Healthy and Green Living

If you think of soy sauce as the salty brown liquid that comes with
Chinese take out, think again and, please, experience the mellowness and
richness of good soy sauce that awaits. People today are discovering and
insisting upon authentic, traditionally brewed soy sauces of which there are two types, shoyu and tamari. What is true soy sauce and how do you select
and use it?

You won’t find a good soy sauce any easier than a good bottle of wine.
There’s just too much junk out there. Usually it requires a bit of an
effort, but it’s sure worth it.

Shoyu is the Japanese word for soy sauce made of soybeans, roasted
wheat, sea salt, and koji (Aspergillus oryzae), mold spores that when
exposed to moisture begin growing giving rise to unique enzymes that create
the fermentation process. This is the all-purpose cooking and condiment soy
sauce made since the 1600s in Japan.

A true shoyu’s most prized quality is
not its own flavor, rather its strong ability to harmonize and enhance the
flavor of foods. Its complex natural gives it a deep flavor and beautiful
bouquet. These qualities are the result of long, slow fermentation.
Fermentation is the process of koji enzymes breaking proteins down into
amino acids and carbohydrates into simple sugars, so it’s an easily
assimilable food requiring little energy of us to digest.

Tamari literally means liquid pressed from soybeans, originally it was
the thick brown liquid that pooled in casks of fermenting soybean miso. For
centuries this tamari was a rare delicacy reserved for special occasions.
Eventually producers learned to brew tamari as a liquid soy sauce that had
similar characteristics as the original by-product of miso. This tamari is
brewed from whole soybeans, sea salt, water, and koji (Aspergillus hacho).
Tamari is wheat free and popular with those who have wheat allergies.

In the 1960s George Ohsawa introduced macrobiotics to the West, and
introduced a soy sauce that he called tamari to North America and Europe.
This soy sauce was actually shoyu. Mr. Ohsawa wanted to distinguish
naturally made soy sauce from commercial, chemically processed soy sauces
that were marketed under the name of shoyu. Unfortunately, he did not
anticipate the introduction of actual tamari into the West. Misnaming shoyu
soy sauce tamari led to much confusion in the 1980s when actual tamari was
introduced and marketed as wheat free tamari.

This confusion lingers. It is said that tamari soy sauce implants its flavor in food, while
shoyu soy sauce harmonizes, enhances flavors and bouquet. They are very
different in nature. Tamari is most commonly used in food processing, while
Shoyu is most commonly used in the kitchen and at the table. Shoyu is best
for everyday cooking such as stir frying or seasoning vegetables, as it
harmonizes and enhances without overpowering.

Tamari, with its stronger
flavor, is traditionally used to season longer cooking food such as soups,
stews, and baked dishes. Both tamari and shoyu are good in marinades and
salad dressing, to flavor grilled food, and on the table as condiment or
dipping sauce. Neither should be limited to any particular type of food
because they are far too tasty and versatile.

Carefully choose your soy sauce as you would an olive oil or a fine
wine. Look for the words traditionally brewed and natural or organic,
and make sure the manufacturer backs this up. Real shoyu is made by artisan’s skilled in the ancient method of koji fermentation, a complex process using
koji inoculated whole soybeans, wheat, careful tending and aging in cedar
casks through two cycles of the seasons. Tamari should be similarly crafted
but without wheat.

By contrast, commercial soy sauces (even some labeled as
shoyu or tamari) are usually made from soybeans that have been defatted
with hexane, a petroleum derivative. Common shortcuts are artificial
fermentation methods including genetically engineered enzymes. In fact most
soy sauce is actually caramel colored water with lots of salt,hydrochloric acid
treated soy isolate, and sugar added.

Traditionally brewed soy sauces are an ideal replacement for, and
improvement over salt. Use a little and experience the blossoming of flavor.

In the age of East meets West, these soy sauces are a great gift to the
culinary endeavors in the west. Get some for your pantry the first chance
you have.

EDEN Traditionally Brewed Shoyu was the highest rated and only Highly
Recommended brand in two comparisons of 12 soy sauces by Cooks Illustrated
Magazine as reported in their January/February 2000 issue: Tasters
decisively ranked this distinct soy sauce number one in both taste tests.
Its flavor was toasty, caramely, and complex, not wimpy. Rich, clean, and
balanced with vivid flavor. The salt flavor was tangible but not
overpowering, said the authors.

Also recommended was EDEN Organic
Traditionally Brewed Tamari, described as very savory, rounded and smooth.
A solid finish in both taste tests. Each sauce was rated on favoribility, intensity of overall flavor, quality of salt flavor, and overall likability when used both alone and in cooking.

The EDEN brand means: no irradiation, no preservatives, no chemical
additives, no food colorings, no refined sugars, no genetically engineered
ingredients; the safest, most nutritious, certified organically grown food
that can be offered. For more information, please call 800 248-0320 or visit
www.edenfoods.com.

Recipes With EDEN Shoyu Soy Sauce –Oriental Noodle Toss; Eden Minestrone Soup
And Sesame Orange Vinaigrette, visit the recipes section of Eden Foods.