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Fermentation Atlas

Starters and koji from Tibet, Bhutan, Ladakh

Phab (phap)

starter for Tibetan barley chhaang. Made in 6 steps over 7 days – 10 days. The longest step, dry in the shade, takes 5–7 days (Angmo K 2014). Saccharomyces cerevisiae does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step5–7 daysMeasured[angmo2014]Dry in the shade
Temperature20–38 °CMeasured[angmo2014]Incubate on Artemisia twigs in a dark room

Recipe

Amounts from a sourcePer bho (about 1 kg) of barley flour, as made in the Nubra valley (Angmo and Bhalla 2014).
1 bho (about 1 kg)Roasted husked barley flour (tolgong)[angmo2014]
Lukewarm or cold water · To knead[angmo2014]
1 tabletOld phab, powdered · Per bho of flour[angmo2014]
2–3 handfulsWheat flour · Per bho, dusted on after the old phab[angmo2014]
Starterback-slop: one powdered old phab per bho (about 1 kg) of flour

Total time across the recorded steps: 7 days – 10 days

Start
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What changes: Light roasting, then the water mill grinds the barley to flour

Step 1 of 6
Roast and mill the husked barley
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Lightly roasted and ground in a water mill (rantak). Output: barley flour.

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