Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company - MONO MONTHLY
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Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company
MONO MONTHLY with Malica Ferments
Online pre-order sales event 10-24 November 2021
About the maker
Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewery is a long-established brewery in Akita that has been operating since the late Edo period. The company's philosophy, "Life is Voyage", is to combine and evolve Japanese seasonings with the world's food culture, and to re-brand as it expands overseas. They have a garden, a café and a gallery, building on a legacy of 150 years, and are also introducing art and inbound tours into the industry. After 10 years of experimental brewing, Yamamo discovered the Viamver yeast (patent pending), which produces fruity aroma and delicious flavours. This yeast is presented at Brewing Society of Japan. ASTRONOMICA is a team of researchers, chefs and artists, and the team pursues a new world of fermentation, not only in miso and soy sauce products, but also in café menus, processed meat and fish products, wine and beverages. Tradition is being rebuilt with creativity and aesthetics.
About the products
YAMAMO Products: A range of products such as miso, soy sauce and dashi, brewed since ancient times and with a long history.
ASTRONOMICA products: A range of products created through innovative research and development by a team of experts, including researchers, chefs and artists, while remaining true to tradition.
We welcome Marika Groen a.k.a. Malica Ferments, a Japanese fermentation specialist based in Amsterdam to feature Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company.
Mono Japan will introduce a special selection of Yamamo's unique products which is the result of rediscovering possibilities in flavour development, reconnecting their history of soy and miso brewery and the future of Japanese fermented products. You can pre-order Yamamo's products from this website from November 10th to 24th.
It's already been half a year since our last MONO MONTHLY WHITE in May this year. I believe it’s about time for you to meet another delicious miso and soy sauce (and more). Let me introduce Yamamo Miso and Soy Sauce Brewing Company in Yuzawa city, Akita.
I’ve been waiting to talk about this brewery for long. I visited them in 2019 during my fermentation journey and Yasushi Takahashi, the 7th generation of the company showed me around their production area and shared his vision of redefining Japanese fermented products and unlocking the potential in the traditional brewing with me. Before visiting, their shining website drew my attention because it did not look like the one from a traditional brewery with 150 years of history. As anticipated, the brewery was eye-grabbing and the whole atmosphere made me even confused when I stepped in. It was classy but good old, and the front store had a showcase of their time-honored miso, shoyu and many other products – with stylishly designed labels on them. This is something you don’t always expect, but Yamamo has a very special scope in this approach. I wish to talk more about it in November.
During the brewery tour, I was offered many types of miso for sample tasting and they all were very tasty. I remember that I licked each small cup of their miso there, and brought some of their products home in The Netherlands.
Their miso uses double the amount of koji and much less salt to make the taste round and mellow. It was easy to use in cooking non-Japanese dishes and blends well with what local friends and family eat in daily basis.
One of other items I brought home and finished too soon, was their shirodashi. Shirodashi is a light-coloured concentrated soup stock made from dashi, soy sauce and rice sweetener etc in general, and their blending was in great balance that I could use it for almost anything. From the noodle dishes to seasoned rice, their shirodashi was the ultimate flavour enhancer that I could rely on.
In Japanese cooking, we need to do this blending ourselves by measuring each condiment but shirodashi is always ready to go and it’s simply impossible to go wrong with cooking. No knowledge, no experience required. Just add it to anything and you will be surprised with how much this complex umami deepens the taste of your dish. The best pairing is egg in any form of cooking.
As a fan of Yamamo products, I kept the very last bit of their miso in the fridge but now that’s also nearly finishing. I wish I could have shared this with friends in Europe because it’s just so easy to introduce in their kitchen.
Japanese miso and soy sauce are still mainly in demand by a certain segment of the locals, such as Japanese food lovers or health-conscious consumers. However, Yamamo's miso and soy sauce transcend these barriers.
To put it in an extreme way, I don't even think we need to call it "miso" or "soy sauce" anymore. I want you to taste first, then the story will follow like music while you close your eyes, enjoying their taste.
Apart from my initial intention of getting their products again and sharing them with more people, I have one more reason why I wanted to invite them to MONO MONTHLY.
I will tell more details in November, but only as a teaser… we are introducing more than just miso and shirodashi this time. They have more, and this would be a premiere stage.
Yamamo has been making continuous effort in rediscovering possibilities in flavour development to reconnect their history and the future of Japanese fermented products.
The passwords are ASTRONOMICA® and Viamver® yeast.
Welcome to MONO MONTHLY YAMAMO edition this winter. Looking forward to sharing their dreams and goals, and inviting you to the first experience of the new tastes.
Read further about ASTRONOMICA®
Read further about Viamver® yeast
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