The day I realized I was making miso with boiling water

I had been making miso paste for about two years, always wondering why my batches tasted flat and never developed that deep umami kick. One afternoon I was watching my neighbor prep her miso soup and she asked me why I was using water straight off the boil. I just stared at her because that's what I figured you did to dissolve the paste. She explained that anything over 140 degrees kills the koji enzymes, and without those enzymes working, you end up with salty bean goo instead of actual fermented miso. That simple temperature mistake had been ruining every batch I made since I started. Now I let my water cool to around 110 degrees before mixing in the paste and I actually get that rich, complex flavor after three months of fermenting. Has anyone else found a weird little habit they had to unlearn after years of fermenting something?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_king1mo ago

Boiled your miso into submission, huh.

leo_lopez1mo ago

Kept boiling it for like 15 minutes wondering why it tasted like dirty socks and sadness. I mean, that's a lesson you only learn once though, right? Now I just warm it gently and take it off right when it starts to simmer.