Miso Fermentation

Miso is a fermented food widely consumed in the Orient and is prepared

from mold rice, soybeans and salt. About 13 million bushels of soybeans are
made into miso each year, the annual production amounting to 974,000 metric
tons.

K. S H I B A S A K I 1 a n d C. W. I I E S S E L T I N E ~

Introduction Japan does not grow all the soybeans it

Japan has a very long history of using
soybeans in fermented foods. Scarcely a
day passes in the average Japanese home
without fermented soybeans being served
at the table. These soybean foods range
from miso and natto to such seasonings as
shoyu (soy sauce) and ajinomoto (mono-
sodium glutamate). Only miso is described
in detail in this article; all the other foods
have been briefly discussed by Smith (1) in
his instructive publication "Use of United
States Soybeans in Japan."
Soybean cultivation in Japan has been
going on since ancient times; soybean foods
complement well the rice-based Japanese
diet. These products are inexpensive and
are easily produced. Chemical analysis
of soybeans testifies to their rich protein and
oil content, anticipates their high nutritional
value, and justifies the statement that soy-
beans are "the meat of the field, and so it
is right to say that the body of the Japanese
is a transform~ttion of soybean protein and
oil." The ancient effort of the Japanese
people to grow soybeans and invent various
foods and seasonings, which have been
passed on to our times, certainly deserves
admiration and gratitude from both the
nutritional and agricultural standpoints.
The Meaning of Miso in Japan
In the utilization of soybeans in foods in
Japan, miso, shoyu, and tofu predominate,
as shown in Table 1. (2).
1Faculty of the College of Agriculture,
Tohoku University, Sendal, Japan.
2 In charge of ARS Culture Collection at
Northern Regional Research Laboratory, North-
ern Utilization Research and Development
Division, Agricultural Research Service, U. S.
Department of Agriculture.
Received for publication June 29, 1962.
180
needs; for example in 1960, J a p a n grew
an estimated 404,800 metric tons (3). As a
result, Japan must import large amounts
yearly. Table 2 shows Japanese imports of
soybeans by country of origin from 1953 to
1959(4). These data show a trend toward
increasing imports from the United States.
In this article, we wish to review the
preparation of miso, a Japanese food pre-
pared for at least 1,000 years by the fermen-
tation of mixtures of mold rice, soybeans,
and salt. Only two accounts (5, 6) of this
food have been published in the United States
prior to 1961. Miso is prepared by inoculating
rice in shallow trays with strains of Asper-
gillus oryzae (Ahlburg) Cohn and by allow-
ing the mold to develop an abundant growth.
The mold rice, or koji, serves as a source of
enzymes (7). At the same time, whole soy-
beans are prepared for fermentation by soak-
ing in water and cooking. Then the koji,
cooked soybeans and salt are ground together
and inoculated with miso from a previous
fermentation. After the ingredients Are
mixed, the materials are packed into suitable
containers snd allowed to undergo a long
period of fermentation from room temper-
ature to 35~ After fermentation, the ma-
terial is allowed to age for several weeks,
then is ground into a uniform paste and
packaged for commercial distribution.
Miso with rice is the most commonly used
food in Japan. In most Japanese families,
whether they be rich or poor, whether
farmers or urbanites, breakfast consists of
cooked rice, a kind of pickle, and miso soup
containing vegetables, torn, seaweed, and
so on. Sometimes, fish or vegetables are
cooked with miso as a seasoning agent.
Per capita daily consumption of miso in
Japan was stated to be 40 to 45 g. (wet
weight) before World W a r II. Consump-
tion after the war is shown in Table 3. (8).
 MISO FERMENTATION 181

TABLE 1
CONSUMPTION a OF SOYBEANS IN JAPAN 1959 THRU 1961. IN METRIC TONS

1959 19605 1961 c

Uses Whole Defatted Whole Defatted Whole Defatted
bean bean bean bean bean bean

Oil 812,000 767,000 928,000

Food:
Miso 117,600 52,300 117,600 53,000 130,000 50,000
Shoyu 18,500 153,800 17,600 155,000 29,000 200,000
Tofu and aburage 254,800 20,000 256,300 20,000 280,000 20,000
Frozen dry tofu 29,100 -- 27,500 -- 40,000 --
Natto 22,800 -- 23,400 -- 30,000 --
Kinako 6,200 -- 6,600 -- 10,000 --
Others 10,000 30,000 10,000 40,000 20,000 40,000
Monosodiumglutamate - - 64,800 - - 66,000 -- 73,000

TOTAL 457,000 320,900 459,000 334,000 539,000 383,000

Other:
Chemical industry 14,800 15,000 17,000
Feed and fertilizer 281,000 232,000 303,000
Export 4,300 4,000 4,000

TOTAL 300,100 251,000 324,000

GRAND TOTAL 1,269,000 621,000 1,226,000 585,000 1,467,000 707,000

a This does not include home production (as a vegetable, home-made miso, etc.).
b Estimated amount.
c Amount planned.

TABLE 2
JAPANESE IMPORTS OF SOYBEANS BY COUNTRY OF ORIGIN
IN METRIC TONS

Year United States China Brazil Others Total

1953 408,704 24,420 13,571 1,712 448,407

1954 442,874 45,864 18,386 641 507,765
1955 572,052 203,251 31,261 1,343 808,177
1956 536,055 165,790 12,219 3,017 717,081
1957 604,359 199,607 473 804,439
1958 777,436 89,197 27,884 10,183 904,700
1959 950,592 -- 28,192 17,985 996,769

TABLE 3
PER CAPITA DAILY CONSUMPTION OF MISO IN JAPAN a

Year 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
Miso 32.1 29.9 29.9 30.2 28.8 29.3 27.5 28.9 28.0

Weight in g.