Miso: The 1,300-Year Patience
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Origin
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Description
Miso — fermented soybean paste — has been produced in Japan since at least the 8th century. The range of miso mirrors Japan's geography: white miso (shiro — Kyoto, short fermentation, sweet and mild), red miso (aka — northern Japan, 1–3 years, deep and salty), Hatcho miso (Okazaki, 100% soybean, 3+ years, chocolatey and intense), and barley miso (mugi — Kyushu, earthy and robust). The fermentation is driven by koji which converts the soybean proteins into amino acids (umami) and the starches into sugars. Time does the rest.
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The Thread
—Korean doenjang (the Korean equivalent — coarser, earthier, traditionally made from meju blocks fermented outdoors), Chinese doubanjiang (fermented bean paste — the Sichuan branch), Southeast Asian fe
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Flavour Context
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Pillars V — VII
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