The Umami Addition Your Canned Gravy Needs

Regardless of when and how you incorporate it into your favorite meals, making gravy from scratch requires some work. Broadly speaking, gravy is a combination of fat, flour, and liquid that's been simmered with seasonings and herbs until it reaches a thick, saucy consistency. When all that extra elbow grease sounds more taxing than rewarding, canned or jarred gravy is a convenient solution. However, its flavor doesn't always stack up to the savory, meaty taste of homemade gravy. Enter miso paste, the must-have ingredient for jazzing up packaged gravy.

Miso is a traditional Japanese condiment made by fermenting soybeans with koji fungus, cultures, and salt water. A creamy umami bomb that requires only a small amount to transform a dish, miso brings a deceptively meaty flavor to boring canned gravy. Not only does miso paste provide packaged gravy with a depth of flavor similar to a homemade batch, but it's also quick and easy to integrate, maintaining the fuss-free convenience you were hoping for. 

To introduce miso into packaged gravy, simply whisk in a small amount while simmering the sauce over the stove until it's fully integrated. Be careful not to boil miso, as this can destroy its powerhouse nutritional makeup and diminish its savory flavor, compromising the quality of the final product. Bear in mind that a little bit of miso goes a long way, which means you can use the leftover paste to enhance instant ramen, plain buttered noodles, and salad dressings.

Miso paste is available in several different flavors, and the variety you infuse your canned gravy with will impact the dish. Consider a few of the most common miso types – red, white, and yellow — to determine which best suits your canned gravy. Red miso paste ferments for an extended period of time and flaunts a high soybean content. It has a brackish saltiness and a more intense umami flavor than other varieties. Because of its deep, bold flavor, red miso paste is often used in hearty recipes like stews, soups, and meat marinades, making it a solid option for canned gravy that's noticeably bland.

On the other side of the spectrum is white miso, which undergoes a shorter fermentation duration than its red counterpart. White miso has a more delicate taste punctuated by subtle whispers of sweetness, perfect for when you only need to make small adjustments to canned gravy. Yellow miso is a balance of both red and white varieties, walking the line between the brawny bravado of red miso and the mellow taste of white miso. Yellow miso is a fool-proof option for dressing up canned gravy and a great place to start when you're learning the miso basics. Whether you're making buttermilk biscuits and gravy or a roast beef dish, miso-infused canned gravy will give you that homemade flavor without the extra work.