Choose the Best Soy Sauce by Looking at the Label for the Words “cooked” or “fermented.”
Soy sauce is delicious, but choosing the best is often “my brand versus yours.” Give up brand loyalty and look at the label instead: if yours has been brewed or fermented and proudly claims it will be better than a sauce made using methods such as hydrolysis, often used to keep costs down.
Cook’s Illustrated has tested a variety of soy sauces, and while their full test and conclusion on who their favorite picks are impossible to read without a subscription, they still explain in the article below what makes good soy sauce, how the best soy sauces are made, and how to tell the difference between good ones. from bad if you are trying to choose in a store:
The six top-notch sauces we tasted are made the old-fashioned way: fermented or brewed. The process begins by growing boiled soybeans and moldy roasted wheat, which creates a mixture called koji that acts like a starter: it starts to break down carbohydrates and proteins and provides a unique flavor profile for the sauce. (Some manufacturers have used the same koji for decades or even centuries; Kikkoman, for example, claims his koji existed 300 years ago.) From there salt and water are added, and the wort, now called moromi, is left to ferment. from several months to years. During this time, lactic acid bacteria work with the yeast to further break down proteins and carbohydrates into a mixture of aromatic compounds (alcohols, esters, peptides, and acids) including glutamic acid (umami’s main source) and the brightly colored mash darkens to a deep reddish brown. Finally, when the manufacturer decides that it is ready – in our range this period ranged from four months to two years – the wort is pressed to extract the soy sauce, which is then pasteurized. The heat kills bacteria, stops fermentation, and triggers the Maillard reaction, breaking down proteins into hundreds of new compounds that give soy sauce its rich, caramelized flavor and aroma.
The two low-grade soy sauces are made by hydrolysis, a process that takes only two to three days and does not itself include wheat or even soybeans. Instead, defatted soy flour (or other flour such as corn flour) is boiled with hydrochloric acid to separate amino acids, which are then neutralized with sodium carbonate. The resulting hydrolyzed vegetable protein is colored with caramel color, corn syrup and salt to make it look like fermented soy sauce.
They do name some of the not-so-good names in the full post (link below) and there is a great picture that shows how the above process actually works, along with some visuals, but the gist is clear: if you want a great soy a sauce that makes a delicious all-round dressing for dipping, pickling and seasoning; make sure the product you are buying has been fermented or cooked. In the case of soy sauce, the labels sacrifice a lot of flavor.
How To Make The Best Soy Sauce | Illustrated chef