Miso paste

Miso paste is a traditional Japanese seasoning made from soy beans (crushed, fermented and steamed), sea salt, water and depending on fabrication barley or rice, then mixed with a ferment (in Japanese "koji") Aspergillus oryzae mushrooms, then aged from three weeks to a year. 
​It is the basic ingredient of miso soup found in all Japanese restaurants.
Miso has a very particular taste, the famous "umami" taste that has the ability to enhance dishes  giving them more balanced and round flavor in the mouth.

Benefits

​The paste is rich in probiotics, proteins, vitamins and minerals.
The fermentation process produces enzymes that stimulate digestion, promote the elimination of toxins, and increase nutrient bioavailability and absorption. Miso paste also improves intestinal flora.
Miso also contains melanoids that are believed to help stop cancer cells from growing. It would also have a role in breast cancer prevention.
Miso is also an essential source of vitamin B12 (an essential vitamin often lacking in vegetarians and vegans diet).

How to choose it?

​It is recommended to buy miso in organic stores, as it is prepared with GMO-free soya and without additives.
Once opened, it can be kept in the fridge for up to 6 months.
Miso color change according to composition, you will find white, brown or red colors.

• White rice miso - (shiro miso) : light in color, short fermentation time, soft event lightly sweet.
• Wholegrain rice miso  (genmaï miso or kome miso) : darker and more salty.
• Barley miso  (mugi miso) : light brown, quite salty. It is the traditional miso of rural Japan.
• Soybean miso (hatcho miso) : prepared with soybeans and fermented for several years, it is very dark and has a more stronger taste.

How to use it?

• First in the miso soup prepared with a broth made of seaweed (konbu kelp) and fish (Skipjack) the "dashi", water, wakame seaweed and some pieces of tofu. Mushrooms and chives can be added depending on the recipe.
• In vegetable soups, miso can replace stock cubes often full of additives (use about one teaspoon per person)
• Miso can also be used in a salad dressing (see my recipes miso/sesame sauce and kale, cabbage, miso slaw).
• ​Another possibility is to cook misoyaki "cooked in miso" or marinate a food in a mixture based on miso, rice vinegar, oil and/or honey before roasting it in the oven (delicious on eggplants cut in half, brushed with the preparation and  baked in the oven).
• It can be used as a fermentation base to prepare nut cheese (I will tell you more about it soon as it is a new project....) 
• ​Some interesting recipes with miso

​Please note:

​To keep all its properties, miso must not be boiled. It is recommended  to add it at the end of cooking, and to dilute it first with a little water.
Miso particularly concentrates salt, so it be consumed in moderation but on a regular base (according to Aveline Kushi* 1 teaspoon per cup of liquid is the rule).

References:
​Aveline Kushi's Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking for Health, Harmony, and peace.