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Sauces and condiments from Copenhagen, Denmark

Noma-style koji garum (non-fish garums)

Noma-style garum is a savoury liquid made from meat, squid or another protein instead of fish. The protein is mixed with koji, salt and water and held at 60 °C for 10 to 12 weeks, so that enzymes from the koji break it down. At that heat the book says microbes do not take part, which makes it closer to enzyme digestion than to fermentation.

Fully documentedSauces and condiments2.3 months – 2.8 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe book excerpt on beef and other garums gives only the salt level (about 12 % by weight), with no weights for protein, koji or water. The authors' own roasted chicken wing recipe (The Splendid Table) is a worked example: 2 kg of roasted, chopped wings, 450 g of pearl barley koji, 480 g of non-iodized salt and 1.6 kg of chicken stock in a 3-litre vessel, making 1.5 litres.
Animal or plant proteinBeef, squid, mackerel and clams are named; peas work but should not stay in the heat as long as animal protein[noma-garum]
KojiAdding it cuts the time by more than half; amount not given in the excerpt[noma-garum]
SaltAbout 12 % of the mix by weight[noma-garum]
WaterA version without water gave a much thicker paste like Thai shrimp paste[noma-garum]
Starterkoji, added to the mix; its enzymes break down the protein

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.3 months – 2.8 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
Salt 12 %

What changes: Protein, koji, salt and water are mixed into a slurry

Step 1 of 4
Mix protein, koji, salt and water
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
12 %
Reported
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

In the authors' roasted chicken wing recipe the koji is pulsed into small pieces, mixed with the chopped wings, salt and stock, and plastic wrap is laid on the surface before the lid goes on. Output: slurry.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Noma-style garum is a savoury liquid made from meat, squid or another protein instead of fish. The protein is mixed with koji, salt and water and held at 60 °C for 10 to 12 weeks, so that enzymes from the koji break it down. At that heat the book says microbes do not take part, which makes it closer to enzyme digestion than to fermentation. Made in 4 steps over 2.3 months – 2.8 months. The longest step, hold warm, takes 2.3–2.8 months (Redzepi R 2018) and runs at 60 °C (Redzepi R 2018). Salt is 12 % (Redzepi R 2018). Koji (mould-grown grain; its enzymes break down the protein). The book says 60 °C precludes microbial activity and that without koji many garums are autolysis rather than fermentation does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2.3–2.8 monthsReported[noma-garum]Hold warm
Temperature60 °CReported[noma-garum]Hold warm
Salt12 %Reported[noma-garum]Mix protein, koji, salt and water

What makes this one different

Traditional garum and fish sauce rely on fish guts and months of sun (6 to 9 months at about 30 °C for Carthaginian garum, 9 to 12 months for Thai fish sauce). Noma's version uses koji enzymes and a 60 °C room to take 10 to 12 weeks.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Grasshopper garumGrasshoppers are among the unconventional proteins the book says Noma tried, with bee pollen, moth larvae and pig's blood.
  • Roasted chicken wing garumThe authors' own recipe roasts the wings first and ferments 4 weeks at 60 °C, because roasting gives the garum enough flavour that a longer ferment would cost it subtlety.
  • Mushroom garum (Noma Projects retail)Fungal substrate; sold retail.
  • Garum without waterA much thicker mixture that resembles Thai shrimp paste.

Safety

The room is held at 60 °C, above every maximum growth temperature in the FDA's table of limiting conditions (the highest is 55 °C for Bacillus cereus, with growth delayed past 24 hours; 48 °C for proteolytic Clostridium botulinum). The book adds that about 12 % salt by weight is a second barrier. That 12 % is by weight of the whole mix, not the water-phase salt the FDA table uses, so the two cannot be compared directly. The FDA table is for pathogens of concern in seafood processing, and FDA says its values may not apply to other processing conditions. This heat does not kill Clostridium botulinum spores, and it must hold. Below those limits (a power cut, a weak keep-warm setting), a covered, low-acid meat or fish mix is the kind of low-oxygen food where WHO says the bacterium grows.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Noma Guide to Fermentation (Redzepi and Zilber, Artisan 2018) sets out the Noma method. The book credits Thomas Frebel, the former head of Noma's test kitchen, with suggesting meat instead of fish. Noma Projects sells a Mushroom Garum. In January 2023 Redzepi announced that Noma would end regular restaurant service and become a food innovation lab; its last regular dinner service was in Kyoto, ending 18 December 2024.

  1. [noma-garum] Redzepi R., Zilber D. 2018, The Noma Guide to Fermentation, Artisan; the garum chapter as excerpted in the Noma Projects journal, Garum: Got to Have the Funkbook
  2. [s2] Noma Projects shop (Mushroom Garum, Peasos). https://www.nomaprojects.com/web
  3. [s3] Wikipedia, Noma (restaurant) (January 2023 announcement of the move to a food innovation lab; last regular service December 2024). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noma_(restaurant)wiki
  4. [fda-a1] US FDA 2011, Fish and Fishery Products Hazards and Controls Guidance, 4th ed. (April 2011), Appendix 4, Table A-1 (limiting conditions for pathogen growth)gov
  5. [splendid-chicken] Redzepi R., Zilber D. 2018, Roasted Chicken Wing Garum, recipe from The Noma Guide to Fermentation, as published by The Splendid Tablebook
  6. [who-botulism] WHO, Botulism fact sheetgov