the Japanese name, now commonly used elsewhere, for what is also known as ‘bean paste’. This is a fermented paste of soya beans and, usually, rice or barley or rye. It plays an important role in Japanese cuisine. Similar products are used in SE Asia, especially Indonesia.
Miso was first made in China, where it and soy sauce developed from a common predecessor, thought to have been a condiment prepared from meat, salt, and wine, fermented with a koji (starter culture) made from grain. A substance of this kind is mentioned in the Analects of Confucius. On archaeological evidence it is certain that by 200 bc a fermented condiment made with soya beans, rather than meat, was known in China. Dou jiang, the Chinese equivalent of miso, is familiar as an accompaniment to Peking duck; but it is less important in China than miso is in Japan. The first Japanese written reference to miso dates from ad 701.
The Japanese use miso in many ways, notably for making miso soup, as a dressing for aemono (salads), in the cooking liquid of nimono (simmered dishes—see Japanese culinary terms), on grilled food, as an ingredient of pouring sauces, and as a flavouring for pickles.
Miso made from rice and soya beans (the usual kind) is komemiso; from barley or rye and soya beans, mugimiso; and from soya beans alone, mamemiso. There are also blended types and a kind made in Okinawa for which the stones of cycads are used. Namemiso (literally miso to be licked) is made by adding fish, shellfish, poultry, vegetables, seaweeds, nuts, sugar, etc. to miso, and is eaten as a relish.
Rice miso comes in a variety of colours, due to different ingredients and methods of fermentation. The light kinds are more quickly fermented and milder in flavour, the darker ones stronger and more mature. The colours range from that of ‘white miso’ (actually pale yellow) through red to brownish-black. Both sweetish and salty types are available, but the dark kind is always salty. A large amount of salt is needed in colder climates where fermentation is slow, to keep the beans from going bad before the fermenting organism takes hold. Tsugaru-sannen miso is fermented for three years. Barley miso may also be either sweet or salty. Plain soya bean miso includes one kind, hatcho miso, which may take up to two years to mature. Prepared miso keeps for up to a year when refrigerated.
In China, dou jiang also has yellow (sweet) and black (strong) varieties. The grain added to the beans is wheat rather than rice. A sweet wheat-flour version is called tian mian jiang. There is also a kind with chunks of soya bean in it, dou ban jiang; and a hot variety with red pepper, la jiao jiang.
Miso is fermented in two stages. First a mould, Aspergillus oryzae, is grown on steamed grain. This forms the koji (starter culture) for the eventual mixture. The soya beans are soaked, steamed and chopped, then mixed with the koji, salt, and water. The water contains yeasts and lactic bacteria; in the past these were wild strains entering from the atmosphere, but now cultures are deliberately added. It is these organisms which develop the final flavour. The mixture is then left to ripen for as long as required.
When the fermentation of miso is complete the soya beans retain their original shape. Miso used to be ground daily at home with a huge pestle and mortar, but nowadays it is sold ready ground. Home-made miso is still ground by hand.
There is also a related dry product, hamanatto, a speciality of Shizuoka. This may be regarded as an early form of miso, similar to Chinese fermented black beans. It is made like miso but with the addition of toasted ground wheat to the beans. Dried in the sun, then mixed with pickled ginger, it is black and has a sweet taste. A similar product, tauco kering, has been introduced in Indonesia. Natto is a different soya bean product, fermented by bacteria instead of moulds.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
