Rokko Tanba Kuromame Black Soybean Miso (六甲味噌 丹波黒大豆味噌)

The story behind it

Miso making started in Nagata, Kobe, in 1918. After the war the brewery moved to Ashiya, and it has stayed on that same ground for more than 100 years.

This miso uses rice from Hyogo Prefecture and black soybeans from Tanba, also in Hyogo. Tanba Kuro is regarded as the finest black soybean variety, better known as simmered beans or the black beans served at New Year. Here it goes into miso.

The result is sweet and thick. It is made so whole beans remain, so you get their texture not only when it dissolves into soup but also when you coat a stir-fry with it.

Kansai miso usually means white miso, but right next door in Hyogo there are makers working with black beans. Add Tatsuno, home of usukuchi shoyu, in the same prefecture, and Hyogo covers a wide range of flavor.