Characteristics of miso paste, manufacturing features. Calorie content and chemical composition, effect on the body. Uses as a culinary ingredient and product history.
Miso paste is one of the traditional ingredients of Japanese cuisine that is made by fermentation from various raw materials - soybeans, rye, rice, wheat and Aspergillus oryzae molds. The product can be sweeter, salty, sour, depending on the combination of ingredients and the duration of fermentation, but in all cases the consistency is thick, puree, and the color is from grayish-brown to brown, light, reddish or dark. Each type is used to make dishes of a specific type.
How is miso paste made?
There are many options for preparing this product. Each region of Japan has its own recipes explaining how to make miso paste. In the prefectures of Mie, Gifu and Aichi, fermented soybeans are traditionally used as feedstock and a significant amount of salt is added, in the northern part of the country and in the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, wheat is preferred. If the ingredient is used as a seasoning, and not as a base for soups, sugar or honey, sesame seeds, and various types of nuts are added to the composition.
It is possible to cook miso soybean paste at home, but you need to keep in mind that the fermentation process is quite long, and it will be possible to treat your family and guests no earlier than in 6-12 months:
- Soybeans, 1, 2 kg, the variety does not matter, soaked for 18 hours, rinsing every 4-5 hours so as not to become moldy.
- Then boil until softened: if a pressure cooker is used, 20 minutes is enough, an ordinary saucepan will take 4-5 hours.
- Drain off the remaining liquid and mashed the beans by hand, warm. A very fine texture will impair the final taste of soy miso paste, so it is best to use a crush.
- Stir in salt and 1 kg of koji (koji) molds grown on legumes. In the cold season, salt needs 450 g, in the hot season - 500 g.
- Stir until completely homogeneous, roll into balls and place them tightly in a glass jar, pressing against each other. The less air enters the container, the more intense the fermentation will be.
- The surface is again sprinkled with salt, and then pressed, pressing down. The workpiece is removed to a cellar or chamber where the temperature does not rise above 12 ° C. Withstand from 6 months to a year.
How to make rice miso pasta
- Soy beans, 1, 2 kg, soaked as in the previous recipe, and then boiled until tender.
- Mix with rice, 400 g, on which molds have taken root, and salt. In terms of volume, it should be 89% of the total. If in the manufacture of mashed potatoes it was necessary to pour in a decoction of soybeans, then this amount should also be taken into account.
- In a ceramic container for fermentation, the intermediate product is laid out in layers, salting and tamping tightly. Japanese chefs treat the bottom of the dishes and the lid with medical alcohol. You can use a cooking bag - it is easier to remove air from it. In all cases, the surface is covered with salt.
- The heavier the bending, the denser the structure of the product and the better the fermentation will be. The dishes are placed in a room with a temperature of 12-15 ° C and kept for up to 10 months. The color of the paste will be lighter than made with soy only. Shelf life is up to 3 years.
The appetizer can be made saltier. All stages of production correspond to the description of the previous recipe, but during fermentation, checking the quality of the product, add 1 tsp. salt. The addition is stopped when the fermented mass fills 80% of the jar volume. This Japanese miso paste is aged for 1 to 5 years. Often there is no need to take an interest in taste - access to air reduces the activity of the fungal flora. Checking is carried out 1 time in 1, 5-2 months.
Instead of rice, you can use barley, wheat, rye, and even sorghum to make miso paste. Nowadays, they began to make neri-miso, during the fermentation, stirring in raisins, roasted sesame seeds or whole peanuts. The color of such a product is dark, amber. Recipes have been developed for which the yuzu fruit from the rue family, young ash shoots, and even sea bass meat are used.
Note! The best product is obtained when cooking during the transition period - in autumn or spring.
The composition and calorie content of miso paste
Pictured is miso pasta
The nutritional value and properties of the product depend on the composition, but since soybeans are used in all recipes, the basis of the vitamin and mineral complex is the same.
The calorie content of miso paste is 199 kcal per 100 g, of which
- Proteins - 11.7 g;
- Fat - 6 g;
- Carbohydrates - 26.5 g;
- Dietary fiber - 5.4 g;
- Water - 43 g.
Vitamins per 100 g
- Vitamin A - 87 mcg;
- Vitamin B1, thiamine - 0.1 mg;
- Vitamin B2, riboflavin - 0.2 mg;
- Vitamin B4, choline - 72.2 mg;
- Vitamin B5, pantothenic acid - 0.3 mg;
- Vitamin B6, pyridoxine - 0.2 mg;
- Vitamin B9, folate - 19 mcg;
- Vitamin B12, cobalamin - 0.1 μg;
- Vitamin K, phylloquinone - 29.3 mcg;
- Vitamin PP - 0.9 mg.
Macronutrients per 100 g
- Calcium, Ca - 57 mg;
- Magnesium, Mg - 48 mg;
- Sodium, Na - 3728 mg;
- Phosphorus, P - 159 mg.
Microelements per 100 g
- Iron, Fe - 2.5 mg;
- Copper, Cu - 0.4 μg;
- Selenium, Se - 7 μg;
- Zinc, Zn - 2.6 mg.
The benefits and harms of miso paste are determined not only by vitamins and minerals. It contains organic acids, amino acids - essential and nonessential, probiotics and prebiotics, antioxidants, starch and sugars. The composition does not contain animal fats, so it can be considered a dietary product and introduced into a diet intended for weight loss. But you should not introduce this product into the menu of patients recovering from debilitating diseases or surgical interventions. In order to process it, the digestive system must be stable.
The beneficial properties of miso paste
The product restores the reserve of vitamins and minerals, including deficient ones - manganese, copper, selenium. The dressing is especially useful for women of reproductive age - it restores the work of the hormonal system.
The benefits of miso paste for the body
- Prevents the development of anemia.
- Helps cope with age-related changes and avoid emotional breakdowns.
- Improves the property of memory, nerve-impulse conduction.
- Prolongs life and activates immunity. It is for this property that the product was appreciated by Buddhist monks.
- Helps the body cleanse itself of radionuclides and accumulations of toxins.
- Normalizes the balance of intestinal microflora, accelerates food digestion, prevents the development of putrefactive and stagnant processes.
- Reduces the risk of breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men.
- Stimulates the work of taste buds, increases appetite.
- Reduces blood cholesterol levels.
In Japan, miso paste is a must for pregnant women to increase hemoglobin levels. European women should refuse such an addition to their daily menu.
Salty snacks are used to treat hangover. Due to the composition of the miso paste, the liver is cleansed, the excretion of ethyl alcohol metabolites is accelerated, and the accumulation of toxic substances does not occur. In addition, this snack allows you to avoid the formation of a fat layer around the internal organs - the product has fat burning properties.
Contraindications and harm of miso paste
In case of diseases of the stomach and intestines, you will have to refuse to get acquainted with the new product. One of the properties of a fermented snack is to increase acidity and enhance fermentation. Dishes with miso paste are not suitable for persons with a history of pancreatitis, biliary dyskinesia, peptic ulcer disease and gastritis.
It is not recommended to experiment with a new dish for gout, as the snack contains purines and oxalic acid. If there is a history of arthritis, arthrosis and urolithiasis, portions are limited to 2-3 tsp. in Week.
Consuming miso paste can cause harm in people with urinary system problems, both acute and chronic. Too much salt. It is especially dangerous to use the product in case of exacerbation of pyelonephritis or cystitis, urolithiasis with accelerated accumulation of calculi.
If Japanese kids receive this snack from childhood, in pure form or as part of dishes, then European ones may not be prepared for such an addition. Until the intestinal flora is fully formed, and this happens only by the age of 6-8, it is advisable to be content with the usual seasonings. You should not treat pregnant women and women during lactation with thick paste, since it is impossible to predict the effect on the body.
