Koji is steamed rice that has been grown over with Aspergillus oryzae, a mold Japan has cooked with for more than a thousand years. As it grows it releases enzymes that break starch into sugar and protein into amino acids. That is where sake gets its alcohol, miso its depth, and a piece of chicken its savory softness after a night in shio koji.
This class starts at the beginning. No experience, no equipment, and no Japanese needed — everything is taught in English, at an unhurried pace, with written notes to take with you.
These things go home with you
You inoculate your own rice and pack it into a small breathable pouch. It finishes at home over about two days, warmed by nothing more than a quiet corner of your kitchen.
Koji and salt, mixed by hand in class. It becomes your everyday seasoning — a marinade, a dressing base, a replacement for salt in almost anything.
Three hours, paced for a class taught in a second language. You will be standing and working with your hands for about half of it.
Fresh koji goes around the table before anyone sits down. Smell it first.
The enzymes, the umami, the digestion. Illustrated, with a glossary card so no term goes past you.
The full cycle — steaming, cooling, inoculating, wrapping, turning — shown step by step.
Your turn. We finish by mapping out, hour by hour, what happens once you get it home.
Small tastes, side by side, so the difference is something you notice rather than something you're told.
Hands in the bowl for shio koji; shoyu koji explained and sent home on a card.
Rice koji powder and koji starter, at a price kept for people in the class.
Koji is steamed rice that has been grown over with Aspergillus oryzae, a mold Japan has cooked with for more than a thousand years. As it grows it releases enzymes that break starch into sugar and protein into amino acids. That is where sake gets its alcohol, miso its depth, and a piece of chicken its savory softness after a night in shio koji.
This class starts at the beginning. No experience, no equipment, and no Japanese needed — everything is taught in English, at an unhurried pace, with written notes to take with you.
These things go home with you
You inoculate your own rice and pack it into a small breathable pouch. It finishes at home over about two days, warmed by nothing more than a quiet corner of your kitchen.
Koji and salt, mixed by hand in class. It becomes your everyday seasoning — a marinade, a dressing base, a replacement for salt in almost anything.
Three hours, paced for a class taught in a second language. You will be standing and working with your hands for about half of it.
Fresh koji goes around the table before anyone sits down. Smell it first.
The enzymes, the umami, the digestion. Illustrated, with a glossary card so no term goes past you.
The full cycle — steaming, cooling, inoculating, wrapping, turning — shown step by step.
Your turn. We finish by mapping out, hour by hour, what happens once you get it home.
Small tastes, side by side, so the difference is something you notice rather than something you're told.
Hands in the bowl for shio koji; shoyu koji explained and sent home on a card.
Rice koji powder and koji starter, at a price kept for people in the class.
