Miso Lovers

Miso paste is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soy beans with salt and the fungus.  When i first saw miso paste, i wonder why there are several colors of miso paste and what the differences may be.    Well, i read an article today about miso.

In the past, people here said that you can tell the home town of a person if you know what miso paste the person likes to use most at home.   Apparently miso made in different parts of Japan, has different ingredients and colors.

Up north in areas like Hokkaido and Tohoku, miso were made of mainly rice and the color are dark brown (sometimes we call them red miso), they are saltier than other types of miso.   In the West, like Aichi prefecture, miso were made of mainly soy beans.   In further Westside of Japan people used rice to make miso, but the taste is sweeter and the color is rather pale (here called white miso).    In Kyusu and Kumamoto miso paste is mostly made of barley and the color is usually light/bright.

Tips for Miso lovers:  

1. Use lighter color miso in winter time, then as the season changes to spring and winter, use a darker type of miso.

2. You can buy two types of miso of different colors and use a mixture of them in the process.

3. Lighter color miso is sweeter with lower salt is suitable in winter, whereas the darker color (red miso) which is saltier is suitable for summer.

4. Color of miso differs by the way they process the soy beans.   When you steam soy beans for a longer time, the color of miso turns darker - such as in the case of making red miso.   When you steam soy beans for a shorter time, the miso turns pale/lighter - such as in the case of making white miso.

Please note that soy beans are the main ingredients of most miso you see nowadays.