My homemade miso turned funky on a camping trip

I brought a jar of miso I was fermenting to a campsite in the mountains. The temperature swings at night ruined it, and now it's a smelly mess.

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3 Comments

max_rivera7mo ago

Read that miso really hates big temperature swings. The culture gets stressed and weird bacteria can take over. Tough break losing a batch like that.

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rowan_garcia7mo ago

Wait, the barrel itself keeps temps steady? I had no idea wood did that. That changes everything.

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bennett.riley7mo ago

Something often overlooked is the container itself. Old school wooden miso barrels, like cedar ones from Japan, actually buffer temperature changes. The wood acts as insulation, smoothing out daily swings. Plastic or glass jars don't do that, so they're more prone to stress the culture. I've heard from traditional makers that this is why their miso stays stable for years. It's not just about where you store it, but what you store it in.

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