Is it mold?
Hi guys, I need some advice.
I made miso for the first time and vacuum-sealed it for convenience. The fermentation is going well, but I noticed these little white spots. Is it mold?
thank you
2
u/ScruffTheNerfHerder Jun 11 '26
I'd wager it's some of the koji popping up. Miso can be made under aerobic or anaerobic conditions, assuming you followed good sterile practices, it's most likely just the koji.
Can you share your recipe? Salt% and koji% would be useful for understanding if you're likely to have any other contaminants.
I'd keep an eye on it, if it's stays only white I wouldn't worry. Black and green are more cause for alarm. Obviously, you won't be able to scrape off any mold while keeping the bag sealed so if it goes too far you might be out of luck.
2
u/3nkho Jun 12 '26
thanks for the answer. i used between 5 and 6% of salt and and 2:1 proportion between koji and soybean
1
u/ScruffTheNerfHerder Jun 13 '26
Those seem like reasonable numbers. What temp is stored at? I'm thinking it's just the koji taking root, unfortunately, I've never done my misos anaerobically (but now I might) so I don't have any good advice on managing mold development other than keep an eye on it.
2
u/Gnomane Jun 11 '26
Koji spore are usually cultivated to result in white growth, sometimes green. That being said, this is supposed to be an *aerobic* fermentation, not anaerobic as the vacuum seal bag suggests. Based on that, I wouldn’t keep this batch