Has anyone ever tried washing with miso? Since it's unpasteurized, I can only imagine how the bacteria will change the cheese! Could this be too much? If I were to attempt this, does anyone have suggestions for which style cheese I should start with?
I also have a nuka (pickling bed) from my honeymoon in Japan that is made of sake lees (the bits left over from sake fermentatation). It smells so beautiful and I'm dying to use it for something other than my pickling. Imagine a combination of subtle fruitiness, umami, yeast and alcohol, with a hint of sourdough bread in the background.
I'll take any suggestions and try any experiments that are thrown out there for me!
Hi venhousa and congratulations. Sounds like your honeymoon was one to remember :). Based on what I read about miso I don't think there would be any problems other than creating an off-taste but you never know until you try. Miso has a paste-like consistency so you probably want to "thin" it. You can pretty much rind wash any cheese (except for the bloomies and blues) but for an experiment you could take a basic washed rind cheese recipe and go from there. Then again, my "World Encyclopedia of Cheese" doesn't list a single Japanese cheese?? It would be an interesting experiment.
Hi venhousa,
After having a similar thought for some time and finding your post, I gave this a go. Found some barley miso paste and diluted it (500ml water : 1 Tbslp miso paste), ensuring that the wash was as even as possible. The trial was with some washed rind cheese, which was washed in a brine for approx 1 week and then washed with the miso wash for approx 1.5 weeks (apologies for the vagueness, I should have written these details down!). Initially the cheese looked and felt wrong (entirely cream colored and quite firm) - not like the placebo washed rinds from the same batch. But after a week of maturing in wrapping, it developed some beautiful colors (cream, yellow, and orange) and softened up nicely. The taste was pleasantly more pungent and bitter. I have a few more tucked away in my fridge 3 weeks later and they're flavor and texture is even more enjoyable now. I would be interested in concentrating the miso wash for the next trial.
Have you experimented with this any further yourself?
I have stumbled upon this article (https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/adjunctive-application-of-solidstate-culture-products-from-aspergillusoryzae-for-semihard-cheese-2329-888X-1000188.php?aid=93327) a while back, when I was looking at Aspergillus Oryza from an alcohol production perspective, but it is quite topical considering that it plays a pivotal role in fermenting miso.