Is there a significant difference in flavour between real Mirin and Mirin-like products?

I read everywhere that there are generally two types of the sweet cooking wine mirin:

A) the real, hon mirin, a sweet rice wine with 14 % vol. alcohol

B) the ersatz, or shin mirin / mirin fu, with less than 1 % vol. alcohol.

I'd like to know if it makes a significant difference in flavours or otherwise if one uses the ersatz mirin instead of the 'real stuff', e.g., for sushi rice or other dishes. Is 'hon mirin' the first choice among the Japanese?

Best Answer

I used hon-mirin exclusively when I lived in Japan, simply because it tasted better.

My Japanese neighbor was surprised that I could tell the difference, and confessed (somewhat embarrassedly) that she used aji-mirin since her family couldn't tell the difference.

However, I cannot buy hon-mirin in the US (I'm not 21, and hon-mirin is sold as wine while aji-mirin is cooking wine) so I've been using aji-mirin without detrimental effect.

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Is all mirin the same?

Different Types of Mirin. In general, there are 4 types of mirin: hon mirin (\u201creal\u201d mirin, \u672c\u307f\u308a\u3093), mirin (\u307f\u308a\u3093), mirin-like condiment (\u307f\u308a\u3093\u98a8\u8abf\u5473\u6599), and mirin-type condiment (\u307f\u308a\u3093\u30bf\u30a4\u30d7\u8abf\u5473\u6599).

Is Kikkoman Aji-mirin real mirin?

The mirin sold in food stores, or aji-mirin, is concocted from alcohol, water, salt and sweeteners; usually lower in alcohol, it is to real mirin what a cooking wine is to a fine varietal.

What is authentic mirin?

Hon mirin (literally: true / genuine mirin), which is a naturally fermented sweet rice wine. It is manufactured from sweet rice and rice koji ( culture that also used for miso, soy sauce and rice vingar)

Which mirin is good for cooking?

The best is hon-mirin, which means true mirin. The wine is naturally sweet from the fermentation and has an alcohol content of 14%. It should only contain 3 ingredients: rice, koji and shochu (Japanese distilled alcohol).

What is mirin and how do you use it? Japanese seasoning explained

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Images: Ketut Subiyanto, Ketut Subiyanto, Ketut Subiyanto, Maria Orlova