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Eight generations of the Sasaki family have been making rice miso [1] at the Sendai Miso Company and today they make both brown rice [2] and barley [3] miso for Clearspring.
The fertile plain that surrounds the city of Sendai in northern Japan is famous for its Sasanishiki rice, one of the most delicious varieties in Japan. With a plentiful supply of rice and a cool climate, the region has developed a reputation as a producer of dark-style rice miso.
Since its founding by the Sasaki family over one hundred years ago, the Sendai Miso Company has grown to become the best known miso maker in northern Japan. In 1987 Sendai’s rice miso received the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture’s prestigious award for the highest quality miso in Japan.
Innovation and constant improvement are an inherent part of Sendai’s culture and in 1975 the company was the first miso maker to produce rice miso using whole grain brown rice. The obstacle to overcome was how to develop the koji [4], as the bran layer of the whole grain prevented the koji culture from accessing the starch, which is vital for the fermentation process.
It was at Sendai, after years of research, where they found that gently scratching the bran layer of the grain was enough to allow the koji spores access to the underlying starch, whilst removing only a very small fraction of the nutritious bran layer.
As with all miso making, koji production is the most critical part of the process, determining the taste and quality of the final miso. At Sendai koji is made in an incubator where a precise temperature of 38ºC is maintained over 48 hours at 98% humidity for the koji spores to properly inoculate the steamed rice.
The completed rice koji is then mixed with salt and pressure cooked whole soya beans and placed in large cedarwood kegs to slowly ferment at the ambient temperature for 18 months. Each seasoned cedarwood keg at Sendai, typically several decades old, will contain a history of use and an abundance of micro-organisms that add flavour to the miso and impart the unique character associated with a wood-aged food.
Each full keg of miso is topped with a pile of stones whose pressure causes liquid to rise to the surface and seal the miso below from foreign bacteria. During the long, slow ageing, moulds from the koji release enzymes that break down the proteins, carbohydrates and fats of the rice and soya beans to develop the finished miso.
All chunky style rice miso from Sendai sold by Clearspring in jars is unpasteurised and comes straight from the keg. Smoother miso sold in pouches is pureed and pasteurised.
www.sendaimiso.co.jp [5]
The fertile plain that surrounds the city of Sendai in northern Japan is famous for its Sasanishiki rice, one of the most delicious varieties in Japan. With a plentiful supply of rice and a cool climate, the region has developed a reputation as a producer of dark-style rice miso.
Since its founding by the Sasaki family over one hundred years ago, the Sendai Miso Company has grown to become the best known miso maker in northern Japan. In 1987 Sendai’s rice miso received the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture’s prestigious award for the highest quality miso in Japan.
Innovation and constant improvement are an inherent part of Sendai’s culture and in 1975 the company was the first miso maker to produce rice miso using whole grain brown rice. The obstacle to overcome was how to develop the koji [4], as the bran layer of the whole grain prevented the koji culture from accessing the starch, which is vital for the fermentation process.
It was at Sendai, after years of research, where they found that gently scratching the bran layer of the grain was enough to allow the koji spores access to the underlying starch, whilst removing only a very small fraction of the nutritious bran layer.
As with all miso making, koji production is the most critical part of the process, determining the taste and quality of the final miso. At Sendai koji is made in an incubator where a precise temperature of 38ºC is maintained over 48 hours at 98% humidity for the koji spores to properly inoculate the steamed rice.
The completed rice koji is then mixed with salt and pressure cooked whole soya beans and placed in large cedarwood kegs to slowly ferment at the ambient temperature for 18 months. Each seasoned cedarwood keg at Sendai, typically several decades old, will contain a history of use and an abundance of micro-organisms that add flavour to the miso and impart the unique character associated with a wood-aged food.
Each full keg of miso is topped with a pile of stones whose pressure causes liquid to rise to the surface and seal the miso below from foreign bacteria. During the long, slow ageing, moulds from the koji release enzymes that break down the proteins, carbohydrates and fats of the rice and soya beans to develop the finished miso.
All chunky style rice miso from Sendai sold by Clearspring in jars is unpasteurised and comes straight from the keg. Smoother miso sold in pouches is pureed and pasteurised.
www.sendaimiso.co.jp [5]