Fermented Broad Bean
Fermented broad bean is the seasoning paste made by fermenting broad beans, Vicia faba, with a mould culture and salt, the base of the bean pastes used across Chinese cooking and the foundation of the chilli bean pastes associated with Sichuan cuisine. It is a fermented food rather than an isolated ingredient, and its value lies in what long enzymatic breakdown does to the bean protein and starch.
Production follows the same two stage logic as soy sauce. Steamed broad beans are mixed with wheat flour and inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae to make koji, and the proteases and amylases the mould secretes are what convert the bean over the following months. The koji is then salted and held in open vats where salt tolerant lactic acid bacteria and osmotolerant yeasts work alongside the residual mould enzymes, breaking protein down to peptides and free amino acids, starch to sugars, and generating the esters, aldehydes and pyrazines that make up the aroma. Extended exposure to sun and air drives the Maillard reactions that darken the paste from pale brown to deep reddish brown and deepen the flavour.
The finished product is a thick, coarse, reddish brown to dark brown paste carrying visible bean fragments, salty and strongly savoury with a mild sourness, and containing typically twelve to eighteen percent salt, which is what preserves it. Where chilli is included, salted chilli mash is fermented separately and blended in, and the resulting paste is the red, oily style used as a cooking base rather than a condiment.
We source bulk Fermented Broad Bean from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturers are in Sichuan and Xinjiang. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
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- Function
- Probiotic
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Thick reddish brown to dark brown paste with visible bean fragments |
| Odour and Taste | Characteristic fermented bean aroma, salty and savoury |
| Amino Acid Nitrogen | Not less than 0.30 g per 100 g |
| Total Acid (as lactic acid) | Not more than 2.0 g per 100 g |
| Sodium Chloride | 12.0 to 18.0 g per 100 g |
| Moisture | Not more than 65.0 percent |
| Protein | Not less than 6.0 percent |
| pH | 4.5 to 5.5 |
| Aflatoxin B1 | Not more than 5 microgram/kg |
| Lead | Not more than 1 mg/kg |
| Arsenic | Not more than 0.5 mg/kg |
| Total Plate Count (pasteurised) | Not more than 10000 cfu/g |
| Yeast and Mould (pasteurised) | Not more than 100 cfu/g |
| Coliforms | Not more than 30 MPN per 100 g |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 g |
Common Markets Grades
The first distinction is whether chilli is present. Plain broad bean paste is the simpler product, used as a savoury base and as a raw material for other sauces. Chilli broad bean paste carries a separately fermented salted chilli fraction and is graded on the ratio of chilli to bean as well as on the fermentation age. Within the chilli type, the traditional styles are aged in open vats through repeated seasonal cycles, and one, two and three year products are traded at increasing prices. The longer aged pastes are darker, less salty in perception and more aromatic.
The second is physical presentation and processing. Coarse ground paste retains recognisable bean halves and is used where visible texture is expected, while fine milled paste is made for industrial sauce manufacture where the product will be diluted. Pastes are sold either unpasteurised, relying on salt for stability, or heat treated and packed for retail, which stops further fermentation and fixes the flavour. Reduced salt versions exist but require a preservative system or refrigeration, since salt is the only hurdle in the traditional product. Buyers specify amino acid nitrogen, total acid, salt and moisture. Amino acid nitrogen is the measure of how far the protein has been broken down and the closest thing the category has to a quality index.
Applications
- Sichuan style cooking bases, where the chilli bean paste is fried in oil at the start of a dish to release colour and aroma
- Braised meat and fish dishes, where the paste supplies salt, savoury depth and colour together
- Hot pot and dipping sauce bases, where it forms the savoury backbone of the compounded seasoning
- Industrial sauce manufacture, where fine milled paste is a raw material for bottled cooking sauces
- Noodle and dumpling sauces, where the paste is thinned with stock and oil
- Marinades for meat, where the enzymes and salt assist penetration and tenderisation
- Stir fry seasoning blends, where it replaces separate additions of salt, savoury flavour and chilli
- Prepared and retorted meals, where the flavour holds up well through thermal processing
- Plant based dishes and meat analogues, where the fermented bean character supplies the savoury depth the base lacks
Brands Using Fermented Broad Bean
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Fermented Broad Bean on the ingredient label.
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Fermented Broad Bean
Top Fermented Broad Bean manufacturers in China.
Sichuan Litong Food Co., Ltd.5 ingredients in the directory- Xinjiang Pujiwo Garden Food Technology Co., Ltd.5 ingredients in the directory
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States fermented broad bean paste is a conventional food with no standard of identity, placed on the market under general food law and labelled by its common name with a full ingredient declaration. Wheat is used in the koji, so a wheat allergen declaration is normally required, and where the product is imported the usual attention falls on undeclared additives, on colour, and on the mycotoxin and heavy metal status of the raw materials. Broad beans can provoke haemolysis in individuals with glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency, a consideration that belongs to the raw material rather than to the fermentation.
In the European Union the paste is likewise a food rather than an additive, subject to general food law, hygiene requirements and the food information rules, with cereals containing gluten declared as an allergen. The contaminants regulation sets maximum levels for aflatoxins and for heavy metals that apply to the ingredients and to the finished product, and any added colour or preservative must be authorised for the relevant food category and declared with its E number. Codex has adopted regional standards for fermented soybean products in Asia, and while these do not cover broad bean paste directly, the general Codex standards on contaminants, hygiene and labelling apply, and the code of practice for the prevention of mycotoxin contamination is the relevant reference for the raw material.
Manufacturing Process
Broad beans are soaked, dehulled and steamed, which denatures the protein so that enzymes can reach it, then cooled and mixed with roasted or raw wheat flour, which supplies starch for the mould and helps separate the beans. The mixture is inoculated with a pure culture of Aspergillus oryzae and spread in trays or a turned koji bed at controlled temperature and humidity for two to three days, until the mould has grown through the mass and the enzyme system has developed. Temperature control matters, since an overheated bed both kills the culture and lets contaminating bacteria establish.
The mature koji is mixed with salt and brine and transferred to fermentation vats, traditionally open earthenware jars or shallow concrete tanks exposed to the weather. The mash is turned regularly, which aerates it, evens out temperature and exposes it to sunlight, and is held for anything from a few months to several years. During this time enzymatic hydrolysis continues, lactic acid bacteria acidify the mash, yeasts contribute aroma compounds, and slow Maillard browning develops the colour. Where a chilli product is being made, fresh chillies are salted and fermented separately in their own vats and the two mashes are blended at a set ratio partway through the ageing. At the end of ageing the paste is milled to the required coarseness, checked for salt, moisture, acid and amino acid nitrogen, and either packed as a live product or pasteurised and filled into jars or pouches.
