On charcuterie
Last week I kicked off a new koji-related project, this time revolving around an idea to replicate whole muscle charcuterie flavours using vegetables.
If you think of a piece of bresaola or coppa, everything starts with a lingering sensation of saltiness, that morphs into rich umami-laden fat-coating aftertaste of chewy texture, that is dry but not too dry. There is also a tango of acidity from lactic acid, and occasional smokiness.
I chose beets and a spaghetti squash as my flavour vessels, mostly because of the shape and texture.