Hackoh
JAEN

The Secrets of Fermentation

Episode 4

The koji mold leaves its tools behind

Once the batch is prepared, are the microbes still alive in there?

With rice koji and soybeans in front of her, Mugi asks Hakkoh-chan whether the koji mold works for the whole half year.
MugiDoes this koji mold work for half a year?
Hakkoh-chanNo. Once you prepare the batch, it can’t multiply.
MugiThen who makes the miso?
Hakkoh-chanBefore that, it leaves its tools behind.
On the rice koji, koji molds are putting out small, faceless, scissor-shaped enzymes.
MugiWhat tools?
Hakkoh-chanTiny scissors called enzymes.
MugiWhat do the scissors do?
Hakkoh-chanThey cut the soybeans and the rice into small pieces.
MugiDoes the koji mold do the cutting?
Hakkoh-chanThe enzymes cut. They aren’t the microbe.
Inside the prepared miso, the koji molds have gone quiet while faceless enzyme scissors cut the long chains of soybean and rice apart.
MugiOnce it’s prepared, do the microbes go away?
Hakkoh-chanSome stay. But they can hardly multiply.
Hakkoh-chanAnd little by little they stop being able to work.
MugiWhat about the scissors?
Hakkoh-chanThe scissors stay, and keep cutting.
MugiThey work even though they aren’t alive?
Hakkoh-chanYes. An enzyme isn’t a living thing.
As the seasons turn, the enzyme scissors left in the miso go on cutting the ingredients a little at a time.
Hakkoh-chanIt’s a tool. As long as the shape holds, it works.
MugiSo it isn’t the microbe working for half a year.
MugiIt’s the enzymes left behind.
Hakkoh-chanThat’s right. That’s what keeps changing the miso.
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