The story of being moved by my first homemade miso, and our family's unique Yamanashi 'Koshu Miso'
Before I moved, I participated in a miso-making workshop. I only prepared one kilogram at that time, but when it was finished and I tasted it, I was amazed! It was arguably the most delicious miso I had ever eaten.
It was my dream to make my own miso for personal consumption once I moved to Yamanashi!
How is miso made?
What I eat every day is a unique Yamanashi miso called 'Koshu Miso'.
Generally speaking, the three basic types are rice miso, barley miso, and soybean miso.
It is made by mixing koji with boiled soybeans and fermenting them.
'Koshu Miso' is a rare mixed miso!
Rice miso uses rice koji, barley miso uses barley koji, and soybean miso uses soybean koji.
'Koshu Miso' is made by mixing rice koji and barley koji when preparing the miso. The refreshing taste of rice miso combined with the sweetness of barley miso is indescribably delicious!
Why was such a miso created?
Yamanashi is a basin surrounded by mountains with many slopes, so it was not suitable for rice cultivation, and it seems they could not secure enough rice koji to make miso.
During the Sengoku period, miso was an essential seasoning to prevent food from spoiling, so to increase production, they grew barley as a secondary crop in their fields.
'Koshu Miso' was born from the wisdom of compensating for the shortage of staple foods.
Yamanashi's famous 'Houtou' is also based on Koshu Miso.
Many of you may have eaten it when visiting Yamanashi.
Recommendation for homemade miso
Our family prepares 30 kilograms every year.
I used to make a little rice miso, but in the end, I felt that Koshu Miso was my favorite, so for the past few years, I have only made Koshu Miso.
You might think 30 kilograms is a lot, but we share the finished miso with my husband's parents, my parents, and relatives, and we finish the rest ourselves. A little under 20 kilograms is for our own household.
Preparation at a local cafe
Every year, they hold a homemade miso gathering between December and February, so I sign up with friends and prepare it there. When it comes to 30 kilograms, it is back-breaking to do it alone, so it is a huge help.
Preparing it while chatting is a fun time.
The cafe owner boils them in a large iron pot over a wood fire.
the meat grinder we borrow from a miso shop is a big help!
Mix in the mashed soybeans and cooking liquid to make miso balls, then
throw them into the barrel and pack them down.
In our home, we divide the finished miso into small portions and freeze it. (To prevent further fermentation.)
If left at room temperature, fermentation continues, but neither my husband nor I are very fond of red miso. We keep a little bit of aged miso for blending into dishes like Mapo Tofu.
As many flavors of miso as there are homes
Even with the same ingredients and prepared in the same place, the final flavor turns out differently depending on the hands of the person making it and the place where it ferments—it's a mystery.
Bacteria are profound! I really want you to experience this!
Once you taste homemade miso, it's a deliciousness you can't go back from.
The Daikokuten Koji and miso-making ingredients we use at home are from a miso shop in Kofu. It's an interesting miso shop that is spreading the culture of homemade miso.
They even have homemade miso kits and an 'easy homemade miso kit' that includes boiled soybeans, so I recommend it for those who want to try it out easily.
(This isn't an affiliate link or anything, I just really want to recommend it.)
Tonight's dinner was pork miso soup!
I'm starting to crave Hoto noodles too.