Miso has been made in Japan for centuries by fermenting soybeans, as well as rice and barley, with salt and Aspergillus oryzae, an ascomycete. Fermentation gives the soybeans darker colour and a strong flavour. In general, the darker the color of the miso, the stronger the taste. Miso is used as a food flavoring and as the base for soup. SEM of freeze-fractured miso revealed asci as tubes with ascospores inside. Several intact asci are noticeable in the left upper part of the image. Micrograph width: 513 micrometers. Magnification: 195x if the image is printed 10 cm wide.