Miso Koji

Is it possible… or even desirable … to start kome-koji with miso soy paste? The product I’m specifically referring to is ‘Red Miso’ organic soy paste… unpasteurized… so it presumable has live koji spores.

Just curious!

No live koji spores are present in any sort of miso for the same reason you would never find koji spores in any sample of sake: mature koji is undesirable for use in food production. Koji that has reached the point of producing spores has started to produce kojic acid, which is toxic. Therefore, it is not possible to start koji using miso or any other food product produced using koji.

The only way to start koji is with koji-kin.