Revered for centuries as the most famous miso in Japan and celebrated as the miso supplied to the Emperor of Japan for over one hundred years, this pure soya bean miso is a powerhouse of concentrated nutrition, with twice as much protein than either long aged Brown Rice or Barley Miso. It is produced by miso craftmen of five centuries, using large seasoned cedarwood kegs to fully mature for up to 3 years. As a result, Hatcho miso is also considered the most effective.

Dark and rich, this miso has a distinctive taste that can add an interesting new flavour to everyday cooking, especially soups, sauces and condiments.

What Is Miso?

Miso is a traditional fermented Japanese staple food and seasoning made from different types of grains but mainly soya and a unique koji fermentation culture.

During the 18 years Clearspring's founder Christopher Dawson lived in Japan he became an expert on miso quality, and the Clearspring range is his selection of the finest traditionally made Japanese miso. All traditionally fermented Japanese miso is prepared by cooking the finest organically grown ingredients (whole soya beans and cereal grains) and combining them with a koji culture (grains or soya beans inoculated with Aspergillus oryzae mould spores) sea salt and water. Then naturally aged in cedarwood kegs over many months at ambient temperature the enzymes from the koji, along with naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria, gradually break down the complex grains and beans into readily digestible amino acids, fatty acids and simple sugars. The resulting miso has rich and complex flavours and an abundance of umami, the fifth taste.

Salt plays an integral part in many fermented and pickled foods. It acts as a check to the fermentation process, creating foods with optimum nutrition but preventing them from spoiling. Miso contains enough salt to successfully control the fermentation, with the actual amount varying from 5% for lighter varieties up to 12% for stronger, darker varieties. Miso is a concentrated seasoning with considerable flavouring ability, so there is no need to use a lot of it. When substituting miso for salt, add approximately one to two teaspoons of miso for one quarter of a teaspoon of salt. This way salt intake can be lowered and full benefit gained from the flavour and nutrition of miso.

Clearspring guarantees to deliver the best quality organic miso from Japan. Miso is an authentic vegan fermented food which has been produced in Japan since the 8th century, over 1,000 tons being consumed there daily in many dishes and soups.

Due to the high demand for Clearspring miso, we contract produce organic miso at several manufacturers in different regions in Japan. All our miso is made to traditional recipes with the best possible organic ingredients but since miso is a live product the taste, colour and consistency will vary slightly depending on the region and the season. The lighter coloured miso often comes from the southern region, where due to the warmer climate the required maturity time is shorter than in the northern region which typically make darker miso.

Occasionally however the miso may continue to naturally ferment in the jar and as a result the colour of the miso will gradually darken over time. This continuing maturation may also cause the lid to bulge but rest assured that the product is still delicious and safe to consume. To slow down this fermentation, simply keep the product refrigerated.