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Soy sauce



 
 
Soy sauce (US
American English

PhonologyIn many ways, compared to English language in England, North American English is conservative in its phonology. Some distinctive accents can be found on the East Coast of the United States , partly because these areas were in contact with England, and imitated prestigious varieties of English English at a time when those varieties we...
), soya sauce (Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
), or shoyu (Japan
Japanese language

IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
) is a fermented
Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
 sauce
Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish....
 made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 and salt
Sodium chloride

Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula SodiumChlorine....
. Soy sauce was invented in China, where it has been used as a condiment
Condiment

In the United Kingdom, a condiment used to be confined to salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Use of the term condiment has broadened and now is generally considered to be any prepared edible Chemical substance or mixture, often Food preservation or Fermentation , that is added in relatively small quantities, most often at the table...
 for close to 2,500 years. In its various forms, it is widely used in East and Southeast Asian cuisine
Asian cuisine

Asian cuisine styles can be broken down into several regional styles that have roots in the peoples and cultures of those regions. The major types can be roughly defined as East Asian with its origins in Imperial era of Chinese history and now encompassing modern Japan and the Korean peninsula; Southeast Asian which encompasses th...
s and increasingly appears in Western cuisine and prepared foods.

sauce originated in China and spread from there to East and Southeast Asia.

Records of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was a trading company, which was established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia....
 first list soy sauce as a commodity in 1737, when seventy-five large barrels were shipped from Dejima
Dejima

, was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki, Nagasaki that was a Netherlands trading port during Japan's self-imposed isolation of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 to Batavia
Batavia

Batavia is the Latin name for the land of the Batavians during Roman times. This was roughly the area around the city of Nijmegen within the Roman Empire....
 (present-day Jakarta
Jakarta

Jakarta is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a List of urban areas by population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa , Jayakarta , Batavia, Dutch East Indies , and Djakarta ....
) on the island of Java
Java

Java is an island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms, The spread of Islam in Indonesia , and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia....
.






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Soy sauce (US
American English

PhonologyIn many ways, compared to English language in England, North American English is conservative in its phonology. Some distinctive accents can be found on the East Coast of the United States , partly because these areas were in contact with England, and imitated prestigious varieties of English English at a time when those varieties we...
), soya sauce (Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
), or shoyu (Japan
Japanese language

IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
) is a fermented
Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
 sauce
Sauce

In cooking, a sauce is liquid or sometimes semi-solid food served on or used in preparing other foods. Sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to another dish....
 made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain
Cereal

Cereals, or cereal grains, are mostly Poaceae cultivated for their edible brans or fruit seeds . Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more energy worldwide than any other type of crop; they are therefore staple foods....
, water
Water

Water is a common chemical substance that is essential for the survival of all known forms of life. In typical usage, water refers only to its liquid form or States of matter, but the substance also has a solid state, ice, and a gaseous state, water vapor or steam....
 and salt
Sodium chloride

Sodium chloride, also known as common salt, table salt, or halite, is a chemical compound with the chemical formula SodiumChlorine....
. Soy sauce was invented in China, where it has been used as a condiment
Condiment

In the United Kingdom, a condiment used to be confined to salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Use of the term condiment has broadened and now is generally considered to be any prepared edible Chemical substance or mixture, often Food preservation or Fermentation , that is added in relatively small quantities, most often at the table...
 for close to 2,500 years. In its various forms, it is widely used in East and Southeast Asian cuisine
Asian cuisine

Asian cuisine styles can be broken down into several regional styles that have roots in the peoples and cultures of those regions. The major types can be roughly defined as East Asian with its origins in Imperial era of Chinese history and now encompassing modern Japan and the Korean peninsula; Southeast Asian which encompasses th...
s and increasingly appears in Western cuisine and prepared foods.

History

Soy sauce originated in China and spread from there to East and Southeast Asia.

Records of the Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company

The Dutch East India Company was a trading company, which was established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia....
 first list soy sauce as a commodity in 1737, when seventy-five large barrels were shipped from Dejima
Dejima

, was a fan-shaped artificial island in the bay of Nagasaki, Nagasaki that was a Netherlands trading port during Japan's self-imposed isolation of the Edo period, from 1641 until 1853....
, Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
 to Batavia
Batavia

Batavia is the Latin name for the land of the Batavians during Roman times. This was roughly the area around the city of Nijmegen within the Roman Empire....
 (present-day Jakarta
Jakarta

Jakarta is the Capital and largest city of Indonesia. It also has a List of urban areas by population than any other city in Southeast Asia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa , Jayakarta , Batavia, Dutch East Indies , and Djakarta ....
) on the island of Java
Java

Java is an island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms, The spread of Islam in Indonesia , and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia....
. Thirty-five barrels from that shipment were forwarded by ship to the Netherlands
Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
.

In the 18th century, Isaac Titsingh
Isaac Titsingh

Isaac Titsingh was a Dutch surgeon, scholar, merchant-trader and ambassador. During a long career in East Asia, Titsingh was a senior official of the Dutch East India Company ....
 published accounts of brewing soy sauce (shoyu) in Japan. Although many earlier descriptions of soy sauce had been disseminated in the West, this was amongst the earliest to focus specifically on the brewing of the Japanese version.

By the mid-19th century, "soy sauce" became synonymous with the Chinese product. The volume of Chinese production overwhelmed all other competitors in the Western market. In 1870, "Bereiding van de Japansche Soya. Naar het Japansch" ("Production of Japanese Soy Sauce, Based on Japanese Documentary Sources") in volume 17 of Bijdragen tot de Taal-Landen Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch Indië (Report on the Languages, Geography, and Peoples of the Dutch East Indies); but Europeans of that time were still unable to make soy sauce because they didn't understand the function of a crucial ingredient -- koji.

Production

Soybeanvarieties

Traditional

Authentic soy sauces are made by mixing the grain and/or soybeans with yeast or koji (?, the mold Aspergillus oryzae
Aspergillus oryzae

Aspergillus oryzae is a hypha fungus used in Chinese cuisine and Japanese cuisine which fermentation soybeans to produce soy sauce and miso....
 or A. sojae) and other related microorganisms. Traditionally soy sauces were fermented under natural conditions, such as in giant urns and under the sun, which was believed to contribute to additional flavours. Today, most of the commercially-produced counterparts are instead fermented under machine-controlled environments.

Although there are many types of soy sauce, all are salty and "earthy"-tasting brownish liquids used to season food while cooking or at the table. Soy sauce has a distinct basic taste called umami
Umami

is one of the five Taste#Basic taste sensed by specialized receptor cells present on the human tongue. Umami is a loanword from Japanese language meaning roughly "delicious flavor", although "brothy", "meaty", or "savory" have been proposed as alternate translations....
 by the Japanese (??, literally "fresh taste"). Umami was first identified as a basic taste in 1908 by Kikunae Ikeda
Kikunae Ikeda

Kikunae Ikeda was a Japanese chemist, Tokyo Imperial University professor in Chemistry who, in 1908, uncovered the chemical root behind a taste he named umami....
 of the Tokyo Imperial University. The free glutamates
Monosodium glutamate

Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate and MSG, is a sodium salt of the non-essential amino glutamic acid. It is used as a food additive and is commonly marketed as a flavour enhancer....
 which naturally occur in soy sauce are what give it this taste quality.

Artificially hydrolyzed

Many cheaper brands of soy sauces are made from hydrolyzed
Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction during which one or more water are split into hydrogen and hydroxide ions which may go on to participate in further reactions....
 soy protein
Soy protein

Soy protein is generally regarded as the storage protein held in discrete particles called protein bodies, which are estimated to contain at least 60?70% of the total soybean protein....
 instead of brewed from natural bacterial and fungal cultures. These soy sauces do not have the natural color of authentic soy sauces and are typically colored with caramel coloring, and are popular in Southeast Asia and China, and are exported to Asian markets around the globe. They are derogatorily called Chemical Soy Sauce ("????" in Chinese), but despite this name are the most widely used type because they are cheap. Similar products are also sold as "liquid aminos" in the US and Canada.

Some artificial soy sauces pose potential health risks due to their content of the chloropropanols carcinogens 3-MCPD
3-MCPD

3-MCPD or is a carcinogenic and highly suspected to be genotoxic in humans, has male anti-fertility effects, and is a chemical byproduct which may be formed in foods, the most commonly found member of chemical contaminants known as chloropropanols....
 (3-chloro-1,2-propanediol) and all artificial soy sauces came under scrutiny for possible health risks due to the unregulated 1,3-DCP (1,3-dichloro-2-propanol) which are minor byproducts of the hydrochloric acid hydrolysis .

Types

Soy sauce has been integrated into the traditional cuisines of many East Asia
East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either Geography or cultural terms. Geography and geopolitically, it covers about 12,000,000 km?, or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia as Central Asia....
n and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India and north of Australia....
n cultures. Soy sauce is widely used as a particularly important flavoring in Japanese
Japanese cuisine

Japanese cuisine has developed over the centuries as a result of many political and social changes. The cuisine eventually changed with the advent of the Medieval age which ushered in a shedding of elitism with the age of Shogun rule....
, Thai, Korean, and Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine

Chinese cuisine originated from the various regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world ? from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa....
. However, it is important to note that despite its rather similar appearance, soy sauces produced in different cultures and regions are very different in taste, consistency, fragrance and saltiness. As such, it may not be appropriate to substitute soy sauces of one culture or region for another. Soy sauce should be stored away from direct sunlight.

Chinese soy sauce

Soy Sauce
Chinese soy sauce (; or chiyóu) is primarily made from soybeans, with relatively low amounts of other grains. There are two main varieties:

  • Light or fresh soy sauce ( shengchou; or "jiàng qing"; ): A thin (non-viscous), opaque, dark brown soy sauce. It is the main soy sauce used for seasoning, since it is saltier, but it also adds flavour. Since it is lighter in color, it does not greatly affect the color of the dish. The light soy sauce made from the first pressing of the soybeans is called tóuchou , which can be loosely translated as first soy sauce or referred to as premium light soy sauce. Touchou is sold at a premium because, like extra virgin olive oil, the flavor of the first pressing is considered superior. An additional classification of light soy sauce, shuanghuáng , is double-fermented to add further complexity to the flavour. These latter two more delicate types are usually for dipping.


  • Dark/old soy sauce ( laochou) : A darker and slightly thicker soy sauce that is aged longer and contains added molasses
    Molasses

    Molasses is a thick by-product from the processing of the sugar beet or sugar cane into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese language word mela?o, which comes from "meli", the Greek word for "honey"....
     to give it its distinctive appearance. This variety is mainly used during cooking since its flavour develops under heating. It has a richer, slightly sweeter, and less salty flavour than light soy sauce. Dark soy sauce is partly used to add color and flavour to a dish.


In traditional Chinese cooking, one of the two types, or a mixture of both, is employed to achieve a particular flavour and colour for the dish.

Other types:

  • Thick soy sauce ( jiàngyóugao): Dark soy sauce that has been thickened with starch and sugar. It is also occasionally flavored with MSG
    Monosodium glutamate

    Monosodium glutamate, also known as sodium glutamate and MSG, is a sodium salt of the non-essential amino glutamic acid. It is used as a food additive and is commonly marketed as a flavour enhancer....
    . This sauce is not usually used directly in cooking but more often as a dipping sauce or poured on food as a flavorful addition.
  • Dark soy paste
    Yellow soybean paste

    Yellow soybean paste is a Fermented bean paste made from yellow soybeans, salt, and water; wheat flour, though not formerly used, is often used as an additional ingredient in the modern day, and potassium sorbate may also be used as a preservative....
     ( huángjiàng): Although not really a soy sauce, it is another salty soy product. It is one of the main ingredients in a dish called zhajiang mian
    Zhajiang mian

    Zhajiang mian is a Mandarin cuisine dish consisting of thick wheat noodles topped with a mixture of ground pork stir-fried with Fermented bean paste....
     , lit. "fried paste noodles").


Indonesian soy sauce


In Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
, soy sauce is known as kecap (or ketjap) (a catchall term for fermented sauces) from which according to one theory the English word "ketchup
Ketchup

Ketchup, also known as tomato ketchup, tomato sauce, red sauce is a condiment, usually made from tomatoes. The primary ingredients in a typical modern ketchup are tomato concentrate, spirit vinegar, milk, corn syrup, or other sugar, edible salt, spice and herb extracts , spice and garlic powder....
" is derived. Two main varieties exist:

Kecap asin : Salty soy sauce, which is very similar to Chinese light soy sauce, but usually somewhat thicker and has a stronger flavor; it can be replaced by light Chinese soy sauce in recipes. Kecap manis : Sweet soy sauce, which has a thick, almost syrupy consistency and a pronounced sweet, treacle
Molasses

Molasses is a thick by-product from the processing of the sugar beet or sugar cane into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese language word mela?o, which comes from "meli", the Greek word for "honey"....
-like flavor due to generous addition of palm sugar
Palm sugar

Palm sugar was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm or the date palm. Now it is also made from the sap of the sago and coconut palms and may be sold as "coconut sugar." The sugar is a golden brown paste, sold in tubes, blocks or tin cans....
. It is a unique variety; in a pinch, it may be replaced by molasses with a little vegetable stock stirred in.

Kecap inggris ("English fermented sauce"), or saus inggris ("English sauce") is the Indonesian
Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official national language of Indonesia. It is based on a version of Malay language from the Riau islands in western Indonesia, today called Riau Indonesian....
 name for Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce is a fermentation liquid condiment first made at 68 Broad Street, Worcester by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins....
. Kecap Ikan is Indonesian fish sauce
Fish sauce

Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to fermentation . It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces....
.

Malaysian soy sauce

In Singapore
Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country microstate located at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula. It lies 137 kilometres north of the equator, south of the Malaysian state of Johor and north of Indonesia's Riau Islands....
 and Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
, soy sauce in general is dòuyóu ; dark soy sauce is called jiàngyóu and light soy sauce is jiàngqing . Angmoh tauyew (lit. "foreigners' soy sauce") is the Hokkien
Min Nan

The Southern Min language, or Min Nan, refers to a family of Chinese dialects which are spoken in southern Fujian and neighboring areas, and by descendants of overseas Chinese in diaspora....
 name for Worcestershire sauce
Worcestershire sauce

Worcestershire sauce is a fermentation liquid condiment first made at 68 Broad Street, Worcester by two dispensing chemists, John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins....
.

Malaysia, which has cultural links with Indonesia, uses the word 'kicap' for soy sauce. Kicap is traditionally of two types: kicap lemak and kicap cair. Kicap lemak is similar to kecap manis but with very much less sugar while kicap cair is the Malaysian equivalent of kecap asin.

Japanese soy sauce

Organic Tamari
Buddhist monks introduced soy sauce into Japan in the 7th century, where it is known as "shoyu". The Japanese word "tamari" is derived from the verb "tamaru" that signifies "to accumulate," referring to the fact that tamari was traditionally from the liquid byproduct produced during the fermentation of miso
Miso

is a traditional Japanese cuisine produced by fermentation rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus , the most typical miso being made with soy....
. Japan is the leading producer of tamari.

Japanese soy sauce or sho-yu (or ), is traditionally divided into 5 main categories depending on differences in their ingredients and method of production. Japanese soy sauces include wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
 as a primary ingredient and this tends to give them a slightly sweeter taste than their Chinese counterparts. They also have an alcohol
Alcohol

In chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl Functional group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group....
ic sherry
Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. In Spanish language, it is called Vino de Jerez....
-like flavor, due to the addition of alcohol in the product. Not all soy sauces are interchangeable.

Originating in the Kanto region
Kanto region

The is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region encompasses seven Prefectures of Japan which overlaps the Greater Tokyo Area: Gunma Prefecture, Tochigi Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Tokyo, Chiba Prefecture, and Kanagawa Prefecture....
, its usage eventually spread all over Japan. Over 80% of the Japanese domestic soy sauce production is of koikuchi, and can be considered the typical Japanese soy sauce. It is produced from roughly equal quantities of soybean and wheat. This variety is also called kijoyu or namashoyu when it is not pasteurized
Pasteurization

Pasteurization is a process which slows microbial growth in foods. The process was named after its creator, France chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur....
.
Particularly popular in the Kansai
Kansai

The or the lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu. The region includes the prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, and Shiga Prefecture....
 region of Japan, it is both saltier and lighter in color than koikuchi. The lighter color arises from the usage of amazake
Amazake

is a traditional sweet, low-alcoholic Japanese drink made from fermented rice. Amazake dates from the Kofun period, and it is mentioned in the Nihon Shoki....
, a sweet liquid made from fermented rice, that is used in its production.
Produced mainly in the Chubu region
Chubu region

The is the central region of Honshu, Japan's main island. Chubu has a population estimate of 21,886,324 as of 2008.Chubu, which means "central region", encompasses nine prefectures: Aichi Prefecture, Fukui Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Ishikawa Prefecture, Nagano Prefecture, Niigata Prefecture, Shizuoka Prefecture, Toyama Prefecture, Yamanashi...
 of Japan, tamari is darker in appearance and richer in flavour than koikuchi. It contains little or no wheat; wheat-free tamari is popular among people eating a wheat free diet
Wheat allergy

Wheat allergy, also known as wheat hypersensitivity is most commonly a food allergy, but can also be a respiratory or contact allergy resulting from occupational exposure....
. It is the "original" Japanese soy sauce, as its recipe is closest to the soy sauce originally introduced to Japan from China. Technically, this variety is known as miso-damari , as this is the liquid that runs off miso
Miso

is a traditional Japanese cuisine produced by fermentation rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and the fungus , the most typical miso being made with soy....
 as it matures
Aging barrel

An aging barrel is a barrel used to age wine or Distilled beverages such as whiskey, brandy, or rum.When a wine or whiskey/whisky ages in a barrel, small amounts of oxygen are introduced as the barrel lets some air in ....
.
A very light colored soy sauce. In contrast to "tamari" soy sauce, "shiro" soy sauce uses mostly wheat and very little soybean, lending it a light appearance and sweet taste. It is more commonly used in the Kansai region to highlight the appearances of food, for example sashimi
Sashimi

Sashimi is a Japanese cuisine primarily consisting of very fresh raw seafood, sliced into thin pieces about 2.5cm wide by 4.0cm long by 0.5 cm thick, but dimensions vary depending on the type of item and chef, and served with only a dipping sauce , depending on the fish, and a simple garnish such as perilla and shredded daikon radish....
.
: This variety substitutes previously-made koikuchi for the brine normally used in the process. Consequently, it is much darker and more strongly flavored. This type is also known as kanro shoyu or "sweet shoyu".

Newer varieties of Japanese soy sauce include:

Low-salt soy sauces also exist, but are not considered to be a separate variety of soy sauce, since the reduction in salt content is a process performed outside of the standard manufacture of soy sauce.
Called "Hawaiian soy sauce" in those few parts of the US familiar with it, this is a variant of "koikuchi" soy sauce.


All of these varieties are sold in the marketplace in three different grades according to how they were produced:

Contains 100% naturally fermented product.
Contains 30-50% naturally fermented product.
Means no added ingredients except alcohol.
All the varieties and grades may be sold according to three official levels of quality:

Standard pasteurized.
Special quality, not pasteurized.
Premium quality, usually implies limited quantity.
Other terms unrelated to the three official levels of quality:

Refers to industrial grade used for flavoring, powder.
Used by marketers to imply the best.
Perhaps the most well-known producer of Japanese soy sauce is the Kikkoman Corporation.

Korean soy sauce

Korean soy sauce
Soy sauce

Soy sauce , soya sauce , or shoyu is a fermentation sauce made from soybeans , roasted cereal, water and Sodium chloride. Soy sauce was invented in China, where it has been used as a condiment for close to 2,500 years....
, (called Joseon
Joseon

Joseon, Choson, or Chosun are English spellings of the Korean word for North Korea, during various periods of its history :*Gojoseon, the first Korean kingdom(legend period founded by Chinese Adherents or Displaced persons), from 2333 BC to 108 BC....
 ganjang
, ????, in Korean) is a byproduct of the production of doenjang
Doenjang

Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermentation soybean paste. Its name literally means "thick paste" in Korean language....
 (Korean fermented soybean paste
Fermented bean paste

Fermented bean paste is a category of Fermentation typically made from ground soybeans, which are indigenous to the cuisines of East Asia and Southeast Asia....
). Joseon ganjang, thin and dark brown in color, is made entirely of soy and brine, and has a saltiness that varies according to the producer. Wide scale use of Joseon ganjang has been somewhat superseded by cheaper factory-made Japanese style soy sauce, called waeganjang (hangul: ???/???). According to the 2001 national food consumption survey in Korea, traditional fermented ganjang comprised only 1.4% of soy sauce purchases.

Taiwanese soy sauce

The history of soy sauce making in Taiwan can be traced back to southeastern China, in the provinces of Fujian
Fujian

is one of the Province of China on the southeast coast of People's Republic of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south....
 and Guangdong
Guangdong

Guangdong is a political divisions of China on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province is also known by an alternative English language name, the Canton Province....
. Later, the cultural and political separation between Taiwan and China since the end of the First Sino-Japanese War
First Sino-Japanese War

The First Sino-Japanese War was a war fought between Qing Dynasty China and Meiji period Imperial Japan over the control of Korea. The Sino-Japanese War would come to symbolize the degeneration and enfeeblement of the Qing Dynasty and demonstrate how successful modernization had been in Japan since the Meiji Restoration as compared with the...
 in 1895, when China ceded Taiwan to Japan, brought changes to traditional Chinese soy sauce making in Taiwan. Some of the top Taiwanese makers, such as Wan Ja Shan, Wei-Wong and Ve-Chung have adopted the more sophisticated Japanese technology in making soy sauce for the domestic market and more recently foreign markets as well.

Vietnamese soy sauce

Vietnamese soy sauce is called xì d?u, nu?c tuong, or sometimes simply tuong
Tuong

Tuong is the name applied to a variety of condiments made from Fermentation soybeans, and commonly used in Cuisine of Vietnam.Most commonly, the term tuong refers to a salty paste made from fermented soybeans, which is popular in Vegetarian cuisine meals, particularly those prepared and eaten by Buddhism in Vietnam monks....
.

Filipino toyo

A popular condiment in the Philippines
Philippines

The Philippines, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, it is called toyo (pronounced TOH-yoh), and is usually found beside other sauces such as patis
Fish sauce

Fish sauce is a condiment that is derived from fish that have been allowed to fermentation . It is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces....
 (fish sauce, pronounced pah-TEES)
and suka
Vinegar

Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the fermentation of ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient, acetic acid . It also may come in a diluted form....
 (sugar cane vinegar, pronounced SOO-kah). The flavor of Filipino soy sauce, made from soybeans, wheat, salt, and caramel, is interestingly milder compared to its Asian counterparts--possibly an adaptation to the demands of the Filipino palate and its cuisine. It is thinner in texture and has a saltier taste compared to its Southeast Asian counterparts, much more similar to the Japanese shoyu. It is used as a staple condiment to flavor many cooked dishes and as a marinade during cooking, it is also a table condiment, and is usually mixed and served with kalamansi
Calamondin

Calamondin or Kalamansi The fruit of the calamondin resembles a small, round Lime , usually 25-35mm in diameter, but sometimes up to 45mm....
 (a small Asian citrus-lime). Popular Philippine brands are Marca Piña, Silver Swan, Lauriat, Datu Puti, Toyomansi and UFC (Universal Food Public Company).

Hawaiian shoyu

A unique type of soy sauce produced by Aloha Shoyu Company since 1946 is a special blend of soybeans, wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
, and salt
Salt

A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and base . Salts are ionic compounds composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically electric charge ....
, historically common among local Hawaii
Hawaii

File:Pahoehoe and Aa flows at Hawaii.jpgThe State of Hawaii is a U.S. state in the United States, located on an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of Australia....
 residents. Hawaii residents rarely use the term "soy sauce," opting to use the Japanese loanword "shoyu" instead. However, while the Japanese word shoyu is pronounced like show you, Hawaii residents prounounce the word like shoi-yu.

Health


Positive

A study by National University of Singapore
National University of Singapore

File:NUS, University Cultural Centre 3, Nov 06.JPGThe National University of Singapore is Singapore's oldest university. It is the largest university in the country in terms of student enrollment and curriculum offered....
 shows that Chinese dark soy sauce contains 10 times the antioxidant
Antioxidant

An antioxidant is a molecule capable of slowing or preventing the Redox of other molecules. Oxidation is a chemical reaction that transfers electrons from a substance to an oxidizing agent....
s of red wine, and can help prevent cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular disease

Cardiovascular disease or cardiovascular diseases refers to the class of diseases that involve the heart or blood vessels . While the term technically refers to any disease that affects the Circulatory system , it is usually used to refer to those related to atherosclerosis ....
s. Soy sauce is rich in lactic acid bacteria
Lactic acid bacteria

The Lactic Acid Bacteria comprise a clade of Gram-positive, low-GuanineCytosine, acid-tolerant, generally non-sporulating, non-respiring rod or cocci that are associated by their common metabolic and physiological characteristics....
 and of excellent anti-allergic potential.

Negative

Soy sauce does not contain the beneficial isoflavones associated with other soy products such as tofu
Tofu

Tofu , also , doufu , toufu, or bean curd , is a food of China origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks....
 or edamame
Edamame

is a preparation of baby soybeans in the pod commonly found in Japan, China and Korea. The pods are boiled in water together with condiments such as salt, and served whole....
. It can also be very salt
Edible salt

Salt is a dietary mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride that is essential for animal life, but toxic to most land plants. Salt flavor is one of the taste#Basic_tastes, an important Salting_ and a popular food seasoning....
y, so it may not be a suitable condiment
Condiment

In the United Kingdom, a condiment used to be confined to salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar. Use of the term condiment has broadened and now is generally considered to be any prepared edible Chemical substance or mixture, often Food preservation or Fermentation , that is added in relatively small quantities, most often at the table...
 for people on a low sodium diet. Low-sodium soy sauces are produced, but it is impossible to make soy sauce without using some quantity of salt.

Carcinogens in artificial soy sauces
  • In 2001 the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency found in tests of various low-grade soy sauces (those made from hydrolyzed soy protein, rather than being naturally fermented) that some 22% of samples contained a chemical called 3-MCPD
    3-MCPD

    3-MCPD or is a carcinogenic and highly suspected to be genotoxic in humans, has male anti-fertility effects, and is a chemical byproduct which may be formed in foods, the most commonly found member of chemical contaminants known as chloropropanols....
     (3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol) at levels considerably higher than those deemed safe by the European Union
    European Union

    The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
    . About two-thirds of these samples also contained a second chemical called 1,3-DCP (1,3-dichloropropane-2-ol) which experts advise should not be present at any levels in food. Both chemicals have the potential to cause cancer
    Cancer

    Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
     and the Agency recommended that the affected products be withdrawn from shelves and avoided. Furthermore, the latter unregulated chemical can cause genetic damage to be passed on to offspring who never consumed the sauces


  • Britain's Food Standards Agency
    Food Standards Agency

    The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Her Majesty's Government. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by an appointed board that is intended to act in the public interest....
     (FSA) issued a Public Health Advice leaflet in June 2001 to warn against a small number of soy sauce products having been shown to contain high levels of potentially cancer-causing chemicals. The leaflet singled out brands and products (some by batch numbers) imported from Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Although the leaflet primarily looked at soy sauce, the leaflet do include oyster sauce, marinades and other types of sauces, that affected the brands Golden Mountain, King Imperial, Pearl River Bridge, Jammy Chai, Lee Kum Kee
    Lee Kum Kee

    Lee Kum Kee International Holdings Ltd. is a food company which specialized in manufacturing oyster sauce and a wide range of authentic Chinese and Asian sauces founded by Mr....
    , Golden Mark, Kimlan, Golden Swan, Sinsin, Tung Chun and Wanjasham. Despite these being small in number in the UK, they are the dominant brands in their respective nations.


  • In Vietnam, 3-MCPD was found in toxic levels (In 2004, the HCM City Institute of Hygiene and Public Health found 33 of 41 sample of soya sauce with high rates of 3-MCPD, including six samples with up to 11,000 to 18,000 times more 3-MPCD than permitted, an increase over 23 to 5,644 times in 2001) in soy sauces there in 2007, along with formaldehyde
    Formaldehyde

    Formaldehyde is a chemical compound with the chemical formula H2CO. It is the simplest aldehyde. Formaldehyde exists in several forms aside from H2CO: the cyclic trimer trioxane and the polymer Polyoxymethylene....
     in the national dish Pho
    PHO

    PHO may refer to:* Primary Health Organisation* Potentially Hazardous Object...
    , and banned pesticides in vegetables and fruits. A prominent newspaper Thanh Nien Daily commented, "Health agencies have known that Vietnamese soy sauce, the country's second most popular sauce after fish sauce, has been chock full of cancer agents since at least 2001," See 2007 Vietnam food scare
    2007 Vietnam food scare

    The 2007 Vietnam food scare was a food scandal, which exposed contaminated food that the government knew about but did nothing to stop. Among the issues were formaldehyde in noodles of the national dish, Pho, banned pesticides in vegetables and fruit, and toxic soy sauce....
    .


  • In March 2008, some Australian soya sauces were found to contain carcinogens and consumers were advised to avoid consumption.


Soy sauce and allergies


Most varieties of soy sauce also contain wheat
Wheat

Wheat , is a worldwide cultivated Poaceae from the Levant region of the Middle East. Globally, after maize, wheat is the second most-produced food among the cereal just above rice....
. Individuals with a wheat allergy
Wheat allergy

Wheat allergy, also known as wheat hypersensitivity is most commonly a food allergy, but can also be a respiratory or contact allergy resulting from occupational exposure....
, Celiac disease, or a gluten intolerance should avoid this condiment and dishes seasoned with soy sauce.