Skip to main content
Support

Browse by category

All categories
Home

Soy and legumes from Copenhagen, Denmark

Peaso (pea miso)

Peaso is Noma's miso made from cooked yellow split peas instead of soybeans, mashed with rice koji and salt and aged for about three months. It uses about 4–5% salt, half or less of a classic miso, so yeasts and lactic and acetic bacteria act faster and the flavour is brighter and fruitier.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Peaso itself.

DocumentedSoy and legumes3 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceLabel of Noma Projects' retail Elderflower Peaso (percentages by weight). The Kyoto Peaso is 34 % peas, rice koji, 22 % kanzuri and salt. Both are pasteurised.
Yellow split peas60 %[noma-elderflower]
Rice koji[noma-elderflower]
Elderflower5 %[noma-elderflower]
Salt[noma-elderflower]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play

What changes: Yellow split peas cook until soft

Step 1 of 3
Cook the yellow split peas
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Yeasts

Noma gives no cooking time. Output: cooked split peas.

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

Peaso is Noma's miso made from cooked yellow split peas instead of soybeans, mashed with rice koji and salt and aged for about three months. It uses about 4–5% salt, half or less of a classic miso, so yeasts and lactic and acetic bacteria act faster and the flavour is brighter and fruitier. Made in 3 steps over 3 months. The longest step, pack and age, takes 3 months (Noma Projects 2026). Salt is 4–5 % (Noma Projects journal 2026). Aspergillus oryzae, grown on rice as koji; its enzymes break down the pea protein and starch and Wild yeasts, lactic acid bacteria and acetic acid bacteria during ageing do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3 monthsReported[noma-elderflower][noma-peaso]Pack and age
Salt4–5 %Reported[noma-peaso][noma-elderflower]Mash with rice koji and salt

What makes this one different

Unlike soybean miso, the base is yellow split peas, and the salt is about half or less, so the ferment ages faster and tastes brighter and fruitier. Flavoured versions add scraps such as elderflower pulp.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Other Noma novel misos (Gotland lentils, fava beans, rye bread)The same miso method on other local substrates, studied alongside yellow pea [kothe2024].

History and sources

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

Noma first made it after a failed attempt to make tofu from yellow split peas, and now sells flavoured versions through Noma Projects.

  1. [kothe2024] Kothe C.I., Carøe C., Mazel F., Zilber D., Cruz-Morales P., Mohellibi N., Evans J.D. 2024, Novel misos shape distinct microbial ecologies, opportunities for flavourful sustainable food innovation, Food Research International 189:114490 (abstract)paper
  2. [noma-peaso] Noma Projects journal, "What's the difference: miso versus peaso" (read 2026-10)web
  3. [noma-elderflower] Noma Projects, Elderflower Peaso product page and ingredient list (read 2026-10)web