You’ve heard of the four basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter and salty, but what about the fifth: umami?

Coined by the Japanese professor who identified it in the early 1900s, the term umami translates as savoury taste or more simply, delicious or yummy.

One of the foods in which you’ll find this unusual taste is the Japanese fermented bean paste, miso.

Ocean Shores resident Elvina Munir, who makes her own miso and sells it under the brand Byron Bay Miso, says the longer miso is fermented, the greater the umami.

“You can have a young miso, which may be fermented for two months, an aged miso which can be fermented for six to twelve months or a super aged miso which can be aged for up to nine years. When you leave it longer it does gets a richer taste.”

Elvina creates both young and aged miso, and while she’s yet to venture into the super aged ferments, her Kome – a 12-month miso– is full of depth and flavour.

Aside from the flavour, Elvina says miso’s big selling point is it’s health-giving properties.

“It’s full of probiotics, so it’s going to be really good for your digestion and gut health, and more than that even – there’s lots of amazing attributes, like it’s anti-carcinogenic, and can detox heavy metals out of your body as well. “

Elvina says to get the benefits, the miso must be unpasteurised (most commercially available pastes will be pasteurised to increase shelf life), and it should not be boiled (add it to soup after its taken off the boil).

Elvina’s miso is 100 percent organic, unpasteurised and made in the slow traditional way. She explains that many of the commercially available miso pastes that are mass produced go through a fast tracked version of the fermentation, with things like alcohol, MSG and preservatives added.

Elvina says she taught herself to make miso soon after the Fukushima accident: “When Fukushima happened, we were all going, ‘oh, I don’t know if we should eat Japanese products because of the radiation problem’, so that’s when we came up with the idea of making our own.”

She and partner Doug followed the method from a 1970s book call The Book of Miso, and after much trial and error, eventually found the right formula. They now sell four varieties at the market: Kome, Natto, Shiro and Chickpea Shiro.

And while most of us think soup when we hear the word miso, Elvina says it is extremely versatile: its savoury flavour works perfectly in a salad dressing (see our featured recipe miso-salad-dressing, as well as  in dips,  as a marinade or on toast with avocado and egg (think of it as a Japanese version of vegemite).

Here’s some other great suggestions from Elvina on how to enjoy your miso:

  • Add it to guacamole: Mix 2 tsp miso with 4 ripe avocados, 1/2 cup lime juice , a clove of crushed garlic and some finely chopped tomato and onion (optional)
  • Mix one tbsp miso into a cup of hot (not boiling) water for a healthy and energizing alternative to coffee.

Basil Miso Pesto   

  1. 3 cups chopped fresh basil
  2. 2 Tsp Kome Miso
  3. 2 cloves garlic
  4. 6 Tsp pine nuts  (or macadamia nuts)
  5. ¼ cup olive oil
  6. 2 tsp lemon juice

Chop garlic in food processor, adding basil until coarsely chopped.

Add miso and pine nuts until well mixed.

Continue to blend, slowly pour in olive oil and lemon juice

Coconut- Lime Miso Mayonaise   

  1. 4 Tsp fresh lime juice
  2. 4 Tsp coconut cream
  3. 2 Tsp Shiro Miso
  4. 1 Tsp maple syrup (or honey)
  5. 2 Tsp water
  6. ½ cup macadamia oil (or olive oil)
  7. 1/4 cup  dessicated coconut

In a blender or food processor, blend all ingredients except oil and coconut. Slowly drip the oil into the blender while running for better emulsification.

Add the eissicated coconut and pulse briefly to mix it in. Chill before serving.