The almond miso I made a couple weeks ago tastes amazing! My critiques are that it’s a tad too salty, and I’d prefer a smoother texture, but otherwise it’s a winner. I’m looking forward to seeing how the flavour changes during the next couple weeks… Currently, I find it has a yeasty scent like baking bread, which is very compelling.
I’ll be doing a miso workshop at the Compost Education Centre in a little while, so thought I’d make something a little different to bring to it. This recipe, like many of my miso experiments, is from the Art of Miso group on Facebook… It started with a recipe for peanut miso, with this almond version posted in the comments.
Take a scant 1.5 cups of almonds and soak overnight, to make around 2 cups of hydrated almonds.
Save the soaking liquid and grind the nuts, adding soaking liquid as needed to get a smooth texture.
Mix in 2 cups of koji rice and 2 tablespoons of coarse pickling salt, and more soaking liquid if required.
I first used a spoon, then used the immersion blender again, to break down the rice grains more thoroughly.
Pack the miso firmly into a jar layer by layer, using a fork or such and tapping it on a hard surface in order to remove air bubbles. This is a 750mL wire-bail jar with a rubber gasket (a “Fido”), and it was just the right size!
Because we want the miso to be able to breathe, I put a small cloth between the top of the jar and the gasket, so that it is not air tight.
Label with the date, and wait… But not too long! As nuts tend to go rancid, this is a quicker ferment than most… We’ll leave it on the counter in my warm kitchen and taste it in a week or so, then move it to fridge and try to eat it up within a month or two.
***FOLLOW UP POST HERE: http://www.jarstar.ca/almond-miso-is-awesome-miso/***