Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Miso

A jar of commercial barley misoImage via Wikipedia
Miso is a traditional Japanese food produced by fermenting soy (sometimes together with rice, barley) and with salt and koji (starter). The result is a thick paste used for soups, sauces, spreads and pickling vegetables.
High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan. Miso is still very widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining world-wide interest as it is now available in health food stores around the globe.
Miso is typically salty, but it's flavor and aroma depend on various factors in the ingredients and fermentation process. Different varieties of miso have been described as salty, sweet, earthy, fruity, and savory, and there is an extremely wide variety of miso available. Sometimes miso is called after the ingredients, sometimes after the color: mugi-miso (barley miso), shiro-miso (white miso), aka-miso (red miso) etc...
Miso has vitamine b12, enzymes and a lot of minerals that makes it a very healthy product.
Some modern healthfood books have recipes with raw miso, but miso should never be eaten raw, and never be cooked neighter, it should simmer a bit, just below cooking temperature. And never give miso to babies. Here you can find some books about Miso.



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