Miso, the Japanese paste of fermented soy beans, packs an umami punch. It adds an extra-savoury dimension to soups, marinades and salad dressings, and once you’ve tried miso butter, you’ll never look back – see Peter Gilmore’s recipe for grilled shiitake mushrooms with umami butter, or the snapper with broccolini and nori-miso butter. And don’t just limit miso to mains. It works wonders in desserts too, adding a pleasing salty counterpoint to sweets. Our pick? The peanut and miso shortbread bars by Lemonpi (aka Yu-ching Lee).