Production of High-Quality Oncom, a Traditional Indonesian Fermented Food, by the Inoculation with Selected Mold Title Strains in the Form of Pure Culture and Solid Inoculum Author(s) Sastraatmadja, Dudi Djuhdia; TOMITA, Fusao; KASAI, Takanori Citation Journal of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, 70(2), 111-127 Issue Date 2002-01 Doc URL http://hdl.handle.net/2115/13163 Type bulletin (article) File Information 70(2)_p111-127.pdf Instructions for use Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers : HUSCAP J. Grad. Sch. Agr. Hokkaido Univ., Vol. 70, Pt. 2 : 111-127 (2002) Production of High-Quality Oncom, a Traditional Indonesian Fermented Food, by the Inoculation with Selected Mold Strains in the Form of Pure Culture and Solid Inoculum 1 2 Dudi Djuhdia SASTRAATMADJA , Fusao TOMITA and Takanori KASAe 'Research and Development Center for Biology-LIPI, Indonesia 2Division of Applied Bioscience, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University (Received Jun. 18, 200l/Accepted Aug. 10, 200l) Abstract High-quality oncom, traditional Indonesian fermented food, was prepared by the inoculation of pure culture of several Neurospora, Rhizopus, and Mucor strains. Although the role of Mucor in oncom production was not known, many Mucor strains could produce high-quality oncom. Solid inoculum containing each of 4 Rhizopus, 4 Mucor, and 3 Neurospora strains with use of cooked rice as a carrier were prepared to produce high-quality oncom. All inoculum except one contained enough amount of living cells to produce oncom after storage for 180 days at room temperature. Bandung red oncom and bogor red oncom produced by the local producer using the solid inoculum had very good quality. They were brought to the local market and well accepted by the consumers. Oncom is a traditional Indonesian fermented food that has been produced and consumed mainly in West Java. The raw materials of oncom are mainly the waste of agricultural products and there are many kinds of oncom by the combi­ nation of several molds and raw materials. The temperature of the solid substrate fermentation used for fermented foods in Southeast Asia is considered to be mesophilic because the incubation is usually carried out at room temperature in a very uniform tropical environment of 25° to 32°C. Indonesia is in a hot and humid zone where the people enjoy many traditional fermented foods such as tauco, kecap, tempeh, ragi tape, tape ketala, tape ketan, and oncom because of a stable high temperature of about 31°C. All these fermented foods except oncom are produced by a modernized process with the use of inoculum, but oncom is produced on the scale of a small cottage industry with no use of inoculum, so the quality of oncom is not always stable and sometimes cannot be guaranteed. Part of the doctoral thesis of Dudi Djuhdia Sastraatmadja with the same title submitted to the Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University (2000) 112 Dudi Djuhdia SASTRAATMADJA, Fusao TOMITA and Takanori KASAl Oncom is the cheapest product among these fermented foods because the raw materials for oncom are mainly the waste of agricultural products that still contain a high amount of protein suitable for consumers with low-incomes. Therefore the improvement of the quality of oncom should result not only in a supply of good and low-cost food with high protein content, but also in the efficient use of agricultural products. However, no effort has been made to improve the quality of oncom and to distribute the improved products. This paper deals with improving the quality of oncom by inoculation with selected superior mold strains in the form of pure culture and solid inoculum. MATERIALS AND METHOD I. Production of high-quality oncom by the inoculation of pure culture of Neurospora, Rhizopus, and Mucor strains To find the microorganisms for producing a better quality oncom, many molds, including Neurospora, Mucor, and Rhisopus species isolated from tradi­ tional Indonesian fermented foods in West Java1-4) and kept in the Microbial Collection Sub-Division, Division of Microbiology, Research and Development Center for Biology-LIPI, Bogor, were examined. The raw materials for bandung red oncom consisted of peanut press cake, solid residue of tapioca flour, and soybean curd (15:5:1). For black oncom they consisted of peanut press cake and soybean curd (3:1). They were prepared under asceptic conditions that were not adopted by traditional oncom producers. The raw material was sterilized in an autoclave at 115c C for 15 min and, after being cooled, inoculated with a heavy suspension (ODs4onm 0.50) of 3-day-old culture of each strain and incubated at 2TC for 24 or 48 hours. All treatments including control were done in duplicate. The products were analyzed for texture visually5) 6 and with the use of Penetrometer, pH, water content, reducing sugars ), and total and soluble nitrogen7). Organoleptic properties were evaluated by 15 panelists 8 under the method of Larmond ). The products were assessed with numbers from 1 to 9, the smaller mark meaning the better quality. a) The ability of Neurospora strains to produce bandung red on com Oncom produced by the fermentation of raw materials consisted mainly of peanut press cake by Neurospora, Mucor, and Rhizopus species is one of tradi­ tional Indonesian fermented food consumed especially in West lava. It is the only food for humans produced by fermentation with the Neurospora species. Thirteen Neurospora strains isolated from oncom collected from several places in West lava were examined for their ability to produce bandung red oncom. b) The ability of Rhizopus strains to produce on com with the raw material for bandung red oncom It has been known that at least 4 Rhizopus species - R.stoloni/er, R.oligospor­ urn, R.oryzae, and R.arrhizus - participate in tempeh production, and the abilities to degrade carbohydrate, protein, and lipid in the raw materials are different Production of High-Quality Oncom, a Traditional Indonesian Fermented Food 113 depending on species. Some Rhizopus strains have also been isolated from black 9 oncom ). Eight strains of R.oryzae, 7 of R.oligosjJorum, 3 of R.arrhizus, and 3 of R. stoloni/er that had been isolated from traditional Indonesian fermented foods collected from several places in West Java were examined for their ability to produce oncom with the raw material for bandung red oncom. The incubation time was 48 hours at room temperature. c) The ability of Rhizopus strains to produce black oncom The texture of black oncom sold in the market is not yet compact, and the surface is not fully covered by myselia, which gives a grayish black color on the surface, because the incubation period is only 24 hours. Black oncom is not only cheaper than other oncom, but it contains a relatively high amount of protein and some other nutrients. Therefore black oncom is an important food for consumers with low incomes. The raw materials for black oncom were inoculated with the pure culture of each of 11 Rhizopus strains isolated from black oncom and incubated at room temperature for 48 hours, instead of the 24 hours adopted by local oncom producers. d) The ability of Mucor strains to produce oncom with the raw material for bandung red oneom (1) Although Mucor strains are nearly always isolated from traditional In­ donesian fermented foods, it has not been known that Mucor strains have a specific role in these foods. This study was carried out to clarify the role of Mucor strains in the fermentation process of traditional Indonesian fermented foods to find a superior strain for one om production. Thirty four Mucor strains were isolated from 8 kinds of traditional Indonesian fermented foods in West Java, and their abilities to produce oncom were examined. Each sample of traditional Indonesian fermented foods collected at several places in West Java was put in a sterile plastic bag in aseptic condition. A small piece of each sample was put in sterile distilled water, and after shaking, one drop of each suspension was put on a medium agar in a Petri dish and incubated at room temperature for 2 days. The colony was separated and purified. The raw material for bandung red oncom was inoculated with each Mucor strain and incubated at room temperature. e) The ability of Mucor strains to produce oncom with the raw material for bandung red oncom (2) In this experiment, the abilities of each of the 3 strains of Mucor javanicus, M.circinoloides, and other Mucor species isolated from traditional Indonesian fermented foods to ferment the raw material for bandung red oncom were studied. The raw material for bandung red oncom was inoculated with each of 9 strains of Mucor strain described above and incubated at room temperature. f) The ability of Mucor strains to ferment various leguminous seeds In this experiment, the abilities of Mucor strains to ferment leguminous crops, which are the raw materials for traditional Indonesian fermented foods, 114 Dudi Djuhdia SASTRAATMAD]A, Fusao TOMITA and Takanori KASAl were studied. Three Mucor strains were used to inoculate 7 kinds of cooked materials -peanut press cake, soybean, wing bean, giant ipil-ipil, flat nut, lima bean, and cow pea - which were the raw materials of 7 fermented foods. II. Production of high-quality oncom using cooked rice as a carrier of selected mold strains Superior strains proving capable of producing good oncom and kept in Microbiology Division, R&D Center for Biology - LIPI, Bogar, were used. a) Preparation of inoculum To 100 g of rice grain, 60 ml of distilled water was added in a large Petri dish and sterilized at 115°C for 15 min. After being cooled, they were inoculated with 9 ml of 7-day-old culure (ODs4onm 0.35) of each of 4 Rhizopus, 4 Mucor and 3 Neurospora strains that had already been known capable of producing high­ quality oncom; they were incubated at 32°C for 3 days and further at 3TC for 5 days.