Question Summary:
Is it permissible to consume food products containing Miso?

Question Detail:

Assalamualaykum There is this food product that I really want to try called ramen. I found one that is suitable for vegetarians but contains 1% of an ingredient called miso. In the entire 1% of miso only 0.37% contains alcohol which when the food product is boiled the alcohol evaporates. Are we allowed to eat the food product if this is the case?

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, The Most Merciful.

As-salaamu `alaykum wa-ramatullahi wa-barakatuh.

Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and koji (the fungus Aspergillus oryzae) and sometimes rice, barley, or other ingredients. The result is a thick paste used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup called misoshiru, a Japanese culinary staple. High in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, miso played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan. Miso is still widely used in Japan, both in traditional and modern cooking, and has been gaining worldwide interest…

The ingredients used to produce miso may include any mix of soybeans, barley, rice, buckwheat, millet, rye, wheat, hemp seed, and cycad, among others. Lately, producers in other countries have also begun selling miso made from chickpeas, corn, azuki beans, amaranth, and quinoa.^[i]

Alcohol derived from anything besides dates and grapes is permissible on condition that it is not used to an amount that intoxicates and that it is not used in vain.^[ii]

The alcohol produced in Miso is due to the fermentation process from products other than dates and grapes. Miso is permissible.

And Allah Ta`ala Knows Best.

Hussein Muhammad.

Student Darul Iftaa

Arusha, Tanzania

Checked and Approved by:

Mufti Ebrahim Desai

^[i]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miso

^[ii]

الهداية في شرح بداية المبتدي (4/ 396)

قال: "ونبيذ العسل والتين ونبيذ الحنطة والذرة والشعير حلال وإن لم يطبخ" وهذا عند أبي حنيفة وأبي يوسف رحمهما الله إذا كان من غير لهو وطرب لقوله عليه الصلاة والسلام: "الخمر من هاتين الشجرتين"، وأشار إلى الكرمة والنخلة خص التحريم بهما والمراد بيان الحكم،

مختصر القدوري (ص: 204)

لأشربة المحرمة أربعة: الخمر وهي: عصير العنب إذا إلى واشتد وقذف بالزبد والعصير إذا طبخ حتى ذهب أقل من ثلثيه ونقيع التمر والزبيب إذا اشتد ونبيذ التمر والزبيب إذا طبخ كل واحد منهما أدنى طبخ حلال وإن اشتد إذا شرب منه ما يغلب في ظنه أنه لا يسكره من غير لهو ولا طرب ولا بأس بالخليطين ونبيذ العسل والتين والحنطة والشعير والذرة حلال وإن لم يطبخ