This article is written by Daphne Tan, Ridho Valentino Andimi, Ramzani Lutfi Syarifah, Nur Ihza Baharudin, Gregorius Richardo, Arvi Daniswara, Meily Nurhakim, Domas Galih Patria, Angela Nurul Sabila, and Sephia Dyah.Â
Background Information
Tempe is known to be Indonesia’s superfood, having a diverse nutritional content with good bioavailability—especially its protein content—to fulfill daily nutritional requirements and provide health benefits (Ahnan-Winarno et al., 2021). It is described as a compact white block of fermented legumes by Rhizopus spp., with soybean being the most common bean for tempe production (Romulo & Surya, 2021). Despite that, its local production is insufficient, covering only 65% of the population’s demand. As such, imports of soybean are inevitable in order to meet the demand (Aldillah, 2015).
In 2021, Indonesia was reported to import a total of 2.5 million tons of soybean from five countries (Sayaka et al., 2021). This heavy reliance on imported soybeans may pose problems in terms of tempe productivity and affordability, especially considering currency fluctuation as well as the scale of Indonesia’s tempe producers that are predominantly done by micro to small industries (Haliza et al., 2016). Due to its expensive cost, a variety of ingredients are eventually used as an alternative of soybean to make tempe, one of them is koro benguk. Usage of koro benguk as an alternative for soybean can be done due to its high productivity, in which at least 3 to 4 tons of koro benguk is produced per hectare, while soybean’s production is 1 to 2 tons per hectare (Rahayu et al., 2019). Moreover, koro benguk is also utilized for its nutritional value that is comparable to soybean in terms of protein content, as well as health benefits. For instance, people who live in Nigeria and India consume koro benguk as it provides anthelmintic and thermogenic properties (Maharani, 2020; Retnaningsih et al., 2013). Overall, this makes koro benguk more available as an alternative protein source in Indonesia with comparable nutritional values to soybean (Amanah, 2019)
Methodology
Microbes Involved
According to Rahayu et al. (2019), the starter culture used in the fermentation of koro benguk tempe is the same as the soybean based tempe, which consists of the genus Rhizopus, specifically Rhizopus oligosporus. These microorganisms, through biochemical processes, transform soybeans into tempe with its unique texture, aroma, and taste.
Production Process
The general steps of producing koro benguk tempe are similar to soybean tempe. Despite that, there are several alterations that should be done, such as the time needed for soaking and fermenting the beans that is longer (refer to Figure 1).Â
Product’s Properties
