Reading a Miso Label (味噌ラベルの読み方)
The five things a miso label tells you - koji type, colour class, salt, additives and storage - and how to use them to choose.
| Koji type | Look for rice (kome), barley (mugi) or soybean (mame) - sometimes shown only in the ingredients list |
|---|---|
| Colour and style words | Shiro (white), aka (red), awase (blended), plus regional names - Shinshu, Saikyo, Hatcho |
| Salt | Given as a percentage or per-serving figure; white misos are usually lower, red and soybean misos higher |
| Dashi入り (dashi-iri) | Means the paste already contains soup stock seasoning - convenient, but not a plain miso for general cooking |
| Alcohol note | Some miso contains a little alcohol (shusei) added to stop fermentation in the tub - a labelling fact, not a quality mark |
Start with the ingredients list: soybeans, rice (or barley), salt - three items means a plain, traditional-style miso. A long list with stock extracts and sweeteners means a seasoned product, which has its uses but will not behave like plain miso in recipes written abroad.
Then check the style words and the salt figure, and finally the storage line: most miso keeps in the refrigerator after opening, and all miso darkens with age and warmth - a colour change in the tub is normal maturation, not spoilage. The storage guide covers the details.
See also
Storing after openingRelated page in this guide.Choosing in one table
Related page in this guide.
Sources: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), 'Traditional Foods in Japan'; JAS soy sauce standards; Umami Information Center; Kikkoman official information; Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Checked 6 November 2026.