What is MISO?
Miso’s fermentation and aging process involves many factors, the slightest difference can result in dissimilar tastes, colors and textures. Thus, there are more than 1000 types of miso throughout Japan, each with its own distinct flavor.

Types of Miso
There are generally 3 types of Miso, being Kome Miso (Rice-malt miso), Mugi Miso (Barley-malt miso) and Mame Miso (Soybean-malt miso). All miso are made from soybeans, salt and respective malt type. Miso can be classified by their malt type, taste and colour.

Malt type Taste Color
Kome Miso
(Rice-malt Miso) Sweet White
Red
Semi Sweet Light Yellow
Red
Full-bodied Light Yellow
Red
Mugi Miso
(Barley-malt Miso) Sweet Light Yellow
Full-bodied Red
Mame Miso
(Soybean-malt Miso) Deep rich Dark brown
<Extracted from Japan Miso Promotion Board>

A typical Japanese family lifestyle is to start the day with rice and miso soup for breakfast. Miso soup has been the breakfast menu for centuries in Japan. The word ‘miso’ brings to Japanese images of good yet old-fashioned style of home cooking. However, as the world is getting westernized, it is less common to have miso soup during breakfast but it is still essential as part of the Japan dish.

Cooking Method
Miso soup is easy to prepare. A few ingredients would brew a wonderful miso soup. Due to the different base of miso, one may mix and match the ingredients, and prepare a different type of miso soup everyday.
*Common ingredients used include: Tofu, Seaweed, Bean Sprout, Spring Onion, Egg, Radish, Carrot, Mochi, Clam, Fish and Konnyaku.