Almost every housewife has soy sauce in her kitchen: we not only use it with Japanese dishes, but also add it everywhere. It seems easier than that - go to the store and buy it. But no! All sauces that are sold here as soy sauces are divided into three groups. To buy a healthy one, you need to know what it is made from. Often soy has nothing to do with it...
Fermentation sauces
How they do it
Steamed soybeans, from which the oil has been squeezed, are mixed with wheat or flour and the starter is added. In a warm, humid atmosphere, the mixture quickly becomes covered with mycelium (a special mold called “koji” in Chinese). Then the koji is poured with a salty solution, and the long process fermentation. Proteins break down into amino acids, carbohydrates into sugars. Some of the sugars react with proteins to form a natural brown dye, which gives the sauce its color.
Important: Soybean fats are often pre-removed using chemical solvents. Usually the unsafe solvent hexane is used.
Composition of the product
The ideal sauce contains 4 components - soy, wheat, water and salt. All! This is the best and most expensive soy sauce.
Ingredients that may also be included: sugar, coloring (most often caramel E150), ethanol or other alcohol, a preservative that stops fermentation, or other acids. They are acceptable, but the quality of the seasoning with them decreases.
Ingredients that cannot be included: glutamate and other flavor enhancers.
Important: On the label, manufacturers try to indicate that this is a fermented or fermented sauce (which is the same thing). Some people write that the sauce is “cooked” or “naturally cooked”. This is a mistranslation - soy sauces are not boiled.
Chemical industry products
How they do it
Proteins are subjected to chemical hydrolysis with hydrochloric acid.
Important: this is the most harmful option. Hydrolysis often produces the powerful carcinogen chloropropanol. It is found in many seasonings: more often from Asia, less often from Europe.
Product composition
Long, contains many nutritional additives:
— There are always flavor enhancers, they are disguised as yeast extract, vegetable protein hydrolysate, guanylates (E626 - E629), innosinates (E630 - E633), ribonucleotides (E634, E635);
— There are always dyes (caramel E150, “sunset yellow” E110, etc.);
— Usually there is a preservative E211 (benzoate) or E202 (potassium sorbate);
— Of the 4 components of a natural sauce, 3 may be present: soy, salt and water, but wheat is almost always absent.
Important: There’s not a word about fermentation, the main process in making sauce. The label only talks about its merits - quality, originality, etc.
Dissolving sauces
How they do it
No more than 10% of the fermentation sauce is dissolved in 90% water. And in order to give the liquid solution more taste and rich color, add more dyes, sugar, and acids. Most often they do without flavor enhancers.
Product composition
Water, sugar, salt, soy extract (water, soybeans, wheat flour, salt) - 9%, coloring - caramel, lemon acid, preservative - potassium sorbate. On the label of this sauce you can read that it is “made from fermented soybeans.” This is only 10% true - so much of it is from the real sauce, the rest is from the evil one.
Important: sometimes there is a mixing sauce: mixture small quantity fermentation sauce with hydrolysis sauce. The composition may be written like this: “A mixture of sauces in the following proportions: hydrolyzed soy sauce 93%, naturally fermented soy sauce 7%.” The quality of the product is appropriate: “chemistry” with a small proportion of real sauce.
Important: You should not take seriously such definitions of sauce as “classic”, “premium”, “traditional”, etc. They are not regulated by law and are found even on chemical seasonings.
The SEN SOY brand has quite a lot of varieties of soy sauces; in any case, the range has a decent selection.
Previously, I bought other soy sauces of the same brand, tried a lot, including its brothers in plastic bottles. I don’t remember their composition, but they were noticeably cheaper and had different flavors (if memory serves, there was even mushroom-flavored soy sauce in the assortment).
So, SEN SOY "Premium" naturally fermented soy sauce turned out to taste the most pleasant in my opinion. Quite soft, not too much salt (otherwise some varieties even stung the mucous membranes of my mouth, sorry), the taste is quite balanced.
I did not detect any foreign tastes, including chemical ones. The aroma also corresponds to naturally fermented soy sauce - it is not aggressive, faintly perceptible, somewhat reminiscent of bread kvass (in smell). The taste is quite rich, but not overly so. The color also matches the soy sauce.
Compound(if the photo looks bad): water, soybeans, wheat, salt, sugar. For me personally, the composition is very pleasant; it does not contain dyes or preservatives. The bottle is glass, not plastic.
Soy sauce SEN SOY Premium (Classic) personally caused me only positive emotions, no negative reactions of the body are observed. I have no complaints.
In general, this sauce is so far the best that has gone well with seafood... well, of those that I have visited. In any case, before this I didn’t really want to re-buy any sauce and I was constantly trying new ones. And with this sauce I have a desire to repeat it.
And with rolls homemade- and in general, I haven’t come across a tastier sauce yet (if we are talking about ready-made industrially produced sauces).
It's hard to imagine without soy sauce. For us, it’s just a kind of dressing for meat or fish. But in Japan, soy sauce is used like salt. It is added not only to meat and fish, but also to fried and boiled vegetables, and to soups. It is this product that allows you to get the perfect taste of your dishes. But which is the best is difficult to determine. After all, there are a huge number of manufacturers. In addition, the dressing is available with various flavoring additives. First, we should consider its properties.
How is soy sauce made?
Which one is the best best product, can be purchased in stores in our country? To answer the questions posed, you should pay attention to the composition and, of course, understand the method of preparing soy sauce. Soybeans and wheat are used to make the dressing. The components are usually poured cold water. After this, brine, salt and Koji fungus are added. The last product is a sourdough starter that is grown on soybeans. All components are thoroughly mixed. The result is a wort called “moromi”. The products are left in this form until fermentation. At the end of the process, the mass is filtered and brought to a boil. This gets rid of all bacteria.
Types of soy sauce
To understand which soy sauce is best for meat, chicken or rolls, you should consider the main varieties of this dressing. Currently, three types of products are used in Japanese cuisine:
Is soy sauce healthy?
Which one is the best? A photo of a product is unlikely to help determine its taste. And when choosing such a gas station Special attention It’s worth paying attention to the composition. However, many believe that soy sauce does not benefit our body. However, it is not. All useful components are contained in soybeans.
It is this product that contains a huge amount of proteins, which in their quality are not inferior to the substances found in meat products. In addition, it is very rich in starch, amino acids, minerals, phytoestrogens and vitamins. It is worth noting that these beans can provide the human body with almost all the necessary nutritional components. The first to rate beneficial features soybeans, were residents of China. In this country, beans have become a sacred crop.
What is the best soy sauce?
The benefits of this product have already been proven. However, not everyone knows which dressing is best to buy and what it can be used with. Soy sauce is ideal not only for rolls. This product can be added to flour products, meat, vegetable and fish dishes. The dressing is suitable for both cereals and poultry. It is used as a basis for preparing garlic, mushroom and other dressings.
There is light and dark sauce. They have significant differences. And if you decide to try it for the first time, then it is better to give preference to light dressings. They contain a little salt and can be added to any dish. As for dark soy sauce, it is best used with fish, meat and poultry dishes. This product has a richer taste. It is worth noting that soy sauce is simply irreplaceable in the preparation of various marinades. Here is a list of the most popular gas stations. This will allow you to determine which soy sauce is best for sushi or meat.
Kikkoman sauce
The recipe for this dressing was created about 300 years ago. The product is manufactured in accordance with all requirements. At the same time, the proportions of the main components - salt, wheat, beans and water - remain unchanged. It is worth noting that this soy sauce is made exclusively from natural products and does not contain artificial additives.
All ingredients are usually listed on the label. In addition, the manufacturer claims that the product has a natural shade. This gas station is available on the market in several versions:
- Naturally brewed sweet.
- Natural brewed classic.
Features of Kikkoman soy sauce
So, which soy sauce is the best: classic or sweet? IN in this case The choice of Kikkoman product depends on the type of dish being prepared. Sweet is best used for preparing various marinades, as well as for dressing vegetable salads. As for the classic, it is universal and suitable for almost all dishes. It is worth noting that this dressing is ideal for sushi.
You can find Kikkoman soy sauce in stores at a price of 100 to 150 rubles per small jar. A similar product is suitable for those who want to purchase a refill High Quality at an affordable price. Kikkoman soy sauce is produced in the Netherlands.
Heinz product
So, what is the best soy sauce for rolls? As consumer reviews show, you can purchase Heinz brand dressing for Japanese dishes. The product is also manufactured in the Netherlands. According to the manufacturer, the sauce consists exclusively of natural ingredients. The ingredients on the label prove this. There is nothing synthetic about it. Of course, there is only one food additive in the composition. This is natural caramel. It is often added to give the product a certain shade. However, in this case, the component gives the dressing a unique, enveloping, delicate taste.
Soy is available in only one type - in jars with a volume of 200 milliliters. In this case, the manufacturer’s honesty captivates many. However, many consumers found this product to be mediocre. At the same time, the price of the product fully corresponds to its quality.
Blue Dragon soy sauce
This soy sauce is made in the UK. It is difficult to find anything harmful in the product. The only food additive contained in this dressing is lactic acid. But in some cases you simply cannot do without it. There are currently several versions of Blue Dragon soy sauce sold: dark and light. This concept can be seen as an attempt to maintain taste standards as well as the true classification of a product from Japan.
Maxchup gas station
Not sure which soy sauce is best for wings? The product of the Thai company Maxchup is ideal. This sauce is intended for those who are not afraid to experiment and love something spicy. In this case, culinary possibilities are limited only by the volume of packaging. The dressing is sold in jars of 200 milliliters each.
Maxchup soy sauce can be used not only for cooking poultry. This product is ideal for marinating kebabs, for roasting, and also for creating dishes from distant cuisine. Latin America. Of course, the product is universal in its taste. However, after considering the composition of this soy sauce, many may seriously think about their health. On the gas station label you can see E627 and E631. These components are, the use of which often leads to intestinal disorders.
In addition, Maxchup soy sauce contains: E440 and E 415 - stabilizers, E211 - a preservative that takes part in the formation of malignant tumors. On the label you can see many of listed components are dangerous. But at the same time, for many consumers, Maxchup remains a good and better sauce.
Mivimex soy sauce
So what is the best soy sauce right now? Find perfect ratio price and quality is very difficult. After all, many manufacturers add additional food additives to their products, which can improve the taste of the dressing, but at the same time harm the body. These products include Mivimex. At the moment there is only one type of this soy sauce. I am glad that the manufacturer does not hide the composition of the product. On the label you can see monosodium glutamate - E621, which is the cause of depression, nausea, and headaches. In addition, it contains E201 and E211. These components can cause allergies.
Legendary CHIN-Su
A few years ago, this soy sauce became very famous. It distinguished itself greatly among gas stations of other brands and gained notoriety. Unfortunately, for many consumers it remains the best. CHIN-Su soy sauce was able to attract the attention of the Belgian Association. This organization has great authority in the food market. Its representatives conducted research. As a result, a component such as carcinogen 3-MCPD was found in CHIN-Su soy sauce. large quantities. The company making the product has received a warning.
On the label, in addition to the main components, the manufacturer indicated the presence of standard preservatives - E201 and E211, as well as the presence of flavorings. Now you know which soy sauce is “the best”.
Product "Dobrada"
If you are making a marinade, what is the best soy sauce? The Dobrada product goes well with honey and mustard. This gas station is available in a fairly wide range. If desired, you can purchase spicy, mushroom and, of course, garlic soy sauce. All products of this brand have a bright and unique taste. The sauces contain food additives E211 and E202.
Manufacturers do not violate the specified quality standards when producing the product. However, there is a mystery here too. Dobrada brand soy sauce is produced in Vietnam. And the packaging location is a mystery.
UMI products
This soy sauce has long gained popularity among consumers. Many buyers are completely confident in it. In addition, on the packaging of UMI mushroom and classic soy sauce you can see an almost perfect composition. The same cannot be said about other varieties of this product. For many, this brand of gas station represents an excellent combination of price and quality. In addition, UMI soy sauce does not cause any harm to health. On the label you can see the detailed composition: water, soybean extract, sugar and salt. Be careful when choosing soy sauce.
We are studying what it is - Kikkoman sauce - because it is very tasty, I wonder what they write about it and whether it really is completely natural.
The history of soy sauce (not Kikkoman, but in general) goes back more than two and a half thousand years. His recipe came from Ancient China to Japan, and then in the 17th century, with the help of Dutch merchants, conquered Europe. The secret to the popularity of this sauce, which has a delicate taste and light aroma, is its excellent taste and versatility: You can use the sauce instead of salt, or as a base for any of your own sauces, from richly sweet to piping hot.
Its pure, incomparable taste has made it the No. 1 soy sauce in Japan. The same as throughout Europe. Naturally brewed Kikkoman soy sauce has been produced for hundreds of years according to a traditional recipe. This universal seasoning is suitable for almost all dishes.
KIKKOMAN today is rightfully considered a golden classic and the standard among all other soy sauces. Those who have tried it will definitely agree with this. Because this is a real masterpiece, exquisite, ingenious, and there is nothing to complain about here. KIKKOMAN is so versatile and perfect in taste that it can be combined not only with oriental cuisine, which is natural, but also fits perfectly into any European menu. It can be used every day both with ready-made dishes and for preparing meat, game, fish, soups and a great variety of other dishes. For example, one of the brightest and traditional uses of soy sauce for the Japanese is to dip sushi and sashimi in it or pour it over fluffy rice.
And the history of its preparation stretches through the centuries: KIKKOMAN was first made in Japan in 1630. Since then, it has been produced according to an ancient Japanese recipe exclusively from natural ingredients. This product undergoes natural fermentation and aging for many months, which is why it is called a naturally brewed sauce. Moreover, the aging process is carried out until the moment of complete saturation, as a result of which the sauce acquires a perfectly transparent dark color.
Any soy sauce contains a large amount of iron, zinc, B vitamins and 20 amino acids necessary for our body. But the most important property is the presence of substances that are natural flavor enhancers. By stimulating the taste buds, such sauces allow you to use 2-3 times less salt than usual. They say this is why the Chinese and Japanese are much less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases than Europeans who consume salt.
KIKKOMAN includes 247 aroma and flavor components! It has an original, rich and rich, but at the same time balanced and unobtrusive smell and taste, but it does not interrupt or suppress the natural taste of the seasoned food, but effectively emphasizes it and adds piquancy. A dream for both gourmets and people who are unpretentious about food!
The main types of soy sauce from this manufacturer:
UNIVERSAL SOY SAUCE,
MARUDAIZU SOY SAUCE made from large soybeans,
SOY SAUCE GENEN with reduced salt content and
YAKINIKU SAUCE, which is intended for fried meat and kebab.
All sauces are suitable for cooking meat, poultry, fish, rice and vegetables.
In what bottles?
This sauce is usually sold in glass containers. But here's the news: it was decided to package Japanese Kikkoman soy sauce not in traditional liter glass containers, but in a new PET bottle released by PET Power.
Due to growing demand and especially in the European enterprise system Catering In terms of ease of use, PET packaging certainly outshines glass bottle in many ways. The PET bottle is unbreakable, which is an advantage when using such containers in the kitchen, and lightweight, which makes it easy to transport.
Considering great experience In the production of such packaging, PET Power developed a completely new preform and a special blow molding method to produce the first samples.
In the future, it is planned to produce soy sauce in liter PET bottles throughout Europe.
Different opinions on the topic
From Alexey Faleev's book "Recipes for Slimness", this is what he writes about soy (though not about the sauce).
Now soybeans are added to many meat dishes, minced meat, and sausages.
If earlier there was a joke: “Buy three pasties at the market and assemble a cat from them,” now it is quite possible to remake it: “Buy three pasties at the market and assemble a jar of soybeans from them.” Soy added to minced meat, even if its share is 30% of the mass of minced meat, does not change its color or taste at all, but makes the cost of minced meat 30% cheaper.
Many zealous housewives offer soy cutlets to their husbands and children, believing that in this way they are taking care of the health of their family.
This is mistake. Soy is unhealthy.
Soy has a very bad effect on the thyroid gland (slows down its work), and the ancient Chinese knew about this. They noticed that eating soybeans leads to slow thinking, loss of energy, slow heart rate, dry skin, constipation, etc.
The ancient Chinese acted very wisely - they declared soybeans a sacred crop and banned their consumption. IN Ancient China soybeans were used only in agriculture, throwing it into the ground to replenish nitrogen in the soil.
It is now known that soy contains isoflavones - chemical compounds that block the transfer of hormones thyroid gland from one form to another. In other words, soy stops enzyme reactions in the thyroid gland and slows down its functioning.
Today it is known that the consumption of large amounts of soy in Japan and some other Asian countries is the number one reason high number diseases of goiter and hypothyroidism in these countries.
Back in the 1950s, the American Food and Drug Administration published a number of articles in pediatric journals suggesting that soy contained in baby food, leads to thyroid disorders in children. After this, soy milk was no longer added to baby food.
A study conducted in the UK among menopausal women found that taking 60g of soy (1-1.5 cups of soy milk) daily for a month resulted in impaired menstrual cycle for another three months after stopping soy intake.
It is known that taking isoflavones can lead to infertility in both humans and animals. For example, livestock farmers know that a cow that eats hay that contains a lot of red clover (red clover also contains high levels of isoflavones, like soybeans) may remain infertile or have frequent miscarriages, which indicates ovarian dysfunction.
Because Since a slow thyroid gland leads to weight gain, eating too many soy products is an important and often overlooked culprit. unsuccessful attempts reset excess weight. This is especially true in the United States and some European countries, where soybeans are widely used in nutrition.
In addition, soybeans contain high levels of phytate, a chemical compound that interferes with the absorption of essential minerals calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc from food. Therefore, a person who constantly eats soy food experiences a deficiency of these most essential minerals and is forced to take special mineral supplements.
For the above reasons, I advise you to avoid consuming soy products.
Soy sauce deserves a separate story. A rare dish of oriental cuisine can do without it. In China and Japan, it successfully replaces salt.
Classic soy sauce takes a long time to make. Soybeans are cleaned, crushed and mixed with ground wheat grains. The mixture is poured with water, placed in special bags and hung in the sun. During the fermentation process, liquid begins to ooze from the bags, which is collected and filtered. This is soy sauce. Moreover, the more wheat added to the soy grains, the sweeter the sauce will be.
However, it takes about a year to get the sauce from this recipe. Therefore, a special starter is added to the water, which accelerates fermentation. And then preparing the sauce takes only one month. Moreover, the sauce made in a fast way, is in no way inferior to natural. Another thing is that unscrupulous manufacturers sometimes do not want to wait even one month and speed up the process even more with the help of various acids and alkalis. As a result, harmful impurities are formed in the sauce. Therefore, before you buy the sauce, read the label carefully. If it says "naturally fermented" it's ok.
When choosing a sauce, you need to consider its color. The darker it is, the richer the flavor of the sauce. Dark sauce goes best with meat dishes, but you need to add it carefully; if you overdo it a little, it will completely “clog” the taste of your food. The light sauce goes well with fish, vegetables and salads.
High-quality sauce is sold only in glass containers. There should be no sediment or impurities in it, but gourmets will only welcome additional ingredients, such as garlic or peanuts.
I am writing the facts:
1.soy sauce contains salt,
2. soy sauce is healthier than regular sauce table salt, if only because it is made from soy, you can read about its benefits anywhere,
3. soy sauce contains glutamic acid, any soy sauce, which is why it enhances the taste of dishes,
4.glutamic acid (monosodium glutamate, monosodium glutamate) is not a preservative, but a natural seasoning, just like salt, it is found in the human body in free form, and it is also present in meat and a large number of other products.
5. soy sauce cannot cost less than 100 rubles. a minimum, but a good one is actually more. Kikkoman is a soy sauce that is used in many restaurants, including where I work, and it is NON-GMO. It costs about 200r. You can buy it in the store, you just need to look for it. It is much tastier, better quality and healthier than its cheap imitations. "Bamboo stalk" is not soy sauce and should not be used as food. Soy sauce can be used to prepare many delicious dishes from Asian and other cuisines. It goes with most products and is very useful. They can perfectly flavor dishes while replacing table salt.
Before citing the works of your “scientists” or what you read somewhere on the site, think before you do it and mislead everyone. I provided only the facts and nothing from myself, and you can check them.
I myself use this sauce and I can confidently say that you can use it. It is salt that is harmful, not soy sauce, even if it contains it. This can be said to be a saline solution; using it you will definitely not increase the amount of salt consumed, but only reduce it. I myself try to use more products containing soy and less animal origin, since soy is generally very healthy. And for those who should not eat salt, they should not eat soy sauce either. I guarantee the reliability of the information.
REAL soy sauce is a fermented product made using... traditional recipe made from dried fish, fermented soybeans, salted water, rice and pepper....then there is a very long period of fermentation and fermentation, after which it is ready for consumption....THEREFORE if we talk about this soy sauce, it is certainly incredibly healthy !
"Supporters healthy eating, of whom, fortunately, there are more and more of our compatriots, will be unpleasantly surprised to learn that not all soy sauce is healthy. Soy sauce produced with violations of technology can cause cancer.
In 2002-2003, in Europe, Australia and the USA, the public was alarmed by a series of soybean scandals. One of the accusations brought against soy sauces was the unacceptably high content of chloropropanols - powerful carcinogens that cause cancer. In the summer and autumn of 2002, authorities in the UK and US urged the public to refrain from purchasing South Asian soy sauce because chloropropanol was found in quantities exceeding legal limits in soy sauces imported from China, Vietnam, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Australia, Germany and Sweden have stopped importing several brands of soy sauce from China and Vietnam, removing banned sauces from sale. The leadership of Thailand has officially recognized that soy sauce can cause cancer. In November 2002, at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Thailand, it was decided to limit the content of 3-MCPD in products as much as possible, and primarily in soy sauces. The permissible content of chlorpropanol is established by law - it should not exceed 1 mg per 3 kg of product.
Chloropropanols, or, in the language of professionals, 3-MCPD and 1,3-DCP, are highly active poisons. They are included in the list of toxic substances No. 2, approved at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Drug Control on April 17, 2002 and signed by the Chairman of the PCKN, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Academician E.A. Babayan.
Chloropropanol is a by-product of acid hydrolysis. The acid hydrolysis method is used to speed up and reduce the cost of the soy sauce production process. Soy protein is broken down with the participation of sulfuric or hydrochloric acid. This technology is used by producers of cheap soy sauces, which are widely represented at food markets and fairs in Russian cities. It is quite difficult to remove chloropropanol from the finished product, so manufacturers whose main goal is a cheap product do not care about compliance with the technology and do not provide the necessary purification of soy sauce.
Only natural fermentation!
The acid hydrolysis method is not traditional. It was invented by our contemporaries in pursuit of cost reduction. If you want to protect yourself from problems associated with carcinogens, choose natural soy sauce in stores. To avoid making mistakes when purchasing, carefully study the label. If you have a truly natural, high-quality product, the label should indicate that it was prepared using natural fermentation.
The history of soy sauce goes back at least two and a half millennia, and all this time soy sauce was produced through natural fermentation. Soy protein was broken down by enzymes produced by special bacteria. And in our time high technology and speed, the production technology of traditional soy sauce has remained virtually unchanged. Only now, to speed up the fermentation process, a special starter of bacteria is added to the soybean mass in certain species ratios and required quantity.
The composition of the starter is the same bacteria that entered the soybean mass directly from the air during traditional way production of soy sauce, which has been used in the East for thousands of years. Therefore, during the ripening process of soy sauce, no adverse reactions occur, no harmful substances are formed, and the beneficial exceptional properties of soy are completely preserved."
SOY SAUCE - made by adding spores of special microorganisms (grown for three days, then mixed with salt water and infused in fermentation tanks for up to one year) to a mixture of roasted soybeans and wheat. Chinese soy sauce has a strong flavor and is very salty, while Japanese soy sauce is a little lighter and sweeter.
I also like kikkoman sometimes. They boast on their website that kikkoman is prepared naturally and contains only soybeans, wheat, water and salt. But a few lines later they say that kikkoman, made in the Netherlands and Singapore, does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) - (read: made in other places - may contain).
