Live Fermentation with Koji: your kitchen's new secret ingredient!

Learn to easily add the magic of Koji to your recipes for fermenting with live cultures for gut health and amplifying stellar flavors. Unlock the Magic of Koji: Craft, Taste, and Cooking Workshop Two sessions available: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm OR 2:00 pm - 3:30pm Discover the ancient secret behind Japanese cuisine’s most incredible flavors. Koji—rice inoculated with the beneficial mold Aspergillus oryzae—is the powerhouse behind staples like miso, soy sauce, mirin, and sake. In this hands-on, interactive workshop, you’ll demystify this incredible ingredient and learn how to use its umami-boosting power to elevate your everyday cooking. Guided by Jesse and Sweet Dee of Resting Point Farms in the multipurpose room in at Fifth Season Gardening in Asheville from for taste testing, Shio Koji creation, and the science behind our flavor enhancing microbiome. Material fees included, pre-registration required. You'll taste a koji-based sampler, take home koji rice and a mason jar of shio koji for easy application in your kitchen. What You’ll Experience Taste the Transformation: Experience the incredible versatility of koji through a curated tasting menu. Sample rich, comforting miso soup, naturally sweet fermented amazake, and savory-sweet miso-glazed veggies. Culinary Applications: Learn how koji breaks down proteins and starches into pure flavor, and explore simple ways to integrate it into marinades, dressings, and glaze recipes at home. Hands-On Crafting: Get your hands messy as we walk you step-by-step through making your own batch of shio koji (salted rice koji)—the ultimate kitchen secret weapon for tenderizing meats and seasoning vegetables. Take It Home: Leave with your custom-made jar of shio koji to ferment on your kitchen counter, complete with recipes and practical tips to keep your culinary experiments going. Whether you're a fermentation enthusiast, a fan of Japanese flavor profiles, or simply curious about boosting flavor naturally, this workshop will change the way you cook. No prior fermentation experience required—all ingredients, equipment, and tastings are provided! Date: Saturday November 7, 2026 Structure: Two sessions available 11:00 am or 2:00 pm. Workshop duration: 1.5 hours (i.e., 11a-12:30p; 2p-3:30p) Breaks: 10 minute break midway Address: 4 South Tunnel Road, Asheville, NC, USA