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Misos are named for the area they come from (i.e., Saikyo or Hatcho) or the grain used to incubate the koji (brown rice, barley, or soybean).
salty palate. In Kyushu, the southern island of Japan, the cuisine is characterized by very fresh fish and, inexplicably, sweetened soy sauce (not to my taste). Seaside areas use less miso than mountainous areas; instead, several abundant varieties of fish are fermented to make fish sauce (shottsuru, ishiri, ishiru) as the condiment of choice (besides soy sauce).
Misos are named for the area they come from (i.e., Saikyo or Hatcho) or the grain used to incubate the koji (brown rice, barley, or soybean). All miso is made from soybeans, koji-inoculated grain, salt, and bit of seed miso (the previous year’s miso diluted in hot water). Inaka miso (country miso) is made from white rice koji and is perhaps named as such because it is the most-used miso in farm cooking. Town people and restaurants tend to use white miso. We have never bought white miso because our local miso company makes 2-year fermented organic misos, and white miso only requires a 30-day to maximum 3-month ferment.
As for selecting miso outside of Japan, there is good news and bad. The good news is that miso is widely available at all supermarkets, not just organic shops or Japanese markets. The bad news is that most of the miso I have come across is oxidized, or in any case darker than its Japanese equivalent. For instance, inaka miso is as dark as the brown rice miso sold
in Japan, and the brown rice miso can be as dark as the dark chocolate brown soybean miso (mame miso).
For this reason (and because it is so doable), I encourage you to make your own!
Excerpted from Preserving the Japanese Way: Traditions of Salting, Fermenting, and Pickling for the Modern Kitchen, by Nancy Singleton Hachisu/Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
18
Harvest 2015
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