Body:
A treat awaits anyone who has yet to discover a top quality mirin [1] like Clearspring Organic [2] Mikawa Mirin.
This thick, sweet liquid is an exquisite seasoning, with the unique ability to coax out the flavours of other foods.
Moreover, mirin is one of the main providers of umami, the elusive and delicate taste found in Japanese cuisine.
Clearspring Organic Mikawa Mirin is the finest in Japan, produced using the traditional method of koji [3] fermentation and careful ageing over nine months. It is brewed using sweet rice, with none of the cheaper starches found in other brands, by the Sumiya family in Hekinan.
Mirin is, along with soya sauce and miso [4], one of Japan’s most important cooking ingredients. It is made from glutinous rice that is steamed and mixed with koji, the cultured rice that lies at the heart of so many traditional Japanese foods, and shochu [5], a traditional Japanese distilled spirit that can be made from rice or other grains.
A traditional mirin mash is left to ferment for up to 60 days, during which time the enzymes in the koji break down the starches in the rice into sugars and amino acids, creating a sweet, syrupy seasoning that has an alcohol content of around 14%.
Mirin was used to sweeten and season Japanese dishes long before white sugar was first introduced from abroad. It adds balance and roundness to dishes, offsetting the saltiness and sourness of other condiments such as soya sauce and brown rice vinegar [6]. It also serves to mask the odour of ingredients such as fish, and its richness imparts glossiness to sauces such as the famed teriyaki sauce.
Although nowadays mirin is used primarily as a cooking ingredient, and indeed much of the mirin produced is intended only for this purpose, mirin was in fact traditionally enjoyed as an alcoholic beverage, the most conspicuous example being the New Year drink known as o-toso, where mirin infused with herbs is left to sit for a period prior to drinking. The best quality mirin, such as Clearspring’s Organic Mikawa Mirin, can be enjoyed as a drink, either on the rocks or mixed with warm water.
The ume-infused mirin made by our mirin manufacturer.
The makers of our Mikawa Mirin have also created a delightful beverage of mirin infused with the flavour and goodness of ume/Japanese apricots. Clearspring hopes to be able to offer this delicious drink to customers in the not too distant future.
This thick, sweet liquid is an exquisite seasoning, with the unique ability to coax out the flavours of other foods.
Moreover, mirin is one of the main providers of umami, the elusive and delicate taste found in Japanese cuisine.
Clearspring Organic Mikawa Mirin is the finest in Japan, produced using the traditional method of koji [3] fermentation and careful ageing over nine months. It is brewed using sweet rice, with none of the cheaper starches found in other brands, by the Sumiya family in Hekinan.
Mirin is, along with soya sauce and miso [4], one of Japan’s most important cooking ingredients. It is made from glutinous rice that is steamed and mixed with koji, the cultured rice that lies at the heart of so many traditional Japanese foods, and shochu [5], a traditional Japanese distilled spirit that can be made from rice or other grains.
A traditional mirin mash is left to ferment for up to 60 days, during which time the enzymes in the koji break down the starches in the rice into sugars and amino acids, creating a sweet, syrupy seasoning that has an alcohol content of around 14%.
Mirin was used to sweeten and season Japanese dishes long before white sugar was first introduced from abroad. It adds balance and roundness to dishes, offsetting the saltiness and sourness of other condiments such as soya sauce and brown rice vinegar [6]. It also serves to mask the odour of ingredients such as fish, and its richness imparts glossiness to sauces such as the famed teriyaki sauce.
Although nowadays mirin is used primarily as a cooking ingredient, and indeed much of the mirin produced is intended only for this purpose, mirin was in fact traditionally enjoyed as an alcoholic beverage, the most conspicuous example being the New Year drink known as o-toso, where mirin infused with herbs is left to sit for a period prior to drinking. The best quality mirin, such as Clearspring’s Organic Mikawa Mirin, can be enjoyed as a drink, either on the rocks or mixed with warm water.
The ume-infused mirin made by our mirin manufacturer.
The makers of our Mikawa Mirin have also created a delightful beverage of mirin infused with the flavour and goodness of ume/Japanese apricots. Clearspring hopes to be able to offer this delicious drink to customers in the not too distant future.