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Soy and legumes from Japan — Niigata

Sado miso佐渡味噌

Sado miso is a salty red rice miso from Sado Island, kept apart from the Echigo miso of the Niigata mainland. Rice koji goes in at 60–80 % of the soybeans and the miso has 13–14 % salt. It is aged long. From the Meiji era the island's miso industry grew mainly on shipments to Hokkaido.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Sado miso itself. Its own sources do not record how it is made, so the steps and scenes below are those of Echigo miso (uki-kōji miso, "floating-koji miso"), the closest documented soy and legumes ferment, shown as a guide to the method, not as a record of Sado miso.

Short entrySoy and legumes

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo recipe amounts found; only the koji ratio and the salt level are given.
Soybeans[JA-WIKI-佐渡味噌]
Rice (made into koji)60–80 % of the soybean amount[JA-WIKI-佐渡味噌]
SaltEnough to give 13–14 % salt in the miso[JA-WIKI-佐渡味噌]

Total time across the steps of Echigo miso (uki-kōji miso, "floating-koji miso"): 32 days – 3 months

Start
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Close-up: water moving into a bean

What changes: Whole polished rice soaks until water reaches the centre of each grain

Step 1 of 5 · steps of Echigo miso (uki-kōji miso, "floating-koji miso")
Wash and soak the whole polished rice
Time
at least 3 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Yeasts

Too much changing of the water washes out potassium and phosphorus the koji mould needs. Output: soaked whole rice.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Sado miso is a salty red rice miso from Sado Island, kept apart from the Echigo miso of the Niigata mainland. Rice koji goes in at 60–80 % of the soybeans and the miso has 13–14 % salt. It is aged long. From the Meiji era the island's miso industry grew mainly on shipments to Hokkaido. Salt is 13–14 % (Japanese Wikipedia 1987).

Key numbers
Salt13–14 %Reported[JA-WIKI-佐渡味噌]Mix and pack

What makes this one different

Sado miso is a long-aged red karakuchi miso made on an island that had its own soybeans, rice, timber for tubs and bamboo for hoops. It is counted apart from Echigo miso of the Niigata mainland, and its industry grew on shipments to Hokkaido.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Echigo misoThe Niigata mainland miso (separate entry).

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Legend says miso-making came from Izumo. Commercial making grew with the Sado gold mine (a Miso-ya-machi in Aikawa in the Genroku era). Settlers in Hokkaido ordered Sado miso from the late Edo period; by late Meiji there were over 50 makers and a co-operative was founded in 1909. Output passed 20,000 t in 1971, and in 1987 Sado made about half of Niigata's roughly 35,000 t (Japanese Wikipedia, citing Nakagawa 1987 and a 1973 J. Brew. Soc. Japan article).

  1. [JA-WIKI-佐渡味噌] Japanese Wikipedia, 佐渡味噌 (citing Nakagawa S. 1987, 佐渡味噌の沿革, J. Brew. Soc. Japan 82(10):680–683, and 新潟 越後味噌と佐渡味噌, J. Brew. Soc. Japan 68(3):175–180, 1973)wiki
  2. [aichi-itc] Itō M., 日本の伝統的発酵調味料である味噌について (On miso), Aichi Center for Industry and Science Technology, Food News No. 16, p. 3; type table adapted from みそ技術ハンドブックgov