Question 1

Why does real soy sauce take two years to make?

Accepted Answer

Authentic soy sauce is fermented, not cooked. After a koji mold breaks down soybeans and wheat, the salted mash must age through two summers and two winters so that hundreds of flavor compounds form slowly at varying temperatures. That seasonal cycle cannot be rushed with heat.

Question 2

What is the difference between brewed and chemical soy sauce?

Accepted Answer

Naturally brewed soy sauce is fermented over months or years by koji mold, salt-tolerant yeast, and bacteria. Chemical soy sauce is made in days by boiling soybeans in hydrochloric acid to force proteins apart, then adding coloring and flavor. The fast method can also produce a contaminant called 3-MCPD.

Question 3

What is koji and why is it used in soy sauce?

Accepted Answer

Koji is the mold Aspergillus oryzae, Japan's national fungus. It is dusted onto steamed soybeans and roasted wheat, where it secretes enzymes that break starches into sugars and proteins into amino acids, including glutamate, the molecule responsible for soy sauce's savory umami taste.

umami

All essays in .

The Sauce That Remembers Two Winters

The Letter That Poisoned a Cuisine