About Miso

 The best resource on Miso that I know of is Shurtleff and Aoyagi's book
  _The Book of Miso_.  It's quite a complex subject.  The differences is miso
  can be attributed to a variet of factors, from the proportion of
  ingredients, cooking techniques, and duration and temperature of
  fermentation.  The redish color comes from long fermentation times (or in
  cheap imitations, from dyes).  The whiter misos are generally fermented for
  short times, and often made with rice in addition to soybeans. Reds are
  generally saltier and whites sweeter.

  Misos vary widely in fat content (like most soy products) and generally
  range from .25 to 1.5 gram of fat per tablespoon (and from about 6%CFF to
  over 30%CFF).  Some varieties, like peanut miso, obviously have even more
  fat.  Since it is rare that a dish has more than 1 T miso per serving, miso
  does not generally add appreciable fat to a dish. Many of the white sweet
  misos clock in at the low end (.25 grams per T, 6-10%CFF) so if you do want
  to use more miso, these kinds can be added liberally to a dish (and since
  their taste isn't as strong or salty, they do become many dishes in greater
  quantity).

  I find the dark, hearty misos make great gravy starters.  Add a bit of
  water/stock, some nutritional yeast, spices and a thickener to some miso
  and voila, instant delicious gravy.  A favorite miso-potato recipe follows.



  On miso, you just have to try different kinds & brands.  There are numerous
  styles of miso.  Red misos tend to be more "savory" and white ones are
  usually more "sweet".  Country-style (Inaka) is made grainier on purpose.
  If served as a sauce on veggies, probably it's not straight miso but mixed
  w/sugar and some rice vinegar.  BTW a warning to vegetarians, some misos
  come "dashi-iri" which includes fish-based stock.  I think the ingredients
  label in English will mention fish, but not sure (since I can read the
  Japanese, I don't usually check the English), so check the ingredients
  carefully.  There is kombu-dashi (I even found some granulated packets)
  which is vegetarian, but most dashi is from bonito flakes (I guess it must
  be cheaper).