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Thursday, February 26, 2026: 'Fermented Foods: 2026 Homemade Mame-Miso Preparation'

おおたま

It was cloudy all day in Tokyo today.
The morning low was 5.5°C, and the daytime high was just under 14°C.
It felt a bit chillier than the beginning of the week, didn't it? Well, anyway,

Yesterday I talked about "Trippa made with harmful wildlife deer offal," but today I would like to write about "Fermented Foods: 2026 Homemade Mame-Miso (soybean miso) preparation."

Homemade Mame-Miso.
Up until now, I have made miso myself for two seasons, but both were the most common types, rice miso or barley miso.
Hatcho Miso and other so-called "Mame-Miso" are actually a special (?) type of miso produced only in the local Aichi Prefecture area, and since they are basically long-term aged (requiring 1.5 to 2 years from preparation to completion), it is a type of miso that amateurs tend to shy away from making themselves. However, since the original Hatcho Miso is near my parents' home, don't you think it's inevitable that I'd decide to give it a try?

So, I went to the Toyohashi market and bought 1kg of domestic soybeans, and 0.5kg of soybean koji from Masuzuka Miso.
When you search online, various methods for preparing Mame-Miso come up, but since I bought the soybean koji from Masuzuka Miso, I would like to follow their recipe.

This time, I'm using the recipe from Masuzuka Miso, where I bought the soybean koji.
The ingredients for Mame-Miso are only soybeans, soybean koji, and salt.

First, I start by soaking the dried domestic soybeans.
According to the recipe, 1kg of boiled soybeans is needed, so I soak the dried soybeans to expand them.
Since dried soybeans generally expand to about 2.2 to 2.3 times their size when soaked and boiled, I soaked 450g of dried soybeans.
The temperature isn't that high yet, so I let them soak for about 18 hours.
After soaking, I boiled the soybeans in a regular pot for about 3 hours (though it seems 20-30 minutes is enough if you use a pressure cooker).

450g of dried soybeans soaked for 18 hours.
Soybeans after soaking and boiling for 3 hours.

While the soybeans are boiling, I mix 500g of soybean koji and 200g of salt well in a bowl.

Mixing 500g of soybean koji and 200g of salt.

I carefully crush the boiled soybeans in a mortar and stir them.
Once stirred, I add the soybean koji mixed with salt and the stirred soybeans, along with 120cc of water, and mix everything well by hand.

I used a mortar and pestle this time, but I slightly regret not using a food processor.
Mixing the soybean koji and salt into the crushed soybeans.

After that, I firmly remove the air, flatten the surface, sprinkle salt on top, and cover it with plastic wrap to complete the preparation.

Put it in a storage container, remove as much air as possible, and sprinkle salt.
I actually wanted to store and age it in a ceramic jar, but I gave up due to space constraints.

In the case of Mame-Miso, it is important to store and age it with a heavy weight on top (you know, the "Maruya Hatcho Miso" I mentioned last time also put the prepared miso in large wooden barrels and stacked stones in a pyramid shape, right?), so I placed a slightly heavier weight on it than when I make rice miso.

It will take about 18 months to 2 years to age before it's ready, but I think it will be fine even if I just leave it alone. Something to look forward to in two years.

With that, that's all for today.
Tomorrow, I would like to talk about "Fermented Beverages (Sake) - Isojiman (Isojiman Sake Brewery)."

いいなと思ったら応援しよう！