The Miso Book: The Art of Cooking with Miso [Paperback]

John Belleme (Author), Jan Belleme (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2004

For centuries, the preparation of miso has been considered an art form in Japan. Through a time-honored process, soybeans and grains are transformed into thiswondrous food, which is both a flavorful addition to a variety of dishes and a powerful medicinal. Scientific research has supported miso’s use as an effective therapeutic aid in the prevention and treatment of a range of disorders. Part One of this guide begins with miso basics—its types and uses. A chapter called “Miso Medicine” then details this superfood’s healing properties and role

in maintaining good health. Easy directions for making miso at home are also found in Part One. Then Part Two presents over 140 healthy recipes in which miso is used in dips, spreads, soups, and much more. Whether you are in search of healthful foods or you simply want a delicious new take on old favorites, The Miso Book may be just what the doctor ordered.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

How do you become an expert on miso? Spend eight months apprenticed to a traditional miso master in a Japanese village. Work long, hot hours preparing and mixing soybeans, separating the grains by hand and fermenting them in 200-year-old vats. At least that's what these authors have done, and the result is this engrossing guide to fermented soy. In the hands of the Bellames, miso is more than an ingredient: it's an ancient tradition, originating in China around 800 B.C., before becoming the food of conquerors in 15th-century Japan. It became an integral part of the lives of modern Japanese people, and spread to America during the 1960s macrobiotics movement. This book covers different types of miso, how to make miso at home and miso's health benefits, which include lowered cholesterol and enhanced immune function. The book's bulk and climax is a buffet of tempting recipes: expected fare, like Kyoto-Style Miso Soup and Spicy Soba Salad, accompany many dishes not normally associated with miso, such as French Onion Soup, Italian-Style Stuffed Shells, Caribbean Fish Chowder and Apple-Nut Muffins. Although the authors probably offer more information about miso than most people need to know, their reverence and enthusiasm for their topic is impressive.
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About the Author

John and Jan Belleme are the country’s leading authorities on miso and other traditional Japanese foods. After living in Japan, where they learned the craft of miso-making firsthand,

the Bellemes co-founded the American Miso Company. Their extensive research on Japanese foods has resulted in four books and over a hundred articles. Currently, the Bellemes are involved with A Taste of Health, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of natural foods through education.

John and Jan Belleme are the country’s leading authorities on miso and other traditional Japanese foods. After living in Japan, where they learned the craft of miso-making firsthand,

the Bellemes co-founded the American Miso Company. Their extensive research on Japanese foods has resulted in four books and over a hundred articles. Currently, the Bellemes are involved with A Taste of Health, a nonprofit organization that promotes the use of natural foods through education. 

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Square One Publishers (May 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757000282
• ISBN-13: 978-0757000287
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #106,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must for the miso beginner., June 29, 2004

By 

Angela Osorno (FL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Miso Book: The Art of Cooking with Miso (Paperback)

This is a great cook book! Very readable with an excellent introduction on miso and its medicinal qualities. For the miso beginner, this book is a must. I particularly enjoyed the authors's introductory paragraphs that proceed each recipe. They offer a personal touch and often set the stage for the recipe to follow. Good stuff. I've used miso to treat my high cholesterol with great success, and I'm always looking for new recipes. Other miso cook books I've seen are full of complicated recipes with exotic ingredients not found on the average person's shelf. The Miso Book is refreshingly diferent. Most of the ingredients can be found in any cook's pantry. I've tried a few recipes, and so far, my favorites are Brother Steve's Zesty Crimson Dressing (pg 66), and Broiled Catch of the Day with Salsa Verde (pg 166). The Salsa Verde is a knock-out punch. Excellent, with a variety of flavors that assault your taste buds in rapid succession. But, don't limit the sauce to fish. We tried it on pasta. It was yummy. The Belleme's have done it again. You gotta to get this book.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good introduction to adding miso to your "American" recipes, September 7, 2010

By 

M. Maltbie (Mid-South Coastal Texas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Miso Book: The Art of Cooking with Miso (Paperback)

This cookbook is a vegetarian cookbook, but it is not just for vegetarians. I was looking for a way to incorporate the different varieties of miso into my regular, everyday cooking. I was originally introduced to a package of miso by way of a Gourmet magazine Thanksgiving Day recipe. And I can now say: Hey, this is great stuff! It adds a lot of unique flavor to a dish, and I really like this flavor! When we're talking umami, why aren't we talking miso, along with soy sauce and other products? And it's good for you--at least it is if you don't kill the beneficial organisms by high heat. So, I purchased this cookbook and "Miso Cookery" by Louise Hagler.

If you can only purchase one book, I would go with this one, as it contains more general information about miso and its health benefits, there are a lot more recipes, and the overall presentation is a bit more sophisticated.

There are more than the average amount of very nice dressing and sauce recipes. And the soup recipes--what a great assortment of recipes that incorporate miso! While there are some Japanese recipes and Japanese-inspired recipes, most of the recipes in this book are more, what I would call, "Continental", with an assortment that includes French Onion Soup and Boston Baked Beans.

Positive/Negative: The authors of this book are affiliated with "The American Miso Company", whose products I have not found locally. And the type of miso is listed in English, with no Japanese equivalant. This means that it's not real easy to go into your local Asian market and identify what you are looking for.

For those of you who choose your cookbooks by presentation, (how many pictures, quality of paper and cover material, etc.), you may not be real happy with this cookbook, as it has no pictures. It is a real basic, average-quality publication and you may not be happy with it if you pay the full cover price of $15.95. But if you want to add to the quality and "mystery" and umami of your cooking, this book is a worthwhile addition to your collection.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Medical Research Biologist's Nutritionally Superior Recipes, June 12, 2011

By 

Nathanael Greene "targeted father" (metropolitan Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Miso Book: The Art of Cooking with Miso (Paperback)

I am no stranger to miso, having cooked with miso for forty years.

A major - and apparently overlooked - strength of the Bellemes' THE MISO BOOK is the high quality of this book's recipes, including (1) the special nutritional nature of certain of these recipes' unique ingredients, and (2) the scientific and disarmingly concise and consistent precision in which these recipes are written.

Read the "About the Authors" note, on page 175 of THE MISO BOOK, to learn about the Bellemes' unique scholarly qualifications to write nutritionally knowledgeable and sophisticated recipes like those in THE MISO BOOK.

I previously wrote a "customer review" for this AMAZON website of the Bellemes' book entitled JAPANESE FOODS THAT HEAL: USING TRADITIONAL JAPANESE INGREDIENTS TO PROMOTE HEALTH, LONGEVITY & WELL-BEING (2007), a book which discusses some of the nutritionally superior and unique ingredients which are key elements in most of THE MISO BOOK's recipes.

Oddly, THE MISO BOOK (2004) preceded the publication of the Bellemes' JAPANESE FOODS THAT HEAL (2007) - the latter (and subsequent) book is critical to an understanding and appreciation of the quality and nature of THE MISO BOOK's recipes.

Parenthetically, nearly 200 AMAZON.com customers have posted high-approval "customer reviews" of Natalia Rose's book entitled THE RAW FOOD DETOX DIET (which I also purchased) - this high level of interest in Natalia Rose's book indicates that a number of these nutritionally-conscious AMAZON.com customers would also be interested in the Bellemes' nutritionally knowledgeable and uniquely informative books.

In stark contrast to the recipes in THE MISO BOOK, this morning I happened to conduct a nutritional and compositional analysis of each and every single recipe in Robin Robertson's book entitled FRESH FROM THE VEGETARIAN SLOW COOKER. What a radical difference from the high quality of the recipes in THE MISO BOOK! Robin Robertson's recipes instruct her readers to use WHITE rice, SUGAR, FROZEN foods, CANNED corn, CANNED peas, CANNED beans - etc., etc. - as well as other nutritionally abhorrent cooking ingredients.

It was my analysis of Robin Robertson's recipes this morning that made me acutely aware of just how nutritionally superior the recipes are in THE MISO BOOK - in fact, I never previously realized this aspect about a cookbook's recipes before this morning. This is a useful insight.