Preface:
As the most common seasoning in the kitchen, soy sauce often plays an important role in our diet:
If you want a fresher taste, it's right to put soy sauce; If the dish doesn't taste salty, then put some soy sauce; If you want the rice to look more appetizing, have some soy sauce......
But have you ever thought that our most trusted seasoning may also "backstab" us! Some experts have warned that the more you eat these types of soy sauce, the more blocked your blood vessels become! The next target of the "vascular killer" may be us!?
Next, let's take a look, which soy sauces can't be used? What can we do to pick a good soy sauce?
The mystery of soy sauce's origins
To know this, we have to understand soy sauce first.
When it comes to the ingredients of soy sauce, it is actually quite simple, which is soybeans, wheat, salt and water. It doesn't look special, but this is a good recipe that our ancestors have figured out for thousands of years!
Soybeans are like the "meat" of soy sauce, and there is a lot of protein in them. Wheat, the "sugar" of soy sauce, provides carbohydrates. These two things ferment together, like dancing, you come and go, and finally dance out of the mouth-watering flavor of soy sauce.
Salt isn't just about making soy sauce salty. It also has an important job, which is to act as a "security guard" to prevent bad bacteria from taking advantage of the opportunity to ensure that the soy sauce does not spoil.
As for water, it's like a matchmaker, mixing all the other ingredients together so that they can ferment well. Without water, other raw materials are like dry firewood, and there are no sparks.
Doesn't that make soy sauce interesting? There are several seemingly ordinary things, each with its own unique role. This can't help but make people sigh, the wisdom of the ancestors is really amazing!
The birth of soy sauce
So how do you make a good bottle of soy sauce? It's not just a matter of mixing the ingredients together and it's over, there is a university in it!
The most important thing to make soy sauce is to wait, and you have to wait for a long time. It's like pickling pickles, the longer it lasts, the more fragrant it tastes. The traditional old method, from the beginning to the use, it takes a few months to say less, and a year if it is long.
What happened during this time? To put it bluntly, it is to let the beans and wheat rot slowly. However, this "rotten" does not mean deterioration, but dissolves all the good things in it. It's like making a soup, when the heat arrives, the soup is fragrant.
Beans and wheat contain protein, which is fermented and becomes a bunch of amino acids. These amino acids are the source of the delicious taste of soy sauce. So, the longer it lasts, the more delicious it tastes.
Now some factories have accelerated the process with machines in order to catch up with the schedule. But those time-honored brands that really pay attention to it still insist on taking their time with the old way. Because they know that only when they are given enough time can the soy sauce taste good enough.
Doesn't that make soy sauce interesting? It's not just a condiment, it's more like a work of art made by time. Next time you eat, you might as well pay more attention to the contents of this small bottle, but it will take months or even half a year!
Why is it called a "vascular killer"?
Soy sauce, to be honest, is like a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, it can make our food fragrant, and on the other hand, it may sneak into our bodies. The biggest problem is that there's too much salt in it.
Salt, everyone knows that the body can't live without it, just like a car can't live without oil. However, if you eat too much salt, you are asking for trouble.
Eating salt every day, after a long time, blood pressure rushes up, and heart disease may come knocking on the door one day.
Our blood vessels are like water pipes. Eating too much salt is like a thick layer of limescale in a water pipe. If there is too much scale, the water will not be smooth; In the same way, if there is too much salt, the blood flow is not smooth, and the blood pressure will naturally go up.
Speaking of which, some people may ask: doesn't salt affect blood pressure? What does it have to do with bones? Don't worry, there's a way here.
If the human body eats too much salt, it has to find a way to drain it out.
No, urine becomes the main force of salt excretion. But ah, when the salt rushes out, it also washes away a lot of calcium from the bones. It's like heavy rain, which not only washes away the garbage, but also the flowers and plants on the roadside. As the days go by, the calcium in the bones becomes less and less, and the bones naturally become fragile, which is called osteoporosis.
Also, eating too much salt is not friendly to the stomach.
The human stomach is like a sophisticated chemical laboratory, and the acid-base balance in it is important. Eating too much salt is like adding something to this lab and mixing up the original recipe. After a long time, the stomach will not be able to stand it, and you may get gastritis, and in severe cases, there will be more stomach problems.
So, you have to take it easy when eating soy sauce.
Think of it this way, soy sauce is like a seasoned baby bump, a little bit is enough, and the point is up. If you really can't live without this flavor, then buy some reduced-salt soy sauce, or put less when cooking at home. Remember, health is the most important thing, and eating is to live better, not to get sick.
Finally, we can't completely quit soy sauce because we are afraid of this.
Using soy sauce in moderation will not only make meals more delicious, but also provide some essential nutrients. The key is to get the right balance, as the old saying goes, "too much". Eating happily and eating healthy is the choice of smart people.
A healthy version of soy sauce
Hearing this, you may be thinking, then we can't eat soy sauce? Don't worry, in fact we don't need to give up this delicious condiment entirely. The key is to use it in moderation and choose healthier alternatives.
In recent years, in order to cope with the health problem of high salt intake, a new option has emerged in the market - reduced-salt soy sauce.
This innovative product can reduce sodium content by 20%-50% while maintaining the original flavor. It's a boon for food lovers, allowing us to take care of our health while enjoying delicious food.
The birth of reduced-salt soy sauce can be said to be a major breakthrough in modern food technology.
However, even with reduced-salt soy sauce, we should use it in moderation. After all, even if a healthy food is, excessive consumption can be problematic. Moderation is king, and it's a guideline we should always keep in mind when enjoying good food.
How can I pick a good soy sauce?
Walking into the condiment section of the supermarket, the variety of soy sauce brands and types is often dazzling.
How do you choose a good bottle of soy sauce among the many options? Here's a little tip – focus on the amino acid nitrogen content.
Amino acid nitrogen content may sound like a complicated scientific term, but it is actually an important indicator of the quality of soy sauce.
To put it simply, the higher this value, the better the quality of the soy sauce. It reflects the amount of amino acids in soy sauce, which are the main source of soy sauce's delicious taste.
High-quality soy sauce usually has an amino acid nitrogen content of more than 0.8 g/100 ml.
When you're shopping for soy sauce at the supermarket, take the time to check the value on the product label. This is like paying attention to carat when choosing a diamond, which is an important basis for judging quality.
If you see the words "prepared soy sauce", we need to pay more attention. This soy sauce is like milk mixed with water, and there is a lot of mess in it. Although the taste may be stronger, it may not be good for the body. Let's buy pure brewed old soy sauce is more reliable.
There is also a trick to teach you how to pick the soy sauce with your eyes.
Pick up the soy sauce bottle and shake it gently to see what happens. If the foam coming out of the bottle is fine and even, and it can hang on the wall of the bottle for a while without falling off, then this soy sauce is eighty percent good. If the foam is gone all of a sudden, like a deflated soda, then the soy sauce may be almost meaningless.
In this way, do you think that buying soy sauce is also a science? Don't look at it as a small bottle, there is a lot of attention in it! The next time you buy soy sauce, you can use this trick to try it, and you can definitely buy good soy sauce!
The source comes from Beiqing.com: Eating soy sauce makes 1 mistake, and the small cardiovascular system hardens! Look for these 3 keywords when purchasing! Quickly avoid minefields~
The source comes from Shangguan News: Buying soy sauce is also particular! Soy sauce marked with these 4 words, it's better not to buy it?