Handmade Miso with Kids | Can You Make It Outside of the Cold Season? My First Time Making Miso
May of last month, 2026.
Our family tried making miso for the first time.
It started with an announcement for a miso-making workshop in the neighborhood in March.
I had been thinking, "I really want to go this year," but while I was debating whether to go with the kids or by myself, it became fully booked.
I had the impression that
"miso making is only for the cold season,"
so I gave up on this year and thought, maybe next year...
Still, I couldn't give up, and when I looked into it,
I learned that you can make it in seasons other than the cold season.
Cold Season Preparation (around January to March)
Pros
・Low temperatures make it hard for bacteria to grow, so it's less likely to fail.
・Fermentation and aging proceed slowly in natural temperature changes, making quality easier to manage.
Cons
・It takes time until it's ready to eat, around autumn to winter.
・The preparation period is limited, and events and workshops are very popular.
Warmer Seasons (around April to October)
Pros
・Fermentation progresses easily, so it's ready to eat in a relatively short time.
・In modern home environments, you can manage the heat, so it has less impact than in the past.
・You can start whenever you feel like it.
Cons
・Because the temperature is high, you need to be careful with hygiene management.
・Mold grows easily, so you need to keep containers and hands clean.
・Since aging is fast, storage location and temperature control can easily affect quality.
Cold season preparation was wisdom suited for the storage environments of old Japanese homes,
but in modern times, if managed properly, you can enjoy making miso regardless of the season.
Once I understood that,
I decided to try it in May.
I boiled 1.2 kg of soybeans that I had soaked in water the day before.
they said, while mashing the soybeans with their hands and feet.
This time, I used a strategy of double-bagging I-Wrap bags and giving one to each child.
When you do it with kids, this mess is just part of the charm.
was definitely the most exciting part!!
Whether the air was actually removed by the children's hands
is far from perfect at this point... lol
The children's reactions and the time spent working with our hands were very fresh.
For our family, miso soup is something we can't do without every day.
The experience of making the base for the miso soup we always drink as a matter of course with our own hands is truly food education.
I'm really glad I didn't give up thinking I'd "missed the season"
and took that first step.
I look forward to the day we open it together with the kids in a few months
and will keep an eye on it.
By the way, our family's miso making was
completely unrelated to and far from "carefully considering hygiene, being meticulous, and following the recipe perfectly"...
It was a situation that might make adults roll their eyes,
miso making as an extension of playing with clay.
But
that is our family's style.
Being able to enjoy it while chatting and laughing with my four children aged 4 to 11, with a newborn sleeping right next to us,
was the best time of all.
I recommend watching with just one eye half-closed! lol
I'm sure there's plenty of love packed into it, though♡