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The best resource on Miso that I know of is Shurtleff and Aoyagi's
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book _The Book of Miso_. It's quite a complex subject. The
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differences is miso can be attributed to a variet of factors, from
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the proportion of ingredients, cooking techniques, and duration and
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temperature of fermentation. The redish color comes from long
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fermentation times (or in cheap imitations, from dyes). The whiter
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misos are generally fermented for short times, and often made with
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rice in addition to soybeans. Reds are generally saltier and whites
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sweeter.
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Misos vary widely in fat content (like most soy products) and
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generally range from .25 to 1.5 gram of fat per tablespoon (and from
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about 6%CFF to over 30%CFF). Some varieties, like peanut miso,
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obviously have even more fat. Since it is rare that a dish has more
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than 1 T miso per serving, miso does not generally add appreciable
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fat to a dish. Many of the white sweet misos clock in at the low end
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(.25 grams per T, 6-10%CFF) so if you do want to use more miso, these
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kinds can be added liberally to a dish (and since their taste isn't
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as strong or salty, they do become many dishes in greater quantity).
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I find the dark, hearty misos make great gravy starters. Add a bit of
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water/stock, some nutritional yeast, spices and a thickener to some
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miso and voila, instant delicious gravy. A favorite miso-potato
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recipe follows.
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~- Michelle Dick artemis@rahul.net
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On miso, you just have to try different kinds & brands. There are
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numerous styles of miso. Red misos tend to be more "savory" and
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white ones are usually more "sweet". Country-style (Inaka) is made
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grainier on purpose. If served as a sauce on veggies, probably it's
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not straight miso but mixed w/sugar and some rice vinegar. BTW a
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warning to vegetarians, some misos come "dashi-iri" which includes
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fish-based stock. I think the ingredients label in English will
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mention fish, but not sure (since I can read the Japanese, I don't
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usually check the English), so check the ingredients carefully.
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There is kombu-dashi (I even found some granulated packets) which is
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vegetarian, but most dashi is from bonito flakes (I guess it must be
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cheaper).
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Aiko P. From Fatfree Digest April-May 1994, Formatting by Sue Smith
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(using MMCONV)
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