Soy sauce - what is it? how to choose?

[Soy sauce - what is it? how to choose?]

Soy sauce - what is it? how to choose?



Soy sauce - the king of Japanese cuisine, this is beyond doubt. Japanese chefs use it in literally any dish, well, except perhaps for sweets, and it is soy sauce that gives dishes a special piquancy and sophistication. The recipe for making the sauce still remains unchanged and, one might say, is consecrated by time itself. Do it as follows:
- evaporated soybeans are mixed with roasted milled wheat grains;
- the resulting mixture is poured with water and salted;
- then all this mass is hung out or laid out in the sun in special bags;
- in this state, soybeans undergo natural fermentation for more than a year, and the flowing liquid is collected in special vats, filtered and poured into final containers.

To say that this technological process currently does not stand up to criticism, since it does not keep pace with the growing appetites of the consumer, is to say nothing. And now, thanks to modern technologies, it has become possible to somewhat speed up the process of making the sauce - for this it is necessary to add bacteria of the genus Aspergillius to the dry mixture of wheat and soybeans, which will speed up the fermentation process by as much as 12 times!

That is, instead of a year, soy sauce can be obtained in a month. Enzymes break down the soy protein, and sugar is formed during the fermentation of wheat starch, which gives the soy sauce a sweet taste.

However, modern businessmen went even further and began to prepare soy sauce with much lower costs and in a shorter time, diluting only a special soy concentrate with water or boiling soybeans with sulfuric (!) Or hydrochloric (!) Acid. After such cooking, the acidic reaction is quenched with alkali and at the same time, substances that are very harmful to health are formed, which are then difficult to isolate and remove from the finished product. Workers employed in this kind of production are at even greater risk, and the state of the environment, which is not the best influence on the release of toxic acid fumes ...

And nevertheless, it is this sauce that is currently filling the shelves of mid-range stores, and due to the fact that it costs literally a penny, this sauce has gained quite enough popularity to provide its creators with a comfortable existence.

Soy sauce (Giraffe)

[How to choose a quality sauce]

How can you save yourself from buying such a surrogate? Firstly, do not buy sauce at any markets and fairs, but trust more trusted suppliers, i.e., centralized stores.

Secondly, when buying, you should pay attention to the packaging: the sauce should be poured exclusively into glass bottles, since only in them can the taste and aroma of the sauce be properly preserved, as well as, more importantly, its beneficial properties. Do I need to say that the bottle should be white and absolutely transparent?


To choose a quality product, pay attention to the packaging, label and consistency of the sauce.

How to choose a quality sauce

By the bottle. Any quality sauce is sold exclusively in glass bottles. In plastic, the taste and aromatic originality of the product is lost.

By composition. It should contain only natural ingredients, no dyes and flavors. In a good sauce up to about 8% protein.

Usually, respectable manufacturers write on the label: “produced on the basis of natural fermentation ”, because this belongs to the category of product advantages. Those who dilute soy concentrate with water usually just modestly add the word "artificial".But those who like to poison the people with acids usually do not indicate anything, because it is not in their interests.

By color. Experts recommend looking at the sauce in the light. If it is light brown in color, then there is no doubt - natural. But artificial and produced with acid is usually dark brown right up to black.

Followed by examine the label carefully: the sauce should not contain peanuts, but only soybeans, wheat, sugar, salt and vinegar. You should also pay attention to the protein content: in a high-quality and natural sauce, its content reaches 6-8%. And, of course, the sauce must be prepared by natural fermentation, which was mentioned above. However, the label is not all: now you need to carefully consider what is in the bottle.

Real soy sauce poured in a thin layer has a light brown color and is completely transparent, in contrast to the sauce made from concentrate, which is almost black in color and even less transparent.

Ready and quality sauce does not need preservatives and can be stored for a very long time, and also contains many amino acids, vitamins and minerals. To a certain extent, soy sauce has a rejuvenating effect: it can slow down the aging of the body by blocking free radicals, and it also helps to improve blood circulation.

Do not despair if the first try fails to find a product that meets the listed criteria, because outlets are literally flooded with cheap performance of the "king" of the kitchen. Take the time to find a quality sauce. Only he will benefit health and give dishes a unique taste.

Soy sauce is a very expensive product. It is very difficult to buy real high-quality soy sauce today. In supermarkets, a cheap analogue of soy sauce is mainly sold, consisting of flavor enhancers, dyes and other chemicals.

[Soy sauce and mirin, a sweet and savory couple:]

Soy sauce and mirin, a sweet and savory couple:


Soy sauce, aka shoyu (shō-yu), came to Japanese cuisine from China, having changed and became a much more important component in it than in his homeland. Good shoyu, to paraphrase a well-known advertisement - soybeans, wheat, salt, water and the conscience of a soybean. And, of course, sourdough - since good shoyu is fermented by microorganisms. When poured into soy sauce, a little alcohol is almost always added to preserve it. The world leader in the production of soy sauce, Kikkoman Corporation, makes it the old-fashioned way, without accelerated fermentation, dyes, hydrochloric acid and other horror. Contrary to popular belief, Japanese shoyu differs significantly from Chinese chow, and these related yet different products are hardly interchangeable. A good shoyu encourages you to gradually master the nuances of this harsh and salty taste for a Western person; with the advent of gustatory distinction, the understanding comes that the variety of sauces on the shelves of the Asian shop is completely justified.

Mirin Is a sweet, low-alcohol white rice wine that was previously used as a booze, and now has passed into the category of the same indispensable jars in Japanese cuisine. Mirin is a component of most Japanese sauces, replacing sugar in small quantities and compensating for the salty taste of the ubiquitous shoyu with its mild sweetness. When added during frying to noodles, fish, meat, it gives the finished dish a characteristic shine. In fact, mirin, mixed in equal proportions with shoyu with a little added sugar, forms the same teriyaki sauce that is used for various fried dishes.

On one of our TV channels we have an excellent program of "Spice". The channel's website has a video library where you can find a recording of a program dedicated to soy sauce.

[Rin]

On one of our TV channels we have an excellent program of "Spice".

Rinand, what is this channel? I probably don't have that.

And I take the cheap one. I bought something like a brand, something about 40 UAH.for a small bottle - not impressed .... there is no difference, except for the price! Although after buying sesame oil in our super for 80 UAH per bottle and the usual oil with a subtle sesame smell, I am not surprised at anything - everything is fakes! Jamie Oliver has some kind of thick soy sauce, or something, but we have ordinary water ...

[there should be no sugar]

I want to make a correction on my own - in the right soy sauce there should be no sugar composed of

By the bottle. Any quality sauce is sold exclusively in glass bottles. In plastic, the taste and aroma of the product is lost.

Apparently, the quality of plastic is already at such a level that both Kikkoman and Yamasa produce their high-quality natural soy sauces in plastic containers: 0.5 l, 1 l, 1.9 l ..

The composition is the same as in the glass: prepared water, soy beans, wheat, food salt.

[By composition.]

This is more important:

By composition. It should contain only natural ingredients, no dyes and flavors. In a good sauce up to about 8% protein.

Usually, respectable manufacturers write on the label: "Naturally fermented", because this belongs to the category of product advantages. Those who dilute soy concentrate with water usually just modestly add the word "artificial". But those who like to poison the people with acids usually do not indicate anything, because it is not in their interests.

Those who dilute soy concentrate with water usually just modestly add the word "artificial".

They may not add such a word. Or, the diluted concentrate can be passed off as a product of natural fermentation. Examples of such brands are Russian Sen Soy, Ukrainian Katana and Akura. The first sign of using a concentrate is the presence of sodium benzoate in the composition. Without it, such loose sauces are not stored for a long time. But in brands that produce soy sauces of truly natural fermentation (Kikkoman, Yamasa), you will not find this chemistry in the composition. And all because after a long natural fermentation, such a sauce can be stored for a long time (2-3 years), without any preservatives. And yes - such sauces are salty. Kikkoman and Yamasa light, lightly salted soy sauces are added with vinegar as a preservative.
Shl. In principle, real soy sauce should be salty. Long ago, it was created as a product of salt conservation on the farm. In the climate of Southeast Asia, crystalline salt quickly deteriorated - it got wet, rancid ...

Shl. Here, I specially went down to the VIP market, photographed the trains. Sorry, but only in Ukrainian. I think it will be clear that way ...

Yamasa


Sen Soy Premium "Classic"

Compare the composition with the data on the manufacturer's website: 🔗

Shl. Shl. And finally: How not to get poisoned with soy sauce, 🔗

I recently found soy sauce overwintered on my balcony. Does anyone know if it can be eaten now? Kikkoman sauce - water, wheat, soy, salt. The bottle is glass, closed from the inside with a plastic cap. The balcony is plastic, but there was still a minus several times during the winter.

[swetie]

swetie, SvetaI think you can