For more than 2,000 years, Japan has relied on one powerful ingredient to create some of the world’s most beloved foods: koji. From soy sauce and sake to miso and mirin, koji rice—rice inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae—has been the quiet engine of flavour across Asia.
Today, this ancient ferment is at the forefront of modern culinary innovation, unlocking cleaner labels, deeper umami, faster processing, and extraordinary flavour development. For any brand or chef looking to elevate their offerings, Koji Rice isn’t just an ingredient—it’s a competitive advantage.
What Makes Koji Rice Special? Koji turns simple carbohydrates into complex, savoury, aromatic compounds through natural enzymatic action. The result, an Enzyme-Rich Powerhouse. Koji produces amylases, proteases, and lipases which:
- Break down starches into natural sweetness
- Transform proteins into rich umami
- Enhance texture and aroma naturally
A Brief History — From Ancient Craft to Modern Breakthrough. Koji has been central to Japanese food culture since at least the Yayoi period (300 BCE). In the 8th century, it was so essential that the Japanese government established the Koji Bureau to control its quality. Over centuries, the practices of koji making became an art form—refined in wooden koji rooms, carefully tended by toji (master brewers), and passed down through generations. Today, advances in microbiology have helped the world appreciate what Japan has known for millennia: Aspergillus oryzae is one of the most powerful, safe, and flavour-enhancing microbes on Earth. It is now recognised globally as:
- A national fungus of Japan
- A GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) organism
- A cornerstone of the worldwide fermentation renaissance
Why Choose Our Koji Rice? Together with our partners FLUX Fermentation, we produce Koji crafted from select rice and high-purity A. oryzae spores under strict controlled fermentations to produce a premium grade Koji Rice great for many different cooking and food enhancing applications.
Koji Rice available at scale. We can supply hundreds of kg's of Koji Rice with short lead times - contact us to discuss your project.