{"id":14074,"date":"2021-11-20T14:43:49","date_gmt":"2021-11-20T05:43:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suzuichi-s.co.jp\/s\/?p=14074"},"modified":"2026-10-13T23:02:28","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T14:02:28","slug":"making-homemade-peanut-miso-%e2%99%aa%e2%9c%8a-part-2-did-the-miso-actually-turn-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/suzuichi-s.co.jp\/s\/en\/14074\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Homemade Peanut Miso \u266a\u270a [Part 2] Did the Miso Actually Turn Out?!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Long time no see! It’s me, one of our SUZUICHI staff members \u263a\ufe0f
I have to confess, I’d completely forgotten\u2026
You know, the stuff I made back around February this year and left to rest\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The miso\u2026!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nhttps:\/\/suzuichi-s.co.jp\/s\/en\/14064\/\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Click here for Making Homemade Peanut Miso \u266a [Part 1]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here’s everything that happened from the day I made the miso until now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why I Tried Making Homemade Peanut Miso<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I’d been wanting to try making my own miso (fermented soybean paste) for a while, and then a question suddenly popped into my head!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost all miso is made from soybeans, but\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you make miso from peanuts?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So I decided to actually give it a try \u270a\u2728<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making the Homemade Peanut Miso<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I decided to make the miso in February, probably the coldest month of the year. Miso made at this time of year is called kan-jikomi<\/strong> (cold-season brewing). Apparently mold is less likely to grow and fermentation progresses slowly, which makes it ideal for miso making \ud83d\udca1<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I made three<\/strong> batches in total.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That way I could compare how they turned out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Container \u2460 is miso made with peanuts<\/strong> only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Container \u2461 is miso made with a mix of peanuts<\/strong> and soybeans<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Container \u2462 is miso made with soybeans<\/strong> only.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
So I wouldn’t mix them up, I wrote a number and the amounts of each ingredient on every container \u270f\ufe0f<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

What the labels say: \u2460 peanuts 200 g, koji (rice malt, the fermentation starter) 200 g, salt 80 g \/ \u2461 peanuts 100 g, soybeans 100 g, koji 200 g, salt 80 g \/ \u2462 soybeans 200 g, koji 200 g, salt 80 g<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will Homemade Peanut Miso Ferment? My Prediction<\/strong>\u2026<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the very start, my prediction was “it won’t ferment<\/strong>” \u2190 not very confident, I know<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My reasoning: if peanuts could ferment into miso, I figured peanut miso would already be on sale somewhere around us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wait\u2026 if it does ferment and turns into peanut miso, wouldn’t that be a new discovery? Wouldn’t that be amazing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With thoughts like that running through my head\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I put them away, wishing with all my heart that they’d turn into delicious miso \u2728<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Miso
The under-floor storage in my kitchen<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u30fb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u30fb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nine months went by<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before I knew it, it was November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did it ferment properly and turn into miso?!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Illustration<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here goes! Time to check!!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

!?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whoa!! The color has gotten darker!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The color is clearly different from when I first made them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Container
Soybean miso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Container
Peanut and soybean miso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mold has appeared here and there on miso \u2462 and \u2461\u2026 (sob)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Container
Peanut miso<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The peanut miso, on the other hand, had no mold at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Moment of Truth! Tasting the Homemade Peanut Miso!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Our
Enter our company president \u2728 lol<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When I made the peanut miso, they promised to be the first to taste it, as the official poison tester (heh heh)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, as promised, they get the first bite \u270a lol<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
They’re really spooked by the indescribable smell coming from the miso\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Next, another of our shop staff members gave it a try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This staff member has made homemade miso before and gave me lots of advice, like spraying shochu (a Japanese distilled spirit) on the miso after packing it \u2728<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
Look at their faces\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They said the texture was kind of dry and crumbly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

O-of course I tried it too \u270a
Hmm. What is this smell? (It’s hard to describe.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Container
It has a smell you don’t get from the miso made with soybeans\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Okay! Next, I called over yet another shop staff member to try it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

They instinctively pinched their nose (please don’t make that face!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two
So salty!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The moment you put it in your mouth, it’s salty, and you can really feel the grainy texture of the salt and koji.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that’s what the president and my coworker meant by “dry and crumbly.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even after tasting it, I still couldn’t figure out what that indescribable smell coming from the peanut miso was\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Results<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I made all three batches with the same amounts, but<\/p>\n\n\n\n

only \u2460 the peanut miso seemed not to have fermented properly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2461 the peanut and soybean miso<\/strong> wasn’t as bad as \u2460, but its smell still bothered me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And \u2462 the soybean miso<\/strong> was really delicious \u25ce<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is just my guess, but peanuts contain a lot of oil, so maybe they don’t get along well with koji mold and didn’t ferment. And since peanut miso has a distinctive smell and doesn’t taste as good as soybean miso, that may be why you don’t see it in stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I realized that soybeans<\/strong> really are the best for making miso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons Learned from Making Peanut Miso<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u2605All three batches were dry and crumbly, so maybe I didn’t soak the beans long enough, or didn’t boil them long enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2605There were gaps between the miso and the plastic wrap and containers, so the miso was exposed to air and mold grew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2605I used two 500 ml plastic bottles as weights, but their shape probably wasn’t a good fit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tips for Homemade Miso<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Miso tends to get moldy when it’s exposed to air, so I think a deep container that reduces the surface exposed to air is best. It may also be better to put the weight evenly over the whole surface of the miso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of a weight, you can pour in 1\u20132 cm of shochu: the alcohol helps prevent mold and makes the miso mellow and delicious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pressure cooker is recommended for boiling the beans. It’s quick and makes them nice and soft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Your Miso Gets Moldy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even if mold does appear on your miso, it’s fine as long as you neatly remove that part \u2728<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scraping
\u26a0\ufe0fPlease throw away the miso you remove.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I thought homemade miso would be really difficult, but it was surprisingly easy to make. I’d love to eat some delicious miso, so I want to try making homemade (soybean) miso again!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anyone out there has made peanut miso before, or made it and found it tasty, I’d be very grateful if you could tell me how you make it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I’d be happy if this blog is even a little helpful to someone \u263a\ufe0f<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Bonus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, I also sneakily made some soybean miso at home on my own lol<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Inside<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Finished
There was a little bit of mold, but it turned into delicious-looking miso \u2728<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/dl>\n\n\n
\"\"\u3058\u3073\u30fc<\/span><\/div>
\n

I bet this miso would be delicious made into Miso Peanuts (a sweet miso-coated peanut snack, a classic school-lunch dish in Chiba, Japan) \ud83e\udd24
This turned into a long post, but thank you so much for reading all the way to the end \u2728<\/p>\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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