{"id":726230,"date":"2021-04-12T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-04-12T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.milk-food.de\/2021\/vegan-umami-spice-cube\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T16:54:36","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T14:54:36","slug":"veganer-umami-gewurzwurfel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.milk-food.de\/en\/blog\/2021\/04\/12\/veganer-umami-gewurzwurfel\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan umami spice cube"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Mushroom Katsuobushi<\/h1>\n\n

Katsuobushi is an exciting and, above all, flavorful product. It is made by drying, smoking and fermenting bonito, a fish from the mackerel and tuna family in Japan. And this already since the 17th century. <\/p>\n\n

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Drop the dice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

This turns the fish fillet into a hard block (some call it the hardest food in the world<\/a>) that can be sliced into very fine intense flakes. Katsuobushi is an ingredient in dashi, an important staple broth in Japanese cuisine. Pure, the flakes are added as a seasoning over food. This is remotely reminiscent of Parmesan cheese. Again, a particularly umami-rich product is shaved and placed over dishes to intensify their flavor. Steffi from our Food Lab Munich experimented with this idea.<\/p>\n\n

Vegan umami spice cube<\/h2>\n\n

I have set myself the task of implementing such a practical seasoning product vegan. Initially, instead of a fish, I had the idea to process vegetables in one piece and obtain intense flavors by drying and smoking. Vegetables on their own don’t have the most intense flavors, which is why I wanted to season them first. However, the plan to inoculate parsnips and parsley roots with a vegan “fish sauce” failed and also the pickling in the sauce and subsequent drying did not lead to a satisfactory result.<\/p>\n\n

Therefore, instead of working with a whole vegetable, I decided to make a mass and dry it. Vegan dashi is made with seaweed and mushrooms<\/a> and these very ingredients are the basis for my mushroom katsuobushi or vegan umami seasoning cube.<\/p>\n\n

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Mushrooms = Umami<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

The search for the right dark and intense flavor, mixing and testing felt like an alchemical transformation process and also inspired the recipe images. Have fun re-cooking in your test kitchen!<\/p>\n\n

UMAMI spice cubes approx. 8 pieces<\/h5>\n\n

Required equipment: Electric spice grinder\/coffee grinder<\/p>\n\n

Ingredients:<\/p>\n\n