So, as I mentioned before, I wanted to taste the two fermented soybean pastes and compare them. (I already broke my fast, by the way. More on that later.)
Firstly, this is a plain taste test. I will compare them in prepared dishes in the near future. Also, if you’re curious, I got these both online on Amazon, but always check out other online and physical stores for the best price. Many other sites provide nice discounts as well as free shipping once you order a minimum. Anyway, let’s start with the miso paste.
This is the Genmai miso from the Eden brand. It contains organic whole soybeans, organic brown rice, water, sea salt, and Koji Aspergillus oryzae. So far, so good. The packaging involves a pouch within a pouch, as seen here:
The texture reminds me of a smoother version of the fig paste within the Fig Newton’s cookies (I haven’t had those in forever…I wonder if they are vegan). There are some microscopic grainy crystals in there, but it all dissolves in my mouth in seconds. The taste reminds me of that sharp bite from Kikkoman soy sauce. The smell is also very reminiscent of the taste of Kikkoman. This might be one of the closest things to that brand of soy sauce in paste form. I like it, but I’ve been using white or yellow miso in the last year.
Doenjang is significantly different. Let’s go over the appearance:
The contents of the plastic jar have a creamier consistency than the miso pouch. Some portions remind me of baby food. It seems to contain more moisture than the miso, so it’s slightly runnier. The packaging says Wholly Doenjang (manufactured by Q-Rapha Food, LLC), and the ingredients are soybeans, water and salt.
Before tasting it, I was hit by the smell. It’s that foul, salty and acrid smell I associate with dumpsters and dirty streets of the open-air wholesale markets of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela from over a decade ago. Not as bad as when you accidentally let brown rice with onions spoil in the refrigerator, but still intense. The more the aroma lingers, the more reminiscent it is of the taste of real Parmesan cheese. Yes, specifically, the Parmigiano Reggiano I used to covertly snatch from my parents’ freezer and eat in the middle of the night. I guess the fermentation process broke down some proteins and gave it an umami scent. As for the taste, it is incredibly salty (miso is more restrained, if that makes sense), and it coats your mouth with that fermented gunk aftertaste. I’m sure it’s not meant to be consumed in its raw form, so I’m still eager to try it out in a few dishes.
Let’s see what I make later today.
A Time to Try New Things 