(Fermentation) Making Miso
I love fermented foods. I find it romantic that invisible bacteria break down ingredients to create flavor.
My interest in fermentation started with making miso.
People in the past made everything themselves, and since I enjoy cooking, I thought I could probably do it too, so I gave it a try.
I purchased the ingredients for making miso from Marukawa Miso.
They even provide a page where you can calculate the convenient ingredient ratios, which was extremely helpful for a beginner.
There was a miso-making lecture video on Marukawa Miso's YouTube channel, so I didn't have any trouble at all. I finished the preparation successfully and waited ten months for it to ferment.
The taste of the finished miso was exquisite, and I remember being moved by the realization that this was truly my own homemade miso.
At first, I made about 5 kg.
In my third year, I challenged myself to make 15 kg.
Making 15 kg by myself was quite tough, haha.
Soaking the soybeans took 18 hours, it took about 40 minutes to boil the water in a stockpot to cook the soybeans, and the boiling time was 3 hours. After that, it was just the task of mashing the soft soybeans.
was a huge help.
But it is very fun, and the taste of miso that you have put your heart and soul into is something you cannot buy.
Marukawa Miso is the only company in Japan that harvests its own koji mold to make rice koji. Because of this, it is not the typical pure white koji mold, but has a slight greenish tint.
They are a wonderful miso shop that only uses safe, secure, and environmentally friendly ingredients.
You can buy ingredients individually, and you can also purchase miso-making kits.
Everyone, please try making miso if you'd like!
(Maybe I'll try making soy sauce next.)