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Cereals and bread from Japan — Ehime

Uwajima barley miso made without soybeans宇和島麦みそ

Uwajima barley miso is a paste made only from naked-barley koji and salt, with no soybeans. Ehime naked barley, of which the prefecture is Japan's largest producer, is made into koji and aged with salt by Ii Shōten of Uwajima using a method handed down from its ancestors. Because Japan's food labelling definition of miso requires soybeans, it cannot be called miso in the ingredient list.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Uwajima barley miso made without soybeans itself. Its own sources do not record how it is made, so the steps and scenes below are those of Setouchi barley miso (light-coloured barley miso, Seto Inland Sea), the closest documented soy and legumes ferment, shown as a guide to the method, not as a record of Uwajima barley miso made without soybeans.

Short entryCereals and bread

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo source gives the koji to salt ratio or the batch size.
Naked barley, made into koji[datamax2]
Salt[datamax2]
Starterkoji made from naked barley

Total time across the steps of Setouchi barley miso (light-coloured barley miso, Seto Inland Sea): 15 days – 30 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countMoulds

What changes: Mould spreads over the barley, more thickly the longer the koji is grown

Step 1 of 3 · steps of Setouchi barley miso (light-coloured barley miso, Seto Inland Sea)
Grow the barley koji
Time
24 h – 2.2 days
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

Output: barley koji.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
faint hyphae on the grain after 24–28 h; thick hyphae after 46–52 h
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

koji mould grows over the barley; shorter koji times keep the miso paler

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

Uwajima barley miso is a paste made only from naked-barley koji and salt, with no soybeans. Ehime naked barley, of which the prefecture is Japan's largest producer, is made into koji and aged with salt by Ii Shōten of Uwajima using a method handed down from its ancestors. Because Japan's food labelling definition of miso requires soybeans, it cannot be called miso in the ingredient list.

What makes this one different

Under Japan's food labelling standard, miso, barley miso included, is made with soybeans. The Uwajima paste leaves them out and is made from barley koji and salt only. A 2022 news article says people allergic to soy can eat it.

Related ferments

Safety

The recipe has no soybean, which matters for soy allergy, but no source we read tests the paste for traces of soy. It is made from barley, and barley contains gluten, so it is not suitable for people with celiac disease.

History and sources

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

In 2022 Ehime Prefecture told Ii Shōten, a miso maker in Uwajima, that its barley miso could not be labelled miso because it has no soybeans. After public attention the prefecture withdrew the guidance and apologised, so the name may be used, but the ingredient panel still cannot say miso.

  1. [datamax2] NetIB-News (Data Max) 2022, 味噌が味噌でなくなる日~消えゆく伝統と地域性, 1 November 2022web
  2. [datamax] 代源太朗 2022, 宇和島麦みそ、思いが通じ「味噌」の表示可能に, NetIB-News (Data Max), 7 November 2022web
  3. [mainichi] Mainichi Shimbun 2022-11-04web
  4. [jawiki] Japanese Wikipedia, 味噌wiki
  5. [niddk-celiac] National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Eating, Diet and Nutrition for Celiac Diseasegov