If you’ve made tempeh, then you’re well on your way to making tempeh starter! Here’s how to make and store your homemade tempeh culture.
It is not always easy to purchase a tempeh starter. Especially if you live on an island off of the west coast of Canada. So I recommend learning how to save tempeh culture for future use!
It’s the easiest way to make sure you have plenty of culture for your homemade batches of tempeh!
A few notes on the recipe
Fermenting For Foodies readers have been understandably concerned around exactly how to save tempeh starter culture.
Here are some more details about the most common questions and concerns.
Drying time:
It can take quite a while for tempeh to dry out. Here are a few tips and tricks that might be helpful.
- The tempeh must be in a heated container or oven to properly spore. So taking the lid off the container and allowing it to air out should be sufficient to dry the tempeh.
- If you are concerned, feel free to use a dehydrator set below 104F (40C). This is cool enough that it won’t kill the culture.
- Contamination isn’t usually a concern unless you specifically have mold issues in your home. Then I recommend drying in a dehydrator so that it goes quickly.
- If you discover your starter is a bit paste-like after grinding, then just allow it to dry out for another few hours and grind again.
- Avoid making starter from lentil tempeh, because lentil tempeh tends to be moister than other varieties.
How much homemade starter to use
Homemade tempeh starter should be every bit as potent as a store-bought culture. So use 1 tsp for a pound of beans.
If it takes a bit longer to culture than you are used to, then feel free to increase this amount to 2 or 3 tsp per pound of beans.
Where can you get tempeh starter?
This recipe does require an active tempeh culture. It’s basically taking the culture and allowing it to spore so that you can use it for future batches of tempeh.
If this is your first time making tempeh, then the best option is to buy a starter online.
I’m often asked whether store-bought tempeh can be used to make starter. Here are a few ways to determine whether store-bought tempeh still has live culture:
- Most tempeh is steamed to prevent it from sporing. If the tempeh is in the refrigerated section or bulk-packaged then it likely has been steamed to kill the mold.
- If you have a local producer, ask them if they will sell you fresh, raw tempeh.
- Frozen tempeh may still be alive as well. It’s worth testing!
Tempeh Starter Culture
It’s easy to save tempeh starter so that you can make future batches. The process is exactly the same as making tempeh! Just follow these simple instructions to make your own tempeh culture.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 2 1/2 cups
- Category: Culture
- Method: Fermented
- Cuisine: Indonesian
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- One batch of homemade tempeh
Instructions
- Tempeh starter is made by allowing tempeh to ferment for longer than 24 hours. Start by making your favorite type of tempeh. If you don’t have a preference, I recommend soybean tempeh because it is great for feeding the culture. However, other beans and seeds can be used to make a starter culture.Â
- Store-bought tempeh cannot typically be used to make a starter culture. It is usually steamed to prevent the mold from sporing. So for your very first batch of tempeh, I recommend buying the culture online.
- To save the culture, instead of stopping the fermentation after 24 hours, continue to ferment until the mold spores. You will know that the mold has spored when the tempeh goes from being white to grey and black. Black is the color of the mold spores. It will take approximately 60 hours of fermenting to have a good batch of mold spores.
- After the mold has spored, take the lid off of the fermenting container to allow the tempeh to dry out. This takes about 2 to 3 in the incubation box.
- When the tempeh is dry, use a blender to pulverize the tempeh into dust that can be used as a starter for future batches of tempeh.
- Store the starter in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 year.
- See the section above for more in-depth details about some of these steps.
Notes
- Make sure that everything is very clean so that you have a good strong culture.  While this is always a good practice when fermenting, it’s even more important when saving culture.
- The strength of the tempeh starter will depend on how many mold spores grew before you dehydrated the tempeh. You may find that your own saved mold spores grow more quickly or slowly than the store-bought spores. When using your homemade tempeh starter you should adjust the culturing time as necessary.
Keywords: culture, saving, mold, spores, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, egg free, dairy free, nut free, frugal, protein
Hi!
Your instructions are very helpful. I was just wondering, what proportion of your homemade tempeh starter would you use when making your homemade tempeh? For instance, let say I am using 4 cups of soaked soy beans, how much of your homemade tempeh starter should I use?
Thanks! : )
Roxanne
Hum… it really depends on how well the culture saved. You could follow the basic recipe, which would be about 2 tsp. How quickly it grows will just depend on how strong your culture is. Either way it should culture. Let me know how it goes!
I really want to try this but I’m unsure of how to harvest the spores and all the methods of drying. Would you be willing to make a youtube video on how you do it? Im sure it would save people alot of money.
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Hum… I’ve never done a YouTube video. Maybe next time I make tempeh spores. Is there anything you particularly need to know?
Drying without picking up any other airborne yeast spores would be good to know!
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I guess if you have an outbreak of mold in your house, then that would be an issue. Otherwise, just dry it as quickly as possible and you should be fine.
When the tempeh turns grey/black, then it is sporing. You don’t have to dry it out completely. But it shouldn’t be obviously moist. I generally blend up the whole brick, as the mold permeates through the whole thing. However, if you want to just remove the top layer that should work as well.
when you re drying it out do you just leave the tempeh uncovered to achieve this ?
Yes, you need to leave the tempeh uncovered to dry it out.
Hi there, is it ok if my tempeh starter is still a little bit pasty? Or do you think I should still try to leave it out to dry? Do you think it would work for me to dry it in the dehydrator, or would that be too hot and kill off the tempeh spores?
A low temperature dehydrator (less than 40C) should be fine. Alternatively, if you’re going to store it in the freezer, a little moisture is probably ok.
This is awesome. I bought organic tempeh from store, can I dry them and make a basic recipe???
Yes! if it fresh. If it has been steamed or processed in anyway, then it probably won’t be able to spore. Enjoy!
How can i tell if its been steamed or processed?
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If you buy tempeh it most likely has been steamed or processed. Otherwise it will quickly spore. I had to buy my initial tempeh starter on line. Good luck!
You said 1/2 teaspoon starter culture for a pound of beans, but my starter culture says use the whole pack for 2 cups of beans. What’s up with that?
I would follow the instructions on your pack. Especially if it’s your first time making tempeh. If a pack is way more than 1/2 tsp, maybe they aren’t sure about viability? How much you need to use is really dependent on how vigorous the culture is. Having too much culture isn’t as much of a probablem as having too little.
Can you describe what the culture looks like when it has really grown out? We put a packet of starter spores in our soybeans and set it out. We waited 2-3 days and had lot of white filamentous stuff binding the tempeh together as a block like you’d expect. We gathered most of the Soybeans but left about 1/10 behind to spore. It’s been another 3 days now and the whole block looks like a fuzzy pillow… You can’t see the Soybeans at all, just white fluffy mold filaments. No trace of grey or black spores. Is that normal or has something gone horribly wrong and we should throw this stuff out?
It sounds like you have a really nice piece of tempeh. Just let it continue to grow for another day and it will start to spore. The white is the filaments, the sporing bodies are browny-grey colour. I will get a picture sometime! It just looks bad. 😉
It would really help me if you would post a photo of the grey/black tempeh (even if it looks bad). Thank you!
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I’m in the process of rephotographing everything on my blog. (Started as a hobby with a point-and-shoot camera). Not sure when I’ll get to tempeh… but I’ll keep this in mind!
Found this blog after I made my own tempeh starter by saving a piece of tempeh I made of bought starter. Not knowing the way I mixed this saved piece (that was still white and not even spored or blackened yet) about the size of a finger with a cup of store bought rice flour and crumbled it within the rice flour. I then placed the mix in a vented plastic ziplock bag and left it on a shelf in my hot water boiler room. After a week I noticed it had gone fuzzy. Then i proceeded with a trial tempeh batch. I was very surprised, it was a success. I now have a second generation tempeh starter.
That’s great!
Hi : ) I live in Alberta and I am having a hard time finding a tempeh starter or a red yeast rice starter (or plain red yeast rice)
I only found one tempeh starter from CulturesForHealth but they have mixed reviews on viability. I looked on ebay and amazon, no luck. Where did you get yours?
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I originally bought mine on cultures for health, and it worked well. They do make and keep a lot of culture, so that might be one of their issues with viability. There are a few fermenting Facebook groups where you might be able to get culture. Good luck!
Hi!
I’m making tempeh with Rhizopus oligosporus instead of Rhizopus oryzae and apparently oligosporus always makes the tempeh look black/grayish. It’s my second batch with this rhizopus and it was accurate. Which means that my tempeh isn’t white anyway. So, if i want to make my own tempeh starter, how do i know that the tempeh is ready to be dried out?
I’m sorry, I haven’t used that strain. However, I would try culturing it for 60 hours and see what happens. Most likely it will stay black. It should be sporing after 60 hours, so try using that as your starter the next time around and see how it works! Good luck!
Hi, that was very interesting. Thank you! I have my very first batch going now and I was to try saving the spores. How long should it take for the tempeh to dry out? If fermenting in an oven, can I simply leave it in there without a lid on?
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Just taking the lid off will work. The oven vents, so it should dry out. It will take 1-3 days to dry out depending on the moisture of your tempeh. Good luck!
Thank you for instructions. There is a previous question about using store bought tempeh as starter. The only way I’ve located tempeh is frozen. Will freezing stop it from culturing after thawing?
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It depends on whether the tempeh was steamed before being frozen. Steaming kills the mold, however, freezing directly after culturing won’t kill the mold. Try it?
Thank you for all of the information! I was so inspired by this page I ordered the culture and have just started my first batch! I love the idea of making my own starter but I’m concerned about the drying process. I don’t have a dehydrator and I worry that in the summer my tempeh spore block may be subject to other molds (…or worse: flies ) while it’s drying. Thoughts? Can I just freeze a block and crumble it into the next batch to inoculate?
You really need the spores to culture another batch. Mold is more like a plant then bacteria in that it grows from spores, and there’s no way to guarantee a good culture otherwise. If it’s warm where you live, perhaps try air drying it. This would work best if you cut just the top layer off the tempeh. You really just need the black/grey spores, not the whole tempeh block.
Wonderful Post and Q&A, thank You Emillie!
if dehydrating the spores do you know what temperature would be best to ensure they don’t die? The lowest temp. Setting on my dehydrator is 105 F or 41 C.
That temperature should be fine. I wouldn’t go much above 105F though.
Hi,
Thank you for the detailed instructions. I followed your blog and got gray/black spores in tempeh made from okara. However it smells fishy and very intense at that. Is it the right smell? The store bought tempeh starter did not have any smell.
Is the home made tempeh culture odorless?
I’m not sure if using okara would add a different smell. I only use whole soybeans. I also try to avoid smelling the spores as I’m a bit sensitive to mold. It visually it seems like it’s spored nicely.
If the fishy smell puts you off, then it might be off. If it just smells unusual but not disgusting, then it’s probably fine. Once it dries out it should have less odour, like store-bought culture.
Good luck!
my favorite tempeh is a combination of chick peas and black beans with a little bit of wild rice.. can I make a culture from this or do I need to use soy beans?
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Sounds yummy! Personally I’ve only used soybeans for culture, but I think it would be fine to use any type of bean. I wouldn’t use lentil or sunflower seeds, etc. since the tempeh mold doesn’t grow as well on those and you want vigorous mold for your culture. Good luck!
Hello Emily, I just started making my own starters too. I’m curious: all the starters I bought online are white powders. What color is the starter you make at home? It will help me check if I’m doing it right. Many thanks!
It depends on what you’re growing your cultures with. It will be dirty white if you grow it on soybeans. With grey/black from the mold spores and beige from the soybeans. Not sure how the commercial producers get pristine white tempeh mold!
Thank you Emillie! That’s reassuring. 🙂
Hi Emily thank you for your useful blog. I tried to ferment rice from the fresh tempe. I made it because I am running out of my starter. I only got a small amount of starter from my friend and I was success making the tempe using that starter.
First I mixed and mashed the rice and tempe together, I put it in a plastic (that already poked with needle to give them air). Then, I thought I just put them in 36’C incubator at my Laboratory. It grew a white thing around the rice after a day, but the white part are only in the side parts not in the middle. The plastic to wrap it looks wet and and there is strong smell. I am not sure whether it’s tempe smell or mix with other things. So I let them out from the incubator and throw the plastic. I cut them and put them on plate without cover on my kitchen table. Should I wrap them again or just leave it like that? And also now in Dunedin, NZ is winter sometime we have 0’C. I am worry it won’t grow until the spores reach black colour. What should I do to save it?
Cheers
Devi
Hi Devi, The “right” smell is a mix of vinegar and mushroom. However, tempeh mold doesn’t grow as well on rice as on beans. Regardless, I would put it back in a plastic bag (with holes poked in it so it can breathe). Then put it in the incubator. Give it another 48 hours to see if the tempeh spores. I have no other advice than to keep trying! Hope it works!
Otherwise, maybe you can get some more tempeh starter and try again with soy? The protein will help feed the mold. Cheers, Emillie
Thank you Emillie.
I’ll try to make tempe starter from another fresh tempe (that I’ll buy from the other city tomorrow). It’s hard to get tempe starter since the Covid 19, because usually we just buy it from abroad.
Usually, tempeh is steamed before selling (to stop the mold from spring). See if you can get unsteamed tempeh. Good luck!
Hi Emillie,
I’ve made a few batches of tempeh now, 3 successful and one less so. However I’ve got enough starter to make a few more batches. Having read your instructions for how to make your own starter I’m excited to give it a try however my oven doesn’t go low enough to dehydrate the sporoulated tempeh and my dehydrator is a set temp of 165. How long is acceptable/ safe to allow the tempeh slices to dry out just in open air?
Thanks!
Jordan
I think you should be able to safely dry out the tempeh at room temperature. Make sure there is lots of ventilation on all sides (so try to have the tempeh resting on cooling rack or something similar). Also, if possible place the tempeh near a heater and away from direct sun. Good luck!
Hi, I obviously didn’t let the tempeh block dry out long enough to make a power, it kinda turned into a paste. If I let the paste dry out long enough, could under grinding that for a starter?
Also, I left my block of tempeh in the incubator for a lot longer than 60 hours (aka 5 days), it spored nicely but is that to late????
Just wondering…..
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If you’re saving culture, it’s probably fine to have it spore for a few extra days. (Not as nice for eating). Just make sure you dry it thoroughly because you don’t want other unwanted cultures. Try letting the past dry out, then test it with a small batch of tempeh. Good luck!
Hi! I’d like to try this recipe. However, can I ask why it is bad for the tempeh to have spores?
If the tempeh has spored it’s just not as nice for eating. However, it is a great way to save the culture!
Hi! I have recently bought a tempeh from the supermarket, i have tried to use it to make tempeh culture out of it. It seems to spore, but am not sure if it is correct! Anw to send a photo to you for your advice?
Hi, Are you on Facebook or Instagram? Those are probably the easiest way to share a photo with me (otherwise my anti-spam software interferes). Store-bought tempeh is generally steamed. So unless the tempeh had a best before date of less than a week, it’s probably been steamed to prevent sporing. Live tempeh has a very short shelf-life. Even if it has a bit of a grey/black tinge, if it isn’t getting worse, then it’s probably been steamed just after it started to spore.
Cheers, Emillie
Dear Emily,
Can you make a new batch while it is still wet? About how much would one use?
BTW, I bought your new cookbook. Thank you for all you do.
Hi Jan, Thanks for buying my cookbook! I hope you found some recipes to inspire you. 🙂 You can definitely use the tempeh mold to culture more tempeh when it’s still wet. However, I would just scrape the spores off the top of the tempeh, since grinding up wet tempeh won’t result in a nice smooth powder. You can keep the same proportions or use a bit less since you’re using straight mold spores (1/2 tsp to 1 tsp).
Cheers! Emillie
The tempeh is only sporing in one small area and is starting to smell bad. Should I be concerned? What to do?
Just to check, this is on a batch of newly cultured tempeh made from the spores you saved? Or are you still waiting for it to spore? It shouldn’t smell bad, but it might smell yeasty, mushroomy.
I’m surprised it’s only sporing in one area. Does the whole tempeh have the same conditions? (Heat, oxygen, moisture?) If you’re still waiting to collect the spores, then maybe let it go for another 4-6 hours? It usually all spores at once. Good luck!