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Type of soy sauce

White soy sauce

Light soy sauce

Koikuchi soy sauce

Re-charged soy sauce

Tamari soy sauce

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White soy sauce

Born in Aichi Prefecture in the Hekinan region, this still pale amber soy sauce has a taste that is strong and sweet while remaining mild. There is a slight aroma of barley miso.

Applications:

Best used in soup or other dishes combined with soup, such as cup steamed rice, rice crackers, pickles, etc..

Region:

Nationwide, restaurants in the center of the Hekinan.

Light soy sauce

Born in the Kansai region, this soy sauce has a light color. The salt content is about 10% more than Koikuchi. The color and flavour are suppressed in order to take advantage of the characteristic of the material.

Applications:

In cooking, soup and boiled dishes. Provides a good finish by taking advantage of the natural ingredients, color and flavor.

Region:

All over the country in the Kansai area.

Koikuchi soy sauce

The most common soy sauce. In addition to the salty, deep flavor, mellow sweetness and refreshing acidity, it has a combined bitterness that tightens the taste.

Applications:

Best used in cooking and also widely considered an all- purpose seasoning for the tabletop.

Region:

All over the country.

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Re-charged soy-sauce

Once finished, Nama-age uses the charged brewing method again to put malt in soy sauce.

The color, taste, smell are all rich, and this is often referred to as ‘honeydew soy sauce.’

Applications:

Best paired with sashimi, sushi, and cold tofu. Primarily for wear-over at the table.

Region:

From the Kyushu region to the San and around the Yamaguchi Prefecture.

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Tamari soy sauce

This soy sauce is mainly made in the Chubu region. It has a thick and rich taste with unique flavor characteristics.

It turns a beautiful red when heat exits.

Applications:

Great as a tabletop seasoning with sushi and sashimi, or for cooking such things as teriyaki, boiled dishes or crackers.

Region:

Mainly the Chubu region.

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Most Koikuchi

The majority of soy sauce in circulation is Koikuchi. The Koikuchi soy sauce available on the market has a pale mouthfeel and light opening. Tamari and white soy sauce have been produced in limited reserves in relative areas, such as the Chubu region. Re-charged soy sauce is not one of the leading manufacturer due to the fact that the production process takes a long time and the cost of raw materials is too high to reach national production levels.

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The Three Brewing methods

There are three main brewing methods for soy sauce.

There is a fermentation method, semi-fermentation method and a mixing method. In Nama-age soy sauce, an amino acid solution is mixed together. When the mixing brew has ripened further the amino acid solution is added to the ‘mash’ of the previous step.

When it has ripened fully, the amino acid will release a specific aroma. It should also be noted that parts of the brewing method add to the flavor of a soy sauce and it is similar to the mixing and mixing-brewing that contains amino acids and sweeteners.

There is a difference in taste if the brewing method contains only the amino acid solution and it is referred to as ‘additive-free.’

The exact brewing method and raw materials are marked on the label.

Check the label to find the soy sauce of your choice.

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The Mixing and Mixing-Brewing

Process: Developed in the Wake of the Food Shortages of War

Each brewing method has an ‘amino acid solution’ added to it. This amino acid solution is a liquid umami, which occurs as the grains are destroyed with hydrochloric acid. The soybeans here are often described as a sweet sauce, because

it is often used in combination with the sweetener.

In 1907, Kikunae Ikeda, a seedlings professor of Tokyo Imperial University, 

discovered that the sodium glutamate extracted from kelp had a unique flavor and proposed a fifth taste, second only to sweet, sour, salty, bitter taste.

Then, technology to extract the flavor went into products distribution, such as the development of Ajinomoto’ (monosodium glutamate). Attempts to add the crude amino acid solution to decompose the defatted soybean with hydrochloric acid in soy sauce industry started here.

Then, during the war in 1940, supplies became even more insufficient. Chemical seasonings, such as sweeteners and caramel coloring, in amino acid solution

only added an additional fee. A chemical soy sauce that you did not need to brew hit the market.

Then, in 1948, a big crisis came to the soy sauce industry.

The Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers ‘General Head Quarters’ decided to place a raw materials allocation of defatted soybean processing known as, ‘soy sauce

brewing industry 2 and amino acid industry 8.’ This meant the raw materials of soy sauce were no longer fit to handle and brewing soy sauce was no longer possible, since the ration would take about one year to produce soy sauce.

For this there were two points:

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1)  Leisurely production in the era of food shortages was not permitted.

2)  With only about 60% utilisation of raw materials, there was no way to make utilisation of the remaining 40% wasted material, therefore making this type of meal was out of the question.

The engineers at Kikkoman would end up solving this crisis by developing a ‘new style’ for the number 2 manufacturing method. This new production method was for a semi- chemical and semi-brewing soy sauce that also used amino acids with a high yield of soy sauce. This compromise also addressed the ‘brewing’ process in order to protect soy sauce manufacturer.

Kikkomon shared the brewing method across the country with other soy sauce makers to avoid monopolising the patent. Distribution of defatted soybean processing as a result, ended up being a 7:3 ratio. This reverse rotation ensured the brewed sauce would remain available for utilisation. Temporary soy sauce close to the ‘mixed brewing’ method could now be distributed throughout the

entirety of Japan.

There are some areas that still use this brewing method, and with a simple name change to the mixture and mixing brewing method, the taste can be showcased by the region the materials are from.