Hi, my second batch of kome koji has turned to mush after 36 hours. It started out a little moist, and maybe I overcooked the rice. At first the rice kernals were fine, and after mixing it at 24 hours it was still fine.
But this morning I went to mix it and its like the rice is liquefying. It’s little balls and clumps, there’s not much individual rice grains.
I’m worried the mold won’t grow properly now and am wondering if I can use this batch of kome koji or not … thanks.
The right mold is definitely growing in there, and it smells good. Maybe I used too many spores and the large amount of amalyse is breaking down the rice already?
You’ll have to start over. How did you cook your rice? This usually only happens when someone boils their rice instead of steaming it.
Ok thanks, will have to redo it. My first batch of kome koji some weeks back came out good.
I steamed the rice (not boiled). I think maybe I oversoaked it, didn’t drain it long enough, or oversteamed it, or some combination of all of those.
The rice seemed a little sticky and mushy after steaming, but not too bad, and definitely still separate rice kernals. The first day in the kome koji it was OK and still kernals, but then in the morning around hour 36 it just became a sticky mush, like it was melting almost, and few kernals of rice could be seen, it was just a sticky goop. The smells were good, and the taste was sweet at first with the cheesy aftertaste. But right I can’t really see the mold finishing growing properly in the soup.
