When I was a child in the 70s, there was a clamor for soy sauce on the street, and as long as my mother shouted in the kitchen, I took the soy sauce bottle and the three-cent bill and rushed out the door, watching the soy sauce vendor fill the bottle with a bamboo oil, and on the way home, I did not forget to lick the two or three drops of soy sauce that spilled out of the bottle with my tongue... At that time, playing soy sauce became the first shopping skill learned as a child.
Today, people are starting to pick up a dizzying array of soy sauce on supermarket shelves. Speaking of soy sauce, a must-have in the kitchen, but there are not many people who really understand soy sauce. Most people buy soy sauce depending on the brand and price, and the most important nutritional value of soy sauce is completely ignored! Soy sauce can be said to be the soul of Chinese cuisine, and a spoonful of soy sauce can immediately make people taste Chinese. There are so many soy sauces on the market do you know how to identify and choose?
First, the classification of soy sauce
1. Classification of production process
Brewed soy sauce: refers to a liquid condiment with special color, aroma and taste made of soybeans or defatted soybeans (soybean meal or soybean cake), wheat or bran as raw materials and fermented by microorganisms.
Preparation of soy sauce: refers to the brewing soy sauce as the main body, the addition of hydrochloric acid hydrolyzed plant protein flavoring liquid, food additives and other preparation of liquid condiments.
2. Classification of types
Soycho ----- soy sauce is relatively light in color, reddish brown. Soy sauce is used for general cooking and tastes salty. Soy sauce is used for seasoning, because the color is light, so it is used more when making general stir-fried vegetables or cold dishes.
The color of the old soy sauce ------ is colored by caramel pigment, and the color is very dark, tan and shiny. The taste has a delicious and slightly sweet feeling after eating it in the mouth. It is generally used to color food, such as braised pork, etc. it needs to be colored.
3. Classification of fermentation methods
The implementation standard of high-salt dilute fermentation ------ is GB18186-2000, etc., because the raw materials used in the high-salt dilute fermentation process are soybeans or wheat, and the fermentation cycle is 180 days or longer, the cost is higher, and the quality is better.
Low-salt solid fermentation ------ implementation standard is SB/T 10336-2012, using defatted soybeans (soybean meal) and bran, the raw material cost is cheaper than high-salt dilute fermentation raw materials, low-salt solid fermentation cycle is generally only 15-45 days, the comprehensive cost is lower.
Second, it is important to play soy sauce and understand the ingredient list
The soy sauce we eat every day is not necessarily soy sauce in the true sense, but MSG chicken essence... Don't believe it, go to the kitchen and see if your soy sauce ingredient list has the following ingredients:
Defatted soybeans: In layman's terms, it is soybean meal, that is, the soybean residue left over after the soybean oil is pressed, with very little nutrient content and extremely low cost.
Sodium glutamate: commonly known as monosodium glutamate.
5'-Flavored disodium nucleotide: commonly known as super monosodium glutamate, the freshness is 16 times that of monosodium glutamate, which is the main ingredient of chicken essence.
5'-Disodium inosinate, 5'-disodium guanylate: commonly known as flavor enhancers, improve the taste of food.
Sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate: commonly known as preservatives.
Sucralose (sucralose): Commonly known as super saccharin, the sweetness is 600 times that of sucrose.
Acesulfame potassium and tripotassium glycyrrhizinate: commonly known as sweeteners, the sweetness is 150 times that of sucrose.
Caramel color: synthetic pigment, commonly known as colorant.
Sodium hydroxymethyl cellulose: commonly known as a thickener.
Long-term excessive intake of various additives will affect the body's metabolism, nutrient absorption, bone growth and development, affect the child's appetite, cause partial anorexia and so on. Some people will say that these additives are used legally, yes, but legal does not mean that it is good for the body, especially for children. Just like cigarettes, harmful to physical health but just as legal.
Third, become the most good at playing soy sauce in the circle of friends
1. Look at the ingredient list
Pure soy sauce is made from four raw materials: water, soybeans, wheat flour, and table salt, which have been brewed and dried for more than a year without any additives.
2, look at the color foam
The longer the soy sauce brewing time with zero additives, the darker the color, the more fat and tension, and the foam is rich and can be maintained for hours with a shake.
3. Smell the smell
The longer the sauce is brewed with zero additives, the more flavorful the sauce becomes, and if the brewing is not sufficient or the preparation of soy sauce will emit a disgusting sour taste or a very heavy aroma.
4. Taste the taste
Really good quality soy sauce is mellow and salty, stimulating appetite. Inferior soy sauce has a light and mellow taste, heavy aroma, slightly bitter, astringent and other peculiar smells.
Fourth, identify the key points of soy sauce
Brewed soy sauce is superior to formulated soy sauce
High-salt dilute fermentation is superior to low-salt solid-state fermentation
Soy sauce is better than cooking soy sauce
The simpler the soy sauce ingredients, the healthier they are