THE PRESERVATIONIST

THE PRESERVATIONIST MISO

Gathering to make a savory Japanese condiment provides a window on a traditional food culture and a lesson in patience.

By Jordan Champagne Photography by Margaux Gibbons

About 12 years ago I had my first introduction to making miso. I was working with a local organic farm and the farmer’s wife was Japanese. She invited me to join a gathering where everyone was going to make their year’s supply of miso—the flavorful and nutritious Japanese seasoning paste made from long-fermented beans and used in soups, dressings and sauces.

I was very interested in food preservation of all kinds, but this intimate gathering of friends intimidated me. Toku assured me that it would be casual and that for most of the people there, it would be their first time making miso, too.

I was not sure what vessel I should bring as I was only told that it should be of food grade, meaning safe for food. I settled on a 5gallon ceramic crock as miso is one of my favorite condiments and I knew I wanted to way of bringing sustenance into our lives on so many levels, and the community connection it creates is a very strong benefit—and the reason I remain working with food.

In Toku’s family it was her grandmother who made miso when she was growing up in Japan.

“My grandmother used to make miso with the neighbor lady,” she says. “She made a big fire outside by the neighborhood shrine right across from our house. She cooked the beans there with wood in a large pot.”

The shrine was Shinto, and Toku described in detail the red entrance and brick walkway to the altar. I found it interesting that Toku’s grandmother made her miso there, and she remarked that no one else did this.

“My grandmother’s miso was the best,” Toku says with a beaming smile.

The gathering I was invited to was a group of 10 Japanese women. They wanted to engage in what was for them a lost art of their culture’s food traditions.

One detail that had an impact on me was that some of the women were using 5-gallon plastic buckets as their vessels. It really surprised me and yet it also made me feel at ease. It made me realize that trying to blend traditional ways into our modern lives isn’t always going to bring results that match our romantic notions of traditional cultures and their food preservation practices. On the one hand, the plastic 5-gallon bucket was more practical as it was light, had a built-in handle and presented no risk of breaking. But somehow, fermenting miso in a plastic bucket also seemed a contradiction to my sensibilities and I wondered if, given the choice, Japanese grandmothers would use a plastic bucket instead of a ceramic crock. My guess is, due to the convenience, most of them probably would. Sometimes it is not the vessel that counts, but the love it contains!

make a lot. I can be quite clumsy in contrast to the extremely graceful Japanese culture, and I remember feeling particularly so while walking up the stairs to her house carrying the heavy crock, my baby strapped on my back. But Toku greeted me at the door with a warm smile and helping hands that put me at ease. Inside, there was a bustle of women, beans, koji—grain or beans that have been treated with a fermentation culture—grinders and salt. Toku’s best friend, Chikurin, was at the grinder, leading the group of novice miso makers.

Communities all over the world gather together for large food projects. I think of the large community bread ovens of Europe or the groups of aunties in the kitchen preserving away over boiling kettles in the heat of the summer wherever fruits and vegetables are found in abundance. Food has a remarkable

Jordan Champagne is the co-owner and founder of Happy Girl Kitchen Co. She has a passion for preserving the local, organic harvest and loves sharing her secrets at the workshops she teaches across the region. Miso making is among the many techniques she teaches.

RECIPE: See Champagne’s recipe for making your own miso opposite.

Courtesy Jordan Champagne, chef, instructor and co-founder, Happy Girl Kitchen

Be forewarned that your miso will take a minimum of a year to ferment. But it’s worth the wait. Aside from being a versatile and delicious condiment, miso is also a complete protein containing all of the amino acids essential to human nutrition. In addition, it contains an alkaloid called dipicolinic acid that binds with heavy metals and carries them out of the body, making it very detoxifying.

Miso can be made out of various beans and grains, each lending a different color, texture and flavor to the final product; experiment by making different combinations in small batches. Traditionally miso is made with soybeans, koji and salt. Koji is made from grain or beans that have been inoculated with spores of Aspergillus oryzae, a mold that starts the miso fermentation. Koji can be found locally in Japanese markets or can be ordered online from companies such as GEM Cultures Inc.

2 kilograms rice koji 2 kilograms soybeans, cooked 0.8 kilograms sea salt The beans should be cooked thoroughly until they are very soft when pressed between your thumb and baby finger. Drain beans and reserve some of the liquid. Next, you need to grind or mash your beans to a creamy consistency. The Japanese traditionally used a mortar and pestle, but you can also use a potato masher or meat grinder.

While the beans are still warm, massage them together with the koji. Add the salt and mix completely. The consistency should be a moist paste, kind of like miso. If it is too dry, add some reserved liquid.

The vessel in which you ferment your miso should be of food grade (safe for food). To inhibit unwanted mold growth, first put a layer of sea salt on the bottom of the container.

The next part, a special technique for eliminating air pockets as you load the miso into your vessel, is a lot of fun. Techniques such as this are awkward to start but become mastered over time through practice. Using your fist, make a ball of the paste and then fling it into the bottom of your bucket or crock with great force, filling the container with one ball at a time. This is also a great time to send good thoughts and blessings into your preserve.

Lastly, cover the miso paste with a thick layer of salt to inhibit unwanted mold and make the container air tight by covering with a piece of wood or a ceramic plate weighed down by something heavy.

Now the long wait begins. This is the hardest part about making miso. It is recommended that you wait at least a year for your miso to be finished, but I have had 7year miso that is simply amazing. The longer you wait, the more complex the flavors become. This gives you a chance to develop patience. It is like planting a fruit tree from which you’ll need to wait years to collect a harvest.

Once you are ready to dig into your miso, you may find a layer of mold on the top. Simply scrape it off and taste your miso. It will likely be AMAZING!!! Decant it into clean glass jars and store them in the refrigerator or in a cool, dark cupboard. If stored out of the refrigerator, however, fermentation will continue, so you must release the pressure occasionally by opening the lid.