Miso - Where to buy? What kind?

[maxmillan]

When I go to Fujiya or T&T I'm confused with the array of miso.

I'm looking for what you think is the best tasting miso. I plan to use it for making a soup base for vegetables and noodles. Some have MSG, many has high sodium content.

Can someone suggest an all around good low sodium miso and where you can buy it? Organic is preferable but good flavor is more important. I do not want MSG or other substitute flavor stimulant. And no preservatives if possible.

Thanks for your suggestions.

[sanrensho]

Aside from concerns about additives and sodium content, miso choice is a personal thing.

Generally speaking, darker misos have a stronger flavor. I would recommend picking up no less than two misos: a white miso and a red miso. This gives you the option to sometimes go with white, sometimes with red, or your favorite blend of the two.

Adjust the proportions or choose one miso depending on what you fancy that particular day.

Edited February 1, 2007 by sanrensho (log)

[canucklehead]

I would stick to buying your Miso to Fujiya which probably has a better turnover. T&T is not great sometimes at monitoring products on their shelves.

If you live on the north shore - I know Whole Foods carries are large selection. I would suspect many natural or whole food stores would carry a supply (Caper, Choices, et al).

[flowbee]

i'm using one called Miko Brand Mild Miso. I think I bought it at Fujiya. It's quite nice, less salty than other miso's, but I can't attest for it being low-sodium... the container looks like this (link is actually pic of their Shiro Miso, not Mild Miso).

good luck!

[stovetop]

Denman island Miso

http://www.shinmeidomiso.com/companyinfobody.html

Full disclosure here. I'm in the soy business. With my Japanese husband I've been making traditional, organic miso on Denman Island for the last 26 years. We are an extremely small, family-run business and in no way part of any big soy-industry conspiracy (which I sincerely doubt exists outside of Monsanto Corporation).

http://www.soymilkquick.com/susan-marie-soy.html

steve

[Quarki]

I've bought Korean miso before that's about it

Random comment i guess.

I think Japanese and Korean miso are different.

[Sylphid]

Denman island Miso

http://www.shinmeidomiso.com/companyinfobody.html

Full disclosure here. I'm in the soy business. With my Japanese husband I've been making traditional, organic miso on Denman Island for the last 26 years. We are an extremely small, family-run business and in no way part of any big soy-industry conspiracy (which I sincerely doubt exists outside of Monsanto Corporation).

http://www.soymilkquick.com/susan-marie-soy.html

steve

←

Hey, that sounds interesting, unfortunately their website doesn't list any stores that sell their product. Have you seen it anywhere?

[fud]

^ Cool thread I;ve been looking for a good source for miso. I've tried almost every one from T&T and I'm pretty happy with Aka Miso But I noticed the denman island miso seems to be carried by a distributer who stocks Thrifty Food's shelves. Of course I'm sure of Thrifty's would stock Miso paste.

[Chef Bradley]

I saw a bunch of Miso at the local Asian market here in NC and was wondering which to buy. Now that I have a better idea, I feel better about my purchase. Thanks

[stovetop]

Where to Buy: For wholesale orders, contact our distributors: Horizon Foods, PSC Natural Foods.

http://www.shinmeidomiso.com/productinfo.html

steve

Capers-any health food store

Edited February 5, 2007 by stovetop (log)

[maxmillan]

Where to Buy: For wholesale orders, contact our distributors: Horizon Foods, PSC Natural Foods.

http://www.shinmeidomiso.com/productinfo.html

steve

Capers-any health food store

←

I bought this one at Capers last week despite it being a couple more dollars than the other brand next to it. I am impressed by the write up on the container.

It is delicious and I recommend it.

Thanks to everyone for your comments.

[kontemporary]

new to the miso-thing, are miso pastes supposed to be a bit 'grainy'? the paste itself is quite smooth, but there are some very small grains here are there of what i presume to be rice? the brand i have is Shiro from Fujiya, which was organic/natural/etc

[Hiroyuki]

new to the miso-thing, are miso pastes supposed to be a bit 'grainy'? the paste itself is quite smooth, but there are some very small grains here are there of what i presume to be rice? the brand i have is Shiro from Fujiya, which was organic/natural/etc

←

Rice malt?

[kontemporary]

could be. or soybean malt? regardless, are they naturally supposed to be present in a miso paste, which makes it a bit grainy? or is the miso paste supposed to very smooth?

and the brand I bought is Amano, not shiro.. shiro is the type of miso, my mistake

[helenjp]

Some people like their miso milled very smooth; others like the grains in, but strain it out when making their soup; yet others like everything in!

It really is a personal choice. Most Japanese people use a medium-brown miso. Restaurants tend to use a red miso in summer, and a paler miso in winter.

It's not only the color...some sloppier, paler miso with more grains are "kouji miso" which means they are made mostly or entirely of cultured rice. "Kome miso" means rice miso. Most miso includes both rice and soybeans, and some long-matured dark misos such as red hatcho miso are almost entirely soybeans.

Although not very popular in Japan (they have an aura of poverty about them) there are also barley misos (mugi-miso), which tend to be grainy and have an earthier taste.

[kontemporary]

which types of misos are milled very smooth? and how can you tell via labels/brands/type? i'd very much prefer a smooth miso ideal for marinades, rubs and sauces. grains are an unwelcome intruder.. which is exactly my problem. but my miso isn't very grainy throughout, just oversized pieces here and there. id have to use a very fine strain in order to get them out, probably a cheesecloth, but that means id have to dissolve the miso as well.

[Teri Everitt]

Slightly off topic, but can miso be frozen? I can never seem to use it up fast enough, or find it in a small enough package that I don't have to throw any away. And how long can you keep it?

[Hiroyuki]

Slightly off topic, but can miso be frozen?  I can never seem to use it up fast enough, or find it in a small enough package that I don't have to throw any away.  And how long can you keep it?

←

Here is a related thread in the Japan Forum.

In general, the best before date of miso ranges from 3 to 12 months, depending on the type.

Keeping miso in the freezer is a good practice, and miso won't become as hard as a rock when frozen.

As for me, I keep a pack of 1-kg (2.2 lb) miso in the fridge because I use it up well within one month.

[helenjp]

Ｓｕｒｉ－ｍｉｓｏ

The pix are all of the same miso, but if you scroll down to the one where the miso is all mounded up like an incecream cone, you can see the texture quite well.

Suri-miso or ground miso is the Japanese term. To be honest, it's more common with the cheaper types of miso, but if you want it for sauces etc that may not be a problem.