Fermentation and garums have been one of the sources of success of Noma as it shifted to a more vegetable based cuisine over the years. Now, two of their favourite garums will be available to the general public as part of a venture to help people bring more vegetables into their everyday cooking.
Chef Rene Redzepi and his team have used the time during lockdown to create a new venture called Noma Projects which aims to share all their accumulated knowledge, craft and experimentation in this new project.
“We will be launching products for your pantry to community based initiatives which will be a way for us to address issues we care about through the lens of food. Noma Projects will be a way for us to address the issues we care about, while fueling our own creativity,” said Rene Redzepi as he launched the two garums or Project 001 as it has been called.
“This is our take on a 1000 year old recipe that we have been developing over the past two decades. They are potent umami based sauces. With Noma Projects we are going to the future and this project is just the beginning,” said Redzepi.
The garums are currently being fermented and will be available as from Autumn/Winter 2021.
Project 1 is Noma’s line of garums. They have taken a thousands-year-old culinary tradition of fermented fish sauces and created two garums – Smoked Mushroom (vegan) and a sweet rice and egg garum (vegetarian).
Garums were originally fermented fish sauces made all around the Mediterranean basin. The tradition dates back thousands of years.. The umami-rich sauce can be used as a versatile seasoning for all kinds of food—much like one might use soy sauce or fish sauce today. #
The project not only provides garums but also an extensive recipe collection to help people get the most out of them,
The smoked Mushroom Garum
The lightly smoked mushroom garum is a plant-based option full of earthy, fruity flavors and a ton of umami. We crush organic mushrooms with salt and rice koji before cold-smoking and bottling this special brew. It’s a fantastic way to add umami and richness to your cooking.
An example of how to use it:
Slice and fry your preferred mushrooms over high heat. Once golden brown, turn the heat to low, add a slice of cold butter along with a spoonful of smoked mushroom garum and a small handful of pine nuts and swirl the pan a few times. Move the contents to a bowl, put the pan back on the heat, and toss in some grated cauliflower. Sauté for a minute, then mix together with the fried mushrooms. You can add chopped herbs, pomegranate or even a fried egg for a perfect lunch or side dish.
Sweet rice and Egg Garum
This garum uses fresh egg whites which are blended with toasted rice koji and salt before being fermented for 5 weeks at 60C. The resulting elixir lends a luxurious roundness to any dish.
An example of how to use it:
Add 250 grams of your preferred pasta to boiling salted water. Cook the pasta very al dente—about 2 min less then recommended on the pack. Meanwhile, place a large sauté pan over medium heat along with a teaspoon of freshly ground pepper and toast. Now add 25 grams of butter along with half a ladle of the boiling pasta water. Bring to a simmer. Once the butter, pepper, and pasta water have reduced by about half, add a tablespoon of Sweet Rice and Egg Garum, along with the pasta, make sure to swirl the pan about and add a few handfuls of grated Parmesan or Pecorino. Continue to swirl for about a minute, adding more pasta water if needed.
Top with fresh herbs or crisp bread crumbs.
Photos courtesy of Noma Projects
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