What is tempeh: Its origins and pros, how to cook and conserve it

Posted by

August 10, 2025

On August 7, 2025

What is tempeh?

As knowledge and curiosity about food grows, more and more people are asking, “What is tempeh?”
With its unusual appearance—a solid, hairy (or, better, velvety to the touch) white cake—it’s difficult to guess that tempeh is a high-protein food rich in health benefits with a low environmental impact.
Technically, tempeh is a soy derivative produced by fermenting soaked, hulled, and cooked soybeans in slightly acidic water. Fermentation takes place at a temperature ranging from 28 to 32 degrees Celsius and lasts about 22 to 36 hours.
An inoculum containing the spores of Rhizopus oligosporus, a noble fungus isolated from the leaves of the sea hibiscus plant, is essential to initiate fermentation(1). However, it has recently been discovered that there are numerous Rhizopus subspecies, as many as 36, that are equally effective in producing excellent tempeh(2). Nowadays, tempeh made with different legumes, such as chickpeas, beans, and lentils, as well as peanuts and oilseeds, such as sunflower seeds, is easy to find or make.
In this article, we will only discuss traditionally made tempeh, i.e., soy tempeh.

Origins of Tempeh

Although tempeh is mostly known in the Western world as vegan meat, suggesting a new or recent product like many others we see in supermarkets, it is actually a traditional food with a long history dating back centuries — some say even millenia — and is widely consumed throughout Southeast Asia.
However, tempeh’s origins are more precisely Indonesian: in fact, UNESCO has recognized it as an authentic Indonesian food, and it is advertised as the pride of Indonesia.
As I mentioned, although tempeh has a long history, it remained unknown worldwide until a few decades ago. Once the Western countries realized its potential, interest in tempeh steadily grew, partly due to the increasing number of people eager to reduce or eliminate meat consumption in favor of a healthy, natural diet.

Now that we have the answer of “What is tempeh” and where it comes from, let’s find out why we should eat it regularly, whether we’re vegan, vegetarian, or omnivorous.

Properties and Benefits of Tempeh

Tempeh is rich in high-quality protein and vitamins, making it an excellent meat alternative with a low environmental impact.
Tempeh is considered a superfood strictly because of the fermentation process that soybeans undergo during production.
This process transforms soybeans into a cake-like product and improves the bioavailability of the present macro- and micronutrients. During fermentation, extracellular enzymes from spores pre-digest lipids, proteins, and complex carbohydrates, making them more accessible and available. At the same time, antinutrients such as phytates, lectins, tannins, and protease inhibitors are degraded through the combined processes of soaking, cooking, and fermentation, greatly increasing the bioavailability of tempeh's nutritional value.
The benefits of tempeh continue to surprise. Contrary to the initial belief that tempeh was only an excellent source of protein, studies have shown that tempeh often contains modest amounts of vitamin B12 despite not being an animal-based food. This is thanks to the presence of certain B12-producing bacteria(3). Given its limited availability and low bioavailability, tempeh cannot currently be considered a valid source of B12, but the synergistic use of bacteria (Klebsiella or Staphylococcus cereus) with Rhizopus could provide much more than the recommended daily intake of 3 mcg per 100 g.
As I mentioned in the chapter "What is Tempeh," this food is truly a superfood! While Rhizopus oligosporus spores do their task well—aka eating, proliferating, and binding the beans together with a kind of spiderweb—another miracle occurs: metabolites with high biological value are created. These include organic acids, vitamins, probiotic microorganisms, prebiotic substances, antioxidants, and many other functional elements that make tempeh a nutraceutical food(4). The term "nutraceutical" is a combination of "nutrition" and "pharmaceutical." Therefore, tempeh is considered to be:

anti-diabetic(5);
cholesterol-lowering, and lipid-lowering(6).
anti-cancer(4,5);
good for intestinal health(4);
good for cardiovascular health(4,5), and
a powerful anti-aging agent(7).

After reading about all of tempeh's generous benefits, I am sure you are convinced to consume it as much as possible. You are right, but as with everything, there are some contraindications for those suffering from certain diseases and/or health disorders.

Cons of Tempeh

Who should not eat Tempeh?

We saw in “What is Tempeh” that tempeh is traditionally a food made from soybeans, which are known to be rich in phytoestrogens. However, since tempeh is made by fermenting soybeans, it has a lower ability to mimic estrogen; even so, it COULD be a concern for women with estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. As you may have noticed, I wrote “could” in capital letters, because studies on the effects of phytoestrogens are observational and do not constitute a definitive verdict.
This opinion is also supported by other research showing the opposite, in the sense that American women with a history of breast cancer who take high amounts of isoflavonoids, as Asian women do, together with drug treatment, show a 60% reduction in the incidence of new tumors[8].
In addition, patients with thyroid disorders should also consult their doctors before taking it frequently.
It goes without saying that people with soy allergies should also avoid eating tempeh.

If you don't fall into any of these categories, I bet you can't wait to try it. Are you curious to know what tempeh tastes like?

What does tempeh taste like?

If you think it has a soy aftertaste, you’re fortunately mistaken. To me, tempeh tastes like mushrooms, but many of its fans say it tastes like meat, especially when fried with the right spices. In my opinion, its most interesting gastronomic feature is its ability to absorb and imitate flavors perfectly. With the appropriate seasonings, tempeh can provide surprisingly exciting flavors (see here, here, and here).

Considering it a food only for those who don’t eat meat would be a lack of self-love, given its health benefits. Omnivores can use tempeh to reduce their meat consumption because, let’s be honest: we know we eat too much meat, and the recommended amount is only one serving per week. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to halve your consumption without feeling any sense of sacrifice?

Now that you’ve learned about tempeh and its benefits, you may want to learn how to make it safely and cheaply at home. If so, read on here.
Before saying goodbye, here is one last piece of useful information, whether you want to make tempeh at home or buy it.

How to Store Tempeh

Store-bought tempeh is pasteurized and can be stored in the refrigerator according to the package instructions. If you make your own tempeh, I recommend reading this article and steaming your tempeh before storing it in the refrigerator or freezer.
Both store-bought and homemade tempeh can be stored in the freezer for up to three months.

Bon appétit, and happy revolution to all!

Bibliography
1) Ogawa, Yoshio & Tokumasu, Seiji & Tubaki, Keisuke. (2004). An original habitat of tempeh molds. Mycoscience. 45. 271-276. 10.1007/s10267-004-0180-1.
2) Prihatna, Cahya, and Antonius Suwanto. “Phenotypic, metabolic, and genetic diversity of the Indonesian isolates of Rhizopus oligosporus.” Microbiology Indonesia 1.1 (2007): 7.
3) Kustyawati, Maria Erna, Murhadi Murhadi, and Samsul Rizal. “Vitamin B12 production in soybean fermentation for tempeh.” AIMS Agriculture and Food 5.2 (2020): 262-271.
4) Sze Qi Teoh, Nyuk Ling Chin, Chun Wie Chong, Adiratna Mat Ripen, Syahmeer How, Joyce Jen Li Lim, A review on health benefits and processing of tempeh with outlines on its functional microbes, Future Foods, Volume 9, 2024, 100330, ISSN 2666-8335
5) A. Ayuningtyas, E.A. Murbawani, N. Nuryanto. The effect of tempeh intake on spatial memory in prediabetic rats Nutr. Food Sci., 49 (4) (2019), pp. 592-599
6) Zulaikha, H.N. & Kartawidjajaputra, F. 2023. Cholesterol-lowering effect of soy nuts and tempeh on hypercholesterolemic subjects 4(2): 95–102.
7) M.H. Pan, C.S. Lai, M.L. Tsai, J.C. Wu, C.T. Ho. Molecular mechanisms for anti-aging by natural dietary compounds Mol. Nutr. Food Res., 56 (1) (2012), pp. 88-115
8) Guha, Neela et al. “Soy isoflavones and risk of cancer recurrence in a cohort of breast cancer survivors: the Life After Cancer Epidemiology study.” Breast cancer research and treatment vol. 118,2 (2009): 395-405.