Anyone who knows our white Miso will be thrilled we have got a blended red miso from the same manufacturer. Sometimes pure red miso can be too strong for western palates this is a blended white and red miso (pure paste no lumps) and is getting the high fives from our top chefs!! It is a pure paste with no texture.

About Gokomachi KANTOYA, Kyoto

Gokomachi KANTOYA is a long established miso manufacturer. They have been engaged in miso production in the south of the Old Imperial Palace in the centre of Kyoto city since 1847, when their founder Chube Kantoya started the business. Their miso has a particular character which can only be created by master craftsmen with a great deal of care and effort. The water they use comes from 60 meters below the Hiei mountain system. Their production method involves as many human hands as possible.

Another example of the care lies in the quality of koji. Koji is generally made from various cereals but they only use koji made from rice. The koji is one of miso’s key ingredients which adds sweetness through glycation as well as umami through degradation of protein in soy beans. It takes three to four days to produce koji from rice. During this period koji is carefully conditioned four times by many human hands, although machines are used in some parts. They stick to manual conditioning because the koji mould is alive, just like koji used for sake and soy sauce making. Subtle temperature and moisture changes occur every day during the conditioning of the koji. The delicate difference can be perceived by actually touching and feeling the texture of koji. 

They don’t do mass productions because many of their customers are long established restaurants who preserve the original taste for sometime. New restaurants who are also sympathetic to their idea have become their customers. They do not sell salt-reduced miso which is the recent trend in the consumer market. The salt in miso actually works to create umami in the dish. Therefore when salt-reduced miso is used, the dish will end up having less “taste” and users tend to add more miso than the appropriate amount which ends up ruining the whole balance between miso and the other ingredients in cooking.

You can play with this Miso to create your masterpiece!