[Fiddle-Faddle]

Great site! THanks for posting.

Ah--our miso is white miso--that explains why rice was listed and why barley wasn't--I'm assuming it's safe, but I'll check the other kinds of miso next time I go to the Asian grocery.

[missy'smom]

I hope it was helpful. I always assume guilty until proven innocent!

[missy'smom]

Here is the response from a company that I contacted.

Re: Gluten‏
From: Deb Duchin (srmiso@southrivermiso.com)
Sent: Mon 11/12/07 12:40 PM
To: Missy's Mom
Missy's Mom -

Thanks for your e-mail.

At South River Miso we make 10 varieties of miso - 8 of them have no gluten ingredients.

However, I should tell you that the culture used in our miso making is originally started on barley, harvested in miniscule portions (and we believe no barley comes away with the culture) and then extended on potato starch. Also the 8 varieties of miso with no gluten ingredients are made in the same building where the barley is made.

I know that there is a whole spectrum of gluten intolerance. For some the above information is of concern; for others it is not. You need to decide for yourself your level of intolerance.

I hope this information helps answer your questions.

Deb
----- Original Message -----
From: Missy's Mom
To: mail@southrivermiso.com
Sent: Friday, November 09, 2007 8:57 AM
Subject: Gluten


I heard about your company through a Japanese friend who makes her own miso with your brown rice koji. I must adhere to a strict gluten-free diet, which means that barley in any form is off limits. I am aware that barley is frequently used in the process of making miso and is an ingredient in the final product at times. Any information about barley, gluten and the possiblility for cross-comtamination in your products as well as miso making supplies, like koji, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Missy's Mom

[Carol the Dabbler]

I've been wondering about miso myself, so it's great to see that there's a current thread!

My all-time favorite brand is Miso Master. Their products are utterly delicious, all-organic, and made in the traditional Japanese way. As long as you stay away from their Barley Miso, their products are free from any overt gluten ingredients. HOWEVER, they are aged in large wooden vats, and (as has has often been discussed on this and other celiac forums) it's hard-going-on-impossible to clean all of the gluten out of wood. So unless they have one or more dedicated vats for each flavor, no one could really say for sure whether (or not) there is any barley residue in their nominally non-barley misos.

I have emailed them, and will post their reply here.

I have used their Chickpea Miso, by the way, and really liked it. The flavor is similar to any pale-colored miso. It makes a really good "chicken" broth.

[Bully4You]

Just got my Interolab results back, and turns out I am sensitive to soy (don't really eat any, so not a huge concern...but was hoping for the miso). Oh Well!

Thanks to all.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Bully4You, on Nov 23 2007, 02:40 AM, said:

... I am sensitive to soy (... not a huge concern...but was hoping for the miso).

Well, there's always the Miso Master Chickpea Miso. It's made with rice.

[Bully4You]

I'm pretty sure all the misos have soy, and that the rice or barley or chickpea is just the medium. However, I've got an email into the company. Unless you're telling me the packaging says it does not contain soy?

[Carol the Dabbler]

Well, their web site (Miso Master Chickpea Miso) lists the following ingredients: Organic chickpeas, Organic partially polished brown rice, sun-dried sea salt, well water.

As has already been mentioned, there is the question of trace ingredients in the koji, as well as possible traces of barley miso left in the wooden vats. But the ingredients are both soy-free and gluten-free.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I just got this reply from Miso Master regarding their Chickpea Miso, as well as their other non-barley misos:

Hi Carol,

In response to your question about gluten and Chickpea miso:

We developed the Miso Master Chickpea Miso with folks in mind who have soy allergy, using chickpeas instead of soybeans, but it is also beneficial for folks who must avoid gluten, since the starter culture is grown on rice. Ingredients are: Organic whole chickpeas, organic handmade rice koji, sun dried sea salt, Blue Ridge Mtn well water, koji spores.

All our misos, with the exception of Country Barley Miso and Mellow Barley Miso, are gluten free as far as the ingredients go. They contain soybeans (except for Chickpea miso, which is soy-free), and a starter called koji, which is grown on rice. The name of the miso denotes the grain on which the koji is grown, therefore Brown Rice miso is actually made from soybeans, koji grown on brown rice, water and salt. In the case of the barley misos, the koji is grown on barley. After the grain is cultured by the koji, it is mixed with the cooked soybeans and placed in large wooden barrels to undergo natural fermentation, resulting in the finished miso.

We do make the barley miso in the same facility as the other miso, however the rice-koji misos and the barley-koji misos are fermented in separate barrels and all the equipment is thoroughly cleaned between uses and maintained to the highest standards. Because the barley miso is made in the same facility as the others, we cannot guarantee there is no cross-contamination, but make every effort to insure there is none.

I hope this gives you the information you need.

Many Thanks
Miss Brett Martin

[Bully4You]

I got that email as well. Thanks so much. At my local co-op, they only sell the huge container of the chickpea variety, but the small containers of the others. It is something I'd want to test out - I don't really eat legumes either, but it is fermented, so it should be better than non-fermented.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Do you perhaps have an omnivorous friend who might be willing to take the remainder of the container off your hands if you find that you don't tolerate it?

[Bully4You]

Well, I do have two hungry hippos here at home: partner and daughter: both of whom love miso soup...so that would always work. It's just such a commitment, that large tub. (This from the woman who just bought a HUGE drum of coconut oil, knowing that once she spends 50 bucks on some foodstuff, she's libel to stop tolerating it.)

Okay. Next time I'm at the store, I'll spring for it.