I absolutely love miso. I usually use a white miso or chickpea miso because both are lower in sodium. I have used more robust types that have a deeper flavor and it's nice, but I buy in large quantities (15lb bucket) that usually last 10-11 months. I buy high quality brands and have to have them shipped in($$$), and they don't ship from April to Oct because of the heat. We keep the bucket in the freezer and have a jar that we refill from it in the frig. There is a difference in the flavor and textures of differing brands, some are much more to my liking than others. When we run out during the no ship period and I make it civilization that has an asian market, I buy some to carry us over-- cheaper but not as good, IMHO. I've tried some other brands that do ship during the warm months and they can be good enough.
I make a lot of "soups" (more like stew to porridge consistancy) and I don't use salt when cooking and add the miso right before serving. I eat a vegan diet and my wife is almost so, though she will occasionally have a bit of parmesan on pasta. At our house we've used it in place of cheese or butter on veggie sandwiches. I prefer it to a soy sauce when eating rice or noodles taking a small dab and mixing it in. I have even experiement with using sweets to get a sweet n' salty combination.
There are a lot of different recipes out there if you like the stuff and need a few ideas.
Not going to comment on the health benefits--because honestly, I don't know.
