Miso keeps the doctor away

At Kura Cooking, miso-making classes have started this year.

The number of homemade miso enthusiasts grows every year. I’m very happy about it.

The saying “miso keeps the doctor away” relates to the power of fermentation.

Miso is made by mixing boiled soybeans, mold, and salt.

It gains its power not just from the soybeans themselves, but from being broken down by microorganisms.

Soybeans are rich in protein, earning them the nickname “meat of the field.” However, they are difficult to digest in their raw state. During the miso-making process, enzymes from the mold break down the protein into amino acids. It’s amazing how miso transforms into energy without burdening the stomach and intestines.

Miso is also a good sauce of plant-based lactic acid bacteria. Live lactic acid bacteria reach the intestines, helping to regulate the gut flora. And when your gut is healthy, it boosts your immunity, helping build a body less prone to colds.

On the other hand, people with high blood pressure might worry that drinking miso soup means too much salt intake. However, recent studies have reported that “the salt in miso is less likely to raise blood pressure.” There’s also data showing that people who drink miso soup daily have younger vascular age compared to those who don’t.

During the Heian period, miso was a luxury ingredient, sometimes eaten straight or used as medicine.

Miso soup appeared during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, spreading the nourishing meal of “one miso soup and one dish.”

A lot of soldiers carried miso as field rations.

In the Edo period, all family members worked together in the winter to make enough miso for a year. They boiled soybeans grown in their fields in big pot, then everyone stomped them with their feet to crush them. They mixed the crushed beans with mold and salt. Each family made its own unique miso.

Today, in every supermarket there are so many miso that it’s hard to choose. It’s a great era where miso soup is readily available in many forms without needing to make it yourself.

So, I believe making your own miso is the ultimate luxury.