​IOWA winter is here!

It seems the real IOWA Winter has started, but I read in the news about Tokyo that the first spring wind has been blowing there already! Honestly, at times like these I long to be back in a warm place. There are, of course, some really good points of an IOWA winter. First of all, this is the best time to make MISO! We call it "KANJIKOMI" = "KAN" is cold, "JIKOMI" is preparation. We are told that there are  several reasons. In winter, there are few germs in the air and the water. Next, the temperatures are low so that the fermentation process progresses slowly. Later, during spring and summer, the fermentation can go deeper and the MISO is ready to eat by fall. Third, we can use the freshly harvested grains and soybeans of the previous summer. Fourth, it used to be that farmers in the olden days made their own MISO, and so only had time to make it in the winter. Yes, me too, although I am not a farmer, I have more time to concentrate on makeing KOJI and cook freshly harvested soybeans in winter.

Freshly made KOJI rice