The fermentation process used in miso production is miraculous as it seamlessly breaks down the indigestible protein of soybeans to readily assimilable amino acids. Koji spores acting on brown rice or barley form a culture that transforms soybeans into an ideal meatless, protein rich superfood. As the scholar William Shurtleff so eloquently describes in The Book of Miso- ..."a near-miraculous world in which tiny spores burst into blossom like elegant and complex flowers, enzymes reach out inquisitively like long fingers melting solid particles at their touch, and populations of mold explode until they have totally enveloped the foods- or "substrates"-which support their life"... Oh, the miracle of fermentation!