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Miso

Jinmyo

By Jinmyo
in Japan: Cooking & Baking

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tissue

tissue

Posted
Posted
I picked up a carton of the yellow miso (can't recall the brand, it's soft and buttery) and made the salad dressing on the label along with a couple ingredients of my own. It's so wonderful!

I love miso salad dressing. :wub:

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Betts

Betts

Posted
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I've always wanted to know ... how long does miso keep if refrigerated. I have a year old package in the frig with no apparent decay. It is a Westbrae Mellow White/ unpasteurized. Making dash with tofu and green onion sounds pretty appealing just now - it's well below zero at noon today!

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Nick

Nick

Posted
Posted (edited)

Miso will keep almost forever, especially if refrigerated. I have unrefrigerated miso anywhere from five to ten years old. It gets some white on the top. Just scrape it off as the miso is still good and even more aged.

Edit: See also here.

Edited by Nick (log)
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smallworld

smallworld

Posted
Posted
Miso will keep almost forever, especially if refrigerated. I have unrefrigerated miso anywhere from five to ten years old. It gets some white on the top. Just scrape it off as the miso is still good and even more aged.

That's what I thought too, but I found out today there are exceptions.

I bought some miso yesterday, a fancy kind with a bunch of barley and rice and stuff added. I didn't see the best-before date until I got home- March 3rd! It's a pretty big amount, and considering I'm taking a month-long vacation in February I'll never get to finish it...

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

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torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

All of the miso I have ever bought in Japan has always had an expiration date on it, usually about a year and I have had it go bad on me. I decided to use up some miso that was about a month past its expiration date and it was awful. It had a really bad off-taste and I had to throw the soup out.

I have to admit I never heard anything about aged miso, of course I have never asked about it either. I think the Japanese use so much miso that it never even gets close to the expiration date.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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kobykoby

kobykoby

Posted
Posted

Miso needs to be aged somewhat I suppose, but I don't think that its made to be aged once its in the package and on the store shelf. Miso used to be something that all Japanese families made for themselves at home - and back in the days before refrigeration. Some store bought misos contain "dashi".

I also notice that shiro miso turns darker the longer you leave it - not good if your recipe requires a shiro miso.

------------------------

to taberu is to ikiru

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helenjp

helenjp

Posted
Posted

I've made miso several times, and I think the reason that small amounts go off is that miso doesn't like being exposed to air...my big batch keeps well, but the very top layer doesn't taste as good (also, Tokyo is a bit warm most winteres for miso making). I think the packaging process probably does that anyway, so a commercial package is not a stable preserve anymore.

Real white miso (not just pale miso) seems to have all sorts of different ingredients, and I've always heard it doesn't last long, but I don't see why you shouldn't freeze it in cubes.

Helenjp

* Pickles foodblog

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smallworld

smallworld

Posted
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Smallworld, if it's good miso it will keep. I've never heard of miso being labeled "best by." Some miso, like some wine, gets better as it ages.

Really? It's not regular miso, it's a chunky kind with barley and stuff added (I think this type is called 'kinzanji', and it's often used as a veggie dip or topping). Couldn't the addition of non-soybean ingredients be the reason for the quick expiry date? Otherwise I'm not very happy about the supermarket stocking a product so close to it's due date...

Helen, freezing the miso is an excellent idea! It would have been a shame to let all that miso go to waste.

My eGullet foodblog: Spring in Tokyo

My regular blog: Blue Lotus

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  • 4 months later...
Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted

Since that situation is unlikely to happen to normal Japanese homes, I can't answer your question with confidence, so I searched for an answer on the Internet. The answer is:

Once opened, miso is good for about two months only.

I guess that unless it is moldy, you can continue to use it for another month or even longer. But I would suggest you put it in the freezer if you do not use it so often. Several websites actually recommend freezing miso.

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torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

there are a lot of differing opinions on this and I think it also depends on the type of miso.

Every tub/bag of miso I have ever bought in Japan has an expiration date on it, normally anywhere from about 3 months to a year.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted

All store-bought miso tubs??/bags have an expiration date on them, but once they are opened, that date is no longer valid. Then they must be kept in the refrigerator and used up as quickly as possible, preferably within two to three months.

Most of the miso produced in Japan these days has low salt content, so it can go bad.

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted

Oh, sorry, you need not shudder. I didn't mean to scare you. I just wanted you to be on the safe side. Take a closer look at your miso to see if it has discolored or gotten moldy. If not, taste it. If it still tastes good, you can use it. I guess freezing will solve your problem.

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torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

Is that an American date or a Japanese date?

On Japanese labels the year often comes first, so that could be April 3, 2004.....

like Hiroyuki said if it doesn't taste bad and there is no mold, it should be fine.

I have had miso go off on me with out molding, it just had a very off taste to it. In that case I would definitely dump it.

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
gus_tatory

gus_tatory

Posted
Posted
...always topping the soup with a little yuzukoshou (a paste of green chiles and yuzu).

torakris: i've heard you mention this yuzukoshou a few times now, so i know you're a big fan. :smile:

is it like a paste or more like a salsa? if i pulsed jalapenos and lemon juice in the cuisinart would i be even close? i don't think they sell yuzu here. :sad:

and are the chiles like those little Thai super-hot bird chiles, or milder?

thanks in advance,

gus

"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the ocean."

--Isak Dinesen

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torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted
...always topping the soup with a little yuzukoshou (a paste of green chiles and yuzu).

torakris: i've heard you mention this yuzukoshou a few times now, so i know you're a big fan. :smile:

is it like a paste or more like a salsa? if i pulsed jalapenos and lemon juice in the cuisinart would i be even close? i don't think they sell yuzu here. :sad:

and are the chiles like those little Thai super-hot bird chiles, or milder?

thanks in advance,

gus

here is a picture

i2045.jpg

the ingredients list yuzu, green chile and salt

jalapenos and lemon juice wouldn't quite be the same but I think it sounds good! :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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  • 5 months later...
torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

I just saw this this recipe:

http://www.tbs.co.jp/chubaw/en/rec20040626.html

(from the links in the Japanese recipes thread, pinned to the top of the Japan Forum, thanks Hiroyuki!)

and it calls for Sakura miso, I have never heard of this before...

anyone?

does it have another name?

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted

No idea!

Sakura miso is a type of aka (red) miso, less salty than Haccho miso, which you can easily find, and is sweet and soft. You can get it from a large supermarket and from the miso section at a department store.

from here:

http://www.women-life.net/contents/tokuhisa/toku004.html

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  • 4 weeks later...
Kiem Hwa

Kiem Hwa

Posted
Posted

My favorite TV show is called "Next Stop Discovery", though Im not sure what the Japanese name for it is. For each episode a guy chooses a train line in Tokyo area and gets off at various stops slong the line and looks for "cultural experiences".

Tonight the guy was riding the Keio line and got off in Tama, where he discovered a group of farmers making organic miso. He saw a group of people gathered around donkeys and learned the donkeys were there to be fed and thier poop was used to fertilize the rice pasture.

Well, the organic miso looked fabulous!!! It was thick and a darker yellow color. Next time I come to Japan I want to look for homemade organic miso :raz:

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Hiroyuki

Hiroyuki

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have tried several organic products thus far. I bought organic miso this fall. It tasted just like any other non-organic miso and it discolored more quickly probably because of no food additive. It may be safe, but I won't buy it again.

Edit to add:

quick discoloration may be due to the fact that the yeast is still alive.

Edited by Hiroyuki (log)
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  • 1 month later...
Sobaicecream

Sobaicecream

Posted
Posted

Hi everyone! I just posted about a miso cake I tried making in the pastry and baking section here.

Has anyone tried miso manju? Well, I was rather inspired by that, so I thought I'd try making a cake with red miso.

It's all there in the other post, so I won't repeat too much. But essentially, I would love any comments (unless you just think it's a disgusting idea--but truly, it's quite good :biggrin: ) on how my cake could be improved.

Thanks!

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torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted

I had miso manju once but it was so sweetened I could barely tell it was miso.

Not something I liked enough to experiment with...

I did leave some ideas in the other thread though. :biggrin:

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

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