Taking inspiration from traditional kitchen processes, artisanal food company Crafted With Time brings back the magic of fermentation, harnessing the power of time to create restaurant-grade flavour-makers that pack a punch.
Most Indonesians are aware that tempeh is made through fermentation, but many are less familiar with the widespread use of this ancient method in other culinary traditions. Fermentation has played a crucial role in preserving food long before the discovery of refrigeration. Despite being a time-consuming and sometimes challenging process, it has provided us with our kitchen staples and mainstays: soy sauce, terasi (shrimp paste), tape (fermented cassava), tauco, and oncom. What were once homemade flavour-makers are now produced in factories. As a result, many have lost touch with the traditional methods behind these ingredients and perhaps do not fully appreciate how our everyday flavours are dependent on fermentation.
This was main the concern of the five founding members of Crafted With Time (W/T/ME) who banded together with the mission of making fermentation great again. They wanted to put a spotlight on this process and its products for Indonesia’s culinary community, be it home cooks or the food and beverage industry.
The story begins with Eric Limadjaja, the brainchild behind Crafted w/ Time and the brand’s head fermenter whose background working as a chef made him realise that most conventional kitchens in restaurants prefer to source their fermented products externally instead of doing it themselves. This realisation was the seed from which W/T/ME sprouted a vision to create high-quality fermentation products that would be available to chefs, home cooks, and anyone with a passion for culinary exploration.
Coinciding with the pandemic where many people retreated to their kitchens, Eric shared his visions to his friends —fellow chefs Pringgo Dani (who’s now in charge of the brand’s business development) and Kriskha; and food enthusiasts Nicoll Soedarko and Alyandra Katya— whose expertise in branding and business development made W/T/ME what it is today. Together they began their journey with a nine-month period of constant research, trial and error, constantly developing their products before launching them to home cooks and chefs alike.
What exactly do they bring to market? It’s what W/T/ME dub, ‘flavour enhancers’. Commercial examples are things like soy, oyster and fish sauce, shrimp paste, and even MSG. Kitchens rely on these pantry products to give dishes their specific flavour profiles, be it an umami kick or a specific sweet and sour note. The difference is, W/T/ME’s enhancers aren’t made in a factory, they are the result of innovative kitchen artisanship and mastering the art of fermentation.
Their ‘White Time Miso’ was an obvious debut product, since miso has already been widely used in the kitchens, was familiar enough to entice both chefs and the home cooks. However, bringing this product to life was no small feat. Each batch required at least three months to produce, meaning every trial and error set the team back another three months.
Almost a year was spent meticulously tweaking and tasting before the team was satisfied with the result. And the wait was worth it (they’re called Crafted with Time after all). White Time Miso became one of the most versatile flavour enhancers that it works for both savoury and sweet, elevating an average dish to something you could serve in a restaurant.
While perfecting their miso, the team was also developing two other products. Shroom ‘Shoyu’, a ‘soy sauce’ made without soybeans, utilising shiitake mushrooms as the base instead. This sauce offers a rich umami flavour with earthy undertones, distinguishing it from traditional soy sauce. It’s also vegan and gluten-free, making it a modern, inclusive twist. The other product is their 10 Days Hot Sauce that captures the essence of Indonesian flavours in a bottle. The process starts with grilling the chilis to enhance their natural smokiness, followed by a ten-day fermentation to intensify the flavours and giving it a tangy kick.
The Tropical Kimchi is a vibrant new take on the traditional Korean dish, born from Eric’s desire to explore new flavours beyond the original kimchi. While it follows the same fermentation process, this version is infused with the fresh, fruity notes of passion fruit, pineapple, green apple, young papaya, and dragon fruit. The result is a kimchi that bursts with tropical flavours—sweet, tangy, and slightly tart, with a refreshing crunch. It’s versatile enough to be enjoyed as a zesty side dish, but its unique flavour profile has also inspired creative uses, including as a surprising ingredient in cocktails.
One of the core principles of W/T/ME is their commitment to reducing waste in production. By adhering to this principle, they continuously explore ways to turn what would otherwise be discarded into valuable ingredients, ensuring that nothing goes to waste in their production. One product resulting from this, is their Magic Powder.
After producing Shroom ‘Shoyu’, the team was left with a substantial amount of shiitake mushroom pulp, still rich in savoury goodness. So rather than discarding it, they decided to create something new from the ‘waste’. By adding a mix of additional seasonings, they transformed this leftover pulp into Magic Powder that works as a natural alternative to MSG. The powder is a versatile, umami-packed rub with a deep, savoury flavour that will take your fried foods like cassava or tofu to a whole new level. You can add it to your pasta dish too.
More than just utilising their own food waste, W/T/ME also collaborates with restaurants to gather their reduced waste and transform it into new, consumable products, which is also how the Savory Paste was born. Crafted from spent grains– the dregs left over from the beer-making process– which are filtered and transformed into a rich, umami-packed paste, this is a bold and innovative spread that takes inspiration from Vegemite but with a more balanced and approachable flavour profile.
Soon to be launched to the public, Savory Paste has already become a favourite among W/T/ME’s restaurant clients who use it as a condiment for their welcome bread. The flavour is complex featuring salty notes that aren’t just from salt but are complemented by the malty undertones of barley. There’s a perfect balance between sweet and salty, with hints of nuttiness that add depth to the paste. This versatile product can be used for marinating fish and chicken, as a base for salad dressings or hollandaise sauce.
Another fundamental aspect of their approach is prioritising the usage of local ingredients. W/T/ME’s consistently choose local options over imported ones whenever possible. For instance, instead of using habanero, they use cabe gendot, local cucumbers for pickling and Indonesian fruits like local apples for the base for their tropical fruit kimchi rather than using pears. Even in their production of koji, they use local rice. This dedication to local sourcing is not just a preference but a company policy that they follow in the effort to support local agriculture and reduce their environmental footprint by prioritising local ingredients whenever feasible.
Living in tropical regions like Indonesia, fermentation has historically been essential for food preservation, it is a prominent practice that has long been imbued into our culinary culture. But more than just celebrating tradition, fermentation can also reduce reliance on synthetic additives, providing a healthier, more sustainable approach to food preservation. W/T/ME hopes that with time, they can help to make fermentation a celebrated part of everyday cooking, highlighting its value in both traditional and modern culinary practices.
IG: @craftedwithtime
