Miso

Miso is a fermented soybean paste that enhances soups and sauces with umami.

Flavor

How to use it

Soup's Secret Weapon. Stir miso into soup off-heat to keep its flavors vibrant.

Miso as a marinade. Combine miso with mirin. Enzymes in the miso slowly break down proteins, so the meat softens.

Common mistakes

• Boiling miso reduces flavor and nutrition.
• Miso dissolves best in warm liquids.

What goes with miso

• Tofu. Miso's salty umami seasons mild tofu, as in miso soup.
• Rice Vinegar. Miso's umami-rich paste mellows the acidity of the vinegar.
• Sesame Oil. Sesame oil dissolves aroma compounds in miso, intensifying flavor.
• Cod. Miso's salty umami glaze caramelizes on lean, flaky cod.
• Mushroom. Miso's glutamate and mushroom's guanylate multiply each other's umami.
• Pork Belly. Miso's salty umami caramelizes on pork belly's fat.
• Salmon. Miso's salty sweet umami seasons and glazes salmon's oily flesh.
• Sesame Seed. Nutty sesame softens miso's salty fermented edge.

Try tonight

• Make miso soup with tofu and seaweed.
• Use as a glaze for roasted eggplant.
• Blend into a seafood butter sauce.

Storage

Keep refrigerated after opening.