Trivia
Soy sauce is a liquid condiment made from beans, wheat and bran, which is reddish-brown in color and has a unique sauce aroma and delicious taste, which helps to stimulate appetite. Our common soy sauce is generally divided into two types: dark soy sauce and light soy sauce: light soy sauce is saltier and is used to enhance freshness, and dark soy sauce is lighter and used to enhance color.
Xiaowang
Professor Cheng, when it comes to soy sauce, it is really a must-have for every family.
It is mainly used in cooking for seasoning, toning.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Professor Cheng, there are more and more types of soy sauce on the market, in addition to the familiar light soy sauce and dark soy sauce, there are also seafood soy sauce, fresh soy sauce, mushroom soy sauce, children's soy sauce, etc., and the price of these soy sauces is relatively expensive. Are these soy sauces really that good? For example, children's soy sauce, is it really for children?
In fact, most seafood soy sauce has no seafood at all, and even if there is, it only contains some dried scallop ingredients, and what really works in soy sauce is food additives such as disodium succinate. Another example is mushroom soy sauce, its main ingredient is actually monosodium glutamate in ordinary soy sauce, but a small amount of mushroom extract is added.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
So, what about children's soy sauce?
Children's soy sauce is actually an advertising gimmick issued by some merchants to attract consumers, and the price of soy sauce labeled "children" is 2.5 times that of ordinary soy sauce. Many consumers think that children's soy sauce is low-sodium soy sauce, but in fact, the sodium content of children's soy sauce is not low.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
In other words, these soy sauces are actually the same, but with some umami substances added.
Yes, so when we buy soy sauce, we must not be fooled by these various names, just buy the original flavor.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
In fact, many people don't pick when buying soy sauce, but simply look at the brand and price. Professor Cheng, what should we pay attention to when choosing soy sauce, and how can we choose a good bottle of soy sauce?
If you want to buy a good bottle of soy sauce, you must see 3 places.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
What are the three places, can you tell us about them?
First of all, we should look at the indicator of amino acid nitrogen.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Where should we look at this indicator?
Look at the ingredient list of the soy sauce bottle. Generally speaking, the higher this indicator, the higher the quality and the better the taste of the soy sauce. Based on this indicator, we can divide soy sauce into different grades, see the table below.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
It turns out that the "extra grade" we often see on soy sauce bottles refers to amino acid nitrogen. What's next?
The national standard stipulates that all soy sauce should indicate on the packaging whether it is brewed soy sauce or prepared soy sauce.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
What is the difference between these two types of soy sauce?
There is a big difference between the two. Brewed soy sauce is made from soybean processing by-products and fermented, which is strictly stipulated by the national standard (GB 18186-2000), and the quality of prepared soy sauce is far inferior to that of brewed soy sauce. There are two main ways to prepare soy sauce: one is made with "hydrolyzed protein liquid", and the other is mixed with some brewed soy sauce juice.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
In that case, I would not hesitate to choose to buy brewed soy sauce. Prof. Cheng, what is "hydrolyzed protein solution"?
"Hydrolyzed protein liquid" is a kind of amino acid liquid, if the processing technology is not done well, the process of hydrolyzing protein will also produce substances harmful to the body.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Professor Cheng, what do you look at at the end?
Finally, it depends on whether it is served with soy sauce or soy sauce for cooking. According to the national standard (GB 18186-2000), the label of the finished soy sauce must indicate whether it is a table soy sauce or cooking soy sauce.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
I know that food accompaniment means complementary food, but you mean that this soy sauce can be eaten raw?
Yes, the soy sauce can be eaten raw, such as dipping and cold dressing. Therefore, the hygienic quality requirements of soy sauce are very high, even if it is eaten raw, it will not have any effect on the human body! Cooking soy sauce is the soy sauce we use in daily stir-frying, and the hygienic quality requirements of this soy sauce will be lower.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
In this way, soy sauce is better to accompany the meal. So, can soy sauce be used in cooking?
Dinner soy sauce can be used for cooking, but cooking soy sauce should not be eaten raw.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Can you give us any more advice on the choice and consumption of soy sauce?
I would like to give you 3 suggestions:
First, although soy sauce is good, people with high blood pressure, kidney disease, pregnancy edema, cirrhosis ascites, and heart failure should usually eat it in small amounts to prevent the aggravation of the disease.
Second, don't buy soy sauce that is too dark. Normal soy sauce will be slightly darker in color, and if the color is too dark, it is likely that caramel color has been added, and this type of soy sauce is only suitable for cooking.
Third, special attention should be paid to the storage of soy sauce to prevent mold.
Professor Cheng
Xiaowang
Thank you very much for the popular science!
Content Sources:
People's Medical Publishing House published "Safety on the Tip of the Tongue (Volume 3)"
Editor-in-Chief of the book:
Cheng Jingmin, an expert of the National Health Science Popularization Expert Database and a professor of Shanxi Medical University
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