How to identify the quality of soy sauce

Identifying the quality of soy sauce can be approached from five aspects: color, aroma, texture, ingredient labeling, and brewing process. High quality soy sauce has the characteristics of reddish brown transparent luster, mellow sauce aroma without pungent taste, uniform wall hanging without sediment, simple ingredients without additives, and traditional brewing process labeling.

1. Color

Pour soy sauce into a white porcelain bowl and observe the color. High quality soy sauce appears reddish brown or dark amber, with amber luster on the edges when translucent. Poor quality soy sauce appears black or too light in color. After shaking, high-quality soy sauce hangs evenly on the wall, while inferior products may experience color layering or rapid sliding. Industrial blended soy sauce often contains caramel coloring, which results in a dull and opaque color.

2. Odor

After opening the bottle, high-quality soy sauce emits a natural fermented sauce aroma and caramel aroma, without any sour or pungent taste. Poor quality soy sauce may have a pungent chemical, sour, or alcoholic odor. You can rub a small amount of soy sauce in your palm and heat it up. Pure grain brewed soy sauce has a stronger and more lasting aroma, while blended soy sauce will quickly dissipate its scent.

3. Texture

High quality soy sauce has a uniform and thick texture, flows slowly in a linear shape when poured out, and the residual soy sauce on the bottle wall forms a uniform film. Poor quality soy sauce is thin as water or contains granular sediment. Dip a glass rod into soy sauce, pure brewed soy sauce can be pulled out into thin threads, and blended soy sauce is prone to breakage.

4. Ingredient Label

When viewing the ingredient list, the raw materials for pure grain brewed soy sauce are only water, soybeans, wheat, and salt, with an amino acid nitrogen content exceeding 0.8 grams per 100 milliliters. Soy sauce formulated with preservatives, preservatives, sweeteners, and other additives. Pay attention to the production license number, brewing soy sauce starts with SC, and preparing soy sauce starts with XK.

5. Brewing Process

Traditional soy sauce is labeled with a solid-state fermentation cycle, which usually takes 3-6 months. The words "high salt dilute fermentation" and "first crude oil" on the bottle body are more reliable. After shaking the bottle, the high-quality soy sauce foam is fine and lasting, while the low-quality soy sauce foam is large and disappears quickly. Soy sauce with excessively low prices is mostly produced using a rapid process.

It is recommended to choose regular supermarket channels for daily purchases, and prioritize purchasing glass bottle packaging products to avoid plasticizer migration. After opening, it should be refrigerated and stored. If there is white film or odor, it should be stopped immediately. hypertensive patients should choose low salt soy sauce, and children should avoid products containing sodium benzoate. High quality soy sauce only requires a small amount to enhance freshness during cooking, excessive use may mask the original flavor of the ingredients.