
The supplied catalogue entry advises using a fresh commercial starter for each batch. It notes that moisture, oxygen and self-heating need control during the fermentation. Finished tempeh and dry spore stock have different storage needs, so a storage rule for one does not apply to the other.
The catalogue gives no temperature, time, inoculation rate or storage limit for this starter. Those figures belong to a tested process and must come from the tempeh source that uses this culture.
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Gaps and limits
The review by Nout and Kiers covers the chemistry, nutrition and safety of soybean tempe, and it is the standard reference for the process. The full text was not available in this pass, so the starter-specific detail it contains is not recorded here.
Smell, colour and visible growth do not establish that a tempeh is safe to eat. Mould and mycotoxin questions for the Rhizopus group are open and are not settled by this page.
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Allergens
soy
Places
Unknown
Relationship not established · Place not establishedThe catalogue associates the starter with Indonesia and the wider international trade. The origin of commercial Rhizopus starter is not established in this pass.
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Sources
Journal of Applied MicrobiologyCulture · Background · Safety
Tempe fermentation, innovation and functionality: update into the third millenniumReview of tempe fermentation, innovation and functionality, Journal of Applied Microbiology 2005, 98, 789-805 (citation metadata only; full text not read in this pass).
Cited in: What it is; Use and handling; Gaps and limits