Tempeh Originated in Indonesia

 Tempeh Originated in Indonesia

Tempeh originated in today's Indonesia, probably on the island of Java. Soybean as the main tempeh ingredient has been recognized in Java and mentioned as kadêlê in an old Javanese manuscript Serat Sri Tanjung around the 12th to 13th century.The earliest known reference to tempeh appeared in 1815 in the Serat Centhini.The discovery of tempeh is connected to tofu production in Java.

Tempeh Originated in Indonesia The tofu-making 

The tofu-making industry was introduced to Java by Chinese immigrants circa the 17th century. Indonesian Chinese historian Ong Hok Ham suggests that tempeh was accidentally discovered as the by-product of the tofu industry in Java; as discarded soybeans residue caught the spores and grew a certain whitish fungi that was found to be edible.

Tempeh Originated in Indonesia  The etymology of Tempeh

The etymology of the term tempeh itself is suggested to be derived from old Javanese tumpi, a whitish food made from sagoo, while historian Denys Lombard suggests that it is linked to the local term tape or tapai which means "fermentation".Three detailed, fully documented histories of tempeh, worldwide, have been written, all by Shurtleff and Aoyagi (1985, 1989, and 2001).Tempeh Originated in Indonesia