Nigari

Nigari (Japanese苦 汁orにがり) is traditionally derived from sea water coagulant, which is needed in Japanese cuisine especially in the tofu - making.

Nowadays, however, the tofu industry mostly used instead Nigari purified (refined ) magnesium chloride ( hygroscopic), calcium sulfate ( gypsum) or citric acid. The texture of tofu ( soybean curd ) varies accordingly.

Components

The main component of unrefined Nigari is magnesium chloride, but it contains more than 100 other mineral salts such as calcium chloride and potassium chloride. The strong magnesium-containing substance is very popular in Japan because of their supposedly fat-binding effect in the recent past as a diet food. Nigari tastes bitter, the word " nigari " (苦 汁) itself is also related to the Japanese word for " bitter", " nigai " (苦い) together. Specifically, the magnesium sulfate ( " Salt Bitter " ) is responsible for the bitter taste. Natural Nigari should contain about five times as much magnesium chloride such as sodium chloride. However, there are also Nigari products in which is almost three times as much sodium chloride as magnesium chloride. According to Regulation EEC No 2092 /91 of 24 June 1991 on organic production and labeling of organic products and food may Nigari as a processing aid ... be used in the processing organically produced agricultural ingredients.

Further use

Often Nigari is advertised in Japan to treat hay fever, eczema (atopic dermatitis) and other diseases recently. It works well - due to the magnesium sulfate contained in it - as a laxative. Since 1997, when the Japanese government has lifted the date the salt manufacture protective monopoly laws, Nigari applicable in Japan than health.

Generation

There are basically two types of nigari: one is a powder which is mainly composed of magnesium chloride; the other, which is available in recent years in Japan, anywhere is a liquid, which is recovered from the water, which remains as a residue in the sea salt. To obtain Nigari there are essentially four different methods:

• The evaporation of sea water in shallow pools ( salt pans ) by the natural sunlight (in Japan hardly used ) or
• The heating of sea water in boilers (in Japan the method most commonly used ),
• The ion-exchange dialysis method ( the only method also removed as PCBs, dioxins, arsenic, mercury, lead and other harmful substances ) and
• The reverse osmosis technique.