Hrvoje Kroflin, chef of Zagreb restaurant Mano2, creates wonders with fermentation

Healthy, exotic, intense… these are just some of the words that can describe Mano2 restaurant’s fermented ingredients, all products of chef Hrvoje Kroflin’s perfectionism and dedication. Chef Kroflin, together with his culinary team, ferments all kinds of amino pastes, like miso – Japanese paste with strong taste that requires long fermentation process and is often used as seasoning or soup base, or even marinades. Kroflin’s little fermentation workshop prepares different versions of miso paste, used for a variety of dishes, both salty and sweet, which gives them a rather specific aroma and offers a myriad of flavours.

Creating fermented miso paste can last for months, even years, and it is made with barley or rice, enriched by “koji”, the Aspergillus oryzae fungus. Thanks to Kroflin’s dedication to fermenting interesting ingredients, they do not make just one type of miso paste in their restaurant, but instead experiment with different ingredients provided by well-known markets of Zagreb. So far, they have made poppy seed, pumpkin seed and sourdough bread miso, and another novelty in their offer is chestnut miso, which gives that special fifth taste – the umami.

Fermenting ingredients is a challenging process that requires a lot of attention and patience, but the result is creating something completely special for your dish that cannot be easily found in local stores.