Incubator for Tempeh

[adissen]

Hello all!

I want to start making tempeh at home, and all in all in looks pretty simple. The only question I have is about the incubator to use when fermenting the tempeh. I have a big dehydrator that I use to dry herbs and make essene bread and all that good stuff. Has anybody used that before to ferment their tempeh/have an opinion on the subject? In theory I think it should work as long as I use a probe thermometer to keep the temperature under control. I guess my only hesitance with that is the fan. Would all that circulating air be too much for the tempeh and dry it out? Or am I just being too much of a worrier and should just use the dehydrator? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!

[Tim Hall]

I would be concerned about the fan too. I don't want to poo-poo on your idea as I always like using tools/equipment for unintended purposes. But my experience with growing fungi that uses a solid substrate (tempeh, koji, edible mushrooms) is maintaining humidity and substrate moisture is just as critical as hitting the right temperature range. If your substrate begins to dry out you'll get stunted growth, or possibly none at all.

[adissen]

Thanks for the info! Yeah, that's what I was worried about, and that makes a lot of sense. Any suggestions for quick non-expensive means of incubating the tempeh?

[Tim Hall]

You can use an ice chest, an old fridge or freezer (does not have to be working), or any other insulating container (a few layers of cardboard and duct tape may do the trick). Drop an incandescent bulb inside...maybe place the bulb in a glass or ceramic container to keep it from touching any plastic it might melt. You can modulate the temperature by opening or closing the the container lid/door or using a higher or lower wattage bulb. If you think it's giving up too much moisture, place a wide shallow dish of warm water in there with it.

[Phoenix]

Hi,

You could put a bowl of water in the bottom of the dehydrator to maintain humidity maybe.

:)

[PhilosopherDog]

If you have a stove, you have an incubator. It's the simplest thing in the world. Just use either the stove light or a pilot light. Get a thermometer on ebay for a couple bucks. You can cut a piece of cardboard from a toilet roll to prop the door open a bit. Unless you can't live without your oven for 24 hours once a week, you've got an incubator. I don't even bother with a thermometer personally. When I first started I thought I needed to make an incubator. But if you can keep it simple, and see if you like making it, then maybe you can think about making a dedicated incubator. Tempeh making is dead simple and totally worth the little effort given the price of commercial tempeh and its poor quality and taste compared to what you can make.

[adissen]

It's been a while since I checked this, thank you all so much for the feedback! I think I will try the stove method, since I have a gas stove which should (hopefully) give off enough heat with the pilot light. Will definitely post on how it goes!!!

[growninbrooklyn]

Hi: We have started to make tempeh commercially and are now using a proofing oven as our incubator. Before this I used a dehydrator with great results. You might want to buy an alternative thermostat for the dehydrator and hook it up to the fan, most dehydrators don't have temp readouts inside. There is nothing like fresh tempeh...good luck