Slow-Roasted Swede & Lemon Brine Miso Golden sweet umami treat.
Description
We’ve called this a ‘miso’, but in many respects it’s a cross between a miso and shio koji. We’re enchanted by the incredibly sweet and complex flavors that come out of combining koji with slow-roasted vegetables and fermenting them for a (relatively) short amount of time.
The short fermentation time (as far as Misos go) is critical in releasing the fruity and nutty koji-related flavours while at the same time inhibiting lactic acid bacteria from become too dominant to the point where they would overly ‘sour’ the flavour.
If this miso were full of a protein such as soybean, and/or higher in salt then much more time would be required, but because the koji is swimming in a sea of caramelised flavors from slow-roasted vegetables we wanted to celebrate them.
Wouter Sels from Seven Springs Farm in Lorinna talked up the wonderful flavors of these European swedes, and boy was he right. They’re oh so very scrumptious!
Tasting Notes
The simple ingredients belie the complexity that the fermentation has achieved. The koji and swedes bring some wonderfully sweet caramel-apricot notes to the ferment. The 25 days of ‘sitting’ combined with the brine we harvested from a preserved lemon ferment has brings subtle and fragrant citrus/sour notes. The salt levels are light enough that they don’t overwhelm everything else that is going on. We feel this makes it versatile enough to use in both sweet and savory recipes.
How to Use It
- Combine it with charred and sauteed greens to get a glutinous umami coating. You won’t need anything else.
- Use a small amount in sweets to bring depth and complexity. We’re thinking ice cream and cheesecakes.
- Put it in a salad dressing and celebrate the warming days!