Soy sauce
Soy sauce is an Asian condiment that is made of water, soybean, corn and salt and is suitable for seasoning and flavor food.
Of all soy sauces that are out there on the market, the Japanese and Chinese soy sauces are the best known. The Chinese products, a distinction between light and dark variants. Soy sauces are also characterized by different manufacturing processes: In traditionally brewed soy sauces Microorganisms require ( Aspergillus oryzae) weeks or months for fermentation, in the industrial production can be greatly accelerated by these additives. Because of the split in the fermentation of the rice and wheat proteins glutamate soy sauce is considered as a natural flavor enhancer.
The quality of soy sauce is judged in a sensory test, which is called in Japan " Kikimi ". For tasting four criteria are important: color, consistency, smell and taste. As part of Kikimi these criteria are tested one by one.
From the Japanese name shoyu stems the term soy.
History
Already more than 2,500 years, soy sauce has been manufactured in China. Your way to Japan she found in the 6th century by a Buddhist community of faith, which forbade the consumption of meat and sauces based on it, and therefore the Chinese soy sauce took back to Japan. The Chinese soy sauce quickly became popular after their introduction in Japan, as they enriched the taste of the then rather dull, rice-based food. It was also found that with soy sauce food could be preserved longer. In the 16th century the Japanese soy sauce for tests on the original Chinese soy sauce, which was made only from soybeans, was born. This was in addition supplied to the soybean an equal proportion of wheat. In addition, Japanese soy sauce brewed longer than the Chinese. Thus, both the taste and the aroma and the color of soy sauce could be varied considerably. With Dutch traders the soy sauce came in the 17th century to Europe.
Traditional Japanese manufacturing
The initial ingredient is soybeans. They are milled, steamed and mixed with roasted and ground rice or wheat meal. By enriching with specific microorganisms produced koji, a dry mash. Salt and water is then added. The result is a porridge - in Japan " moromi " called. This mixture then comes into fermentation tanks, also called " muro " where the grain can ferment. While the mixture of soy, wheat, salt and water matures in the solids bioreactors, the taste formative enzyme reaction, in which the soy protein is split into individual amino acids takes place. These ingredients define the color, flavor and aroma of the soy sauce. The maturation period can be between six and eight months, but for several years, be in some top sauces even up to five years. At the end of the maturity period, the now almost finished soy sauce wrapped in towels, pressed, filtered and pasteurized in the end to ensure a longer shelf life.
Industrial production
Many soy sauces are no longer produced by traditional methods. The starting material is soy protein, which was dissolved with water from soy flour. This soy protein is hydrolyzed with hydrochloric acid. Then lactic acid bacteria and yeast are added. In this way, the whole manufacturing process from months and years - as in the traditional production practice - be reduced to a few days. Since so prepared soy sauces taste can not compete with the traditional, they are still partly blended with high quality soy sauces. In many cases addition of other ingredients such as flavors, sugars, and preservatives are added to the caramel coloring.
Gallery
Basic ingredient of soy sauce: soy bean
Various soy sauces in a Japanese supermarket