Miso - Ingredients

Ingredients

The ingredients used to produce miso may include any mix of soybeans, barley, rice, buckwheat, millet, rye, wheat, hemp seed, and cycad, among others. Lately, producers in other countries have also begun selling miso made from chickpeas, corn, azuki beans, amaranth, and quinoa. Fermentation time ranges from as little as five days to several years. The wide variety of Japanese miso is difficult to classify, but is commonly done by grain type, color, taste, and background.

• mugi (麦): barley
• tsubu (粒): whole wheat/barley
• genmai (玄米): brown rice
• moromi (醪): chunky, healthy (kōji is unblended)
• nanban (南蛮): mixed with hot chili pepper for dipping sauce
• taima (大麻): hemp seed
• sobamugi (蕎麦): buckwheat
• hadakamugi (裸麦): rye
• nari (蘇鉄): made from cycad pulp, Buddhist temple diet
• gokoku (五穀): "5 grain": soy, wheat, barley, proso millet, and foxtail millet

Many regions have their own specific variation on the miso standard. For example, the soybeans used in Sendai miso are much more coarsely mashed than in normal soy miso.

Miso made with rice such as shinshu and shiro are called kome miso.

Types of miso are divided by main ingredients.

• Kome miso, or "rice miso"

Can be yellow, yellowish white, red, etc. Whitish miso is made from boiled soybeans, and reddish miso is made from steamed soybeans. Kome miso is consumed more in eastern Japan, and the Hokuriku and Kinki areas.

• Mugi miso, or "barley miso"

A whitish miso which is produced in Kyushu, the western Chugoku area of Japan, and Shikoku areas. Another reddish Mugi miso is produced in the northern Kanto area. Mugi miso has a peculiar smell.

• Mame miso, or "soybean miso"

This miso is a darker, more reddish brown than kome miso. This is not as sweet as some other varieties of miso, but has some astringency and good umami(旨味). This miso requires a long maturing term. Mame miso is consumed mostly in Aichi prefecture, part of Gifu prefecture, and part of Mie prefecture.

• Chougou miso, "mixed miso"

This comes in various types, because it is a mixture or compound of other varieties of miso. This may improve the weak points of each type of miso. For example, Mame miso is very salty, but when combined with Kome miso the finished product has a mild taste.

• Akamiso, or red miso

This is aged for a long time, sometimes more than one year. Therefore, due to the Maillard reaction, the color of this miso changes gradually from white to red or black, thus giving it the name red miso. Characteristics of the flavor of this type of miso are saltiness, and some astringency with umami. It is often a much stronger-tasting miso. Factors in the depth of color are the formula of the soybeans themselves and the quantity of soybeans used. Generally, steamed soybeans are more deeply colored than boiled soybeans.

• Shiromiso, or white miso

This is the most widely produced miso, made in many regions of the country. Its main ingredients are rice, barley, and a small quantity of soybeans. If a greater quantity of soybeans was added, the miso would be red or brown. Compared with red miso, white miso has a very short fermentation time. The taste is sweet, and the umami is soft or light (compared to red miso).