Tokyo Turnip Misozuke

We start with small bunches of tokyo turnips. We hang the turnips with their tops still on, and air dry them for a week or so. We want them to be a little shriveled and squishy. We then remove the tops and bury the turnips in a two year barley miso. We use this miso because it's a good medium for long ferments and is stable in a jar. If we were to ferment them is a younger miso like say  shiro miso, which has much less salt and much more koji then the barley miso we use, the product would be lovely but it would also have a much shorter shelf life. Misos like shiro are meant to be consumed while young and can become over ripe, giving them a boozy and even effervescent quality. After we pack the turnips in miso they go into the cave and ferment for about seven month. The turnips are delicious. They have taken on the color of the miso. They are toothsome and rich with saline umami, but still retain much of their rustic turnipness. The miso, in turn, has absorbed some of the turnip flavor and makes a beautiful broth.

-Kevin