Mirin

Food · Pantry & Condiment · Food, Typed Supps

A sweet rice seasoning that is about a quarter sugar, used a tablespoon at a time for shine and flavour.

Stage by stage

Intake (Sweetness and aroma): Sweetness registers immediately; in hon-mirin the alcohol also carries volatile aroma compounds.
Cooking (Browning and glaze): Glucose drives Maillard browning and reduction to a glossy glaze, while alcohol firms the surface protein of fish.
Small intestine (Sugars absorbed rapidly): With no fibre, fat or protein present, the sugars are absorbed quickly, though a tablespoon carries only about 5g.
Bloodstream (Used or stored): Glucose is used for immediate energy or stored, at quantities too small to matter from typical culinary use.

Time to effect

Under an hour: The small sugar load from a culinary quantity is absorbed within about 30 minutes.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Cost band

Mid — roughly £5 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Sugars
Alcohol (in true hon-mirin)

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 169
Protein: 0.3g
Carbohydrate: 26.6g
of which sugars: 26.6g
Fat: 0g
of which saturated: 0g
Fibre: 0g
Sodium: 3mg

Food vs. supplement

Not applicable. Judge it against other sweeteners rather than against any nutrient: about 27g of sugar per 100g, used at a tablespoon a dish.

Kitchen tip

Check whether the bottle is hon-mirin (rice, koji, alcohol, around 14 percent ABV) or a mirin-style seasoning (glucose syrup plus salt). Add early to cook off alcohol, late to keep the aroma.

Common myth

"Mirin is a healthier alternative to sugar in Asian cooking." In reality: It is roughly a quarter sugar by weight, all of it counted as added sugar. What it genuinely offers is functional: gloss on a glaze, Maillard browning and aroma from the alcohol. It is a better ingredient than plain sugar for those jobs, not a lower-sugar one.

In the glossary

Absorption