The main ways to judge the quality of soy sauce:
1. Check the grade of soy sauce
During the brewing process of soy sauce, the protein in the raw material is converted into amino acid. More amino acids, more nutrient there is. More mellower and richer the flavour will be. So, the content of amino acid nitrogen is the key factor to judge the quality.
According to china national standard GB18186-2000, there’re four grade for brewed soy sauce.
Premium：amino acid nitrogen ≧0.8g/100ml
First grade: amino acid nitrogen ≧0.7g/100ml
Second grade: amino acid nitrogen ≧0.55g/100ml
Third grade: amino acid nitrogen ≧0.4g/100ml
2. Check the ingredient
Simple ingredient list usually means more natural.
For example, a high quality soy sauce may contain only water, non-GMO soya beans, wheat and salt.
If additives such as monosodium glutamate, 5 ‘-Disodium inosinate, yeast extract, sugar appear in the ingredient list, they may lower the natural quality of soy sauce.
3. Observe the Color
High-quality soy sauce usually has a reddish-brown colour rather than a very dark black. If the colour of soy sauce is too dark, it means caramel colouring may have been added, which could mean lower quality.
4. Check the Production Method
Brewed soy sauce is usually better than prepared soy sauce.
According to different production method, brewed soy sauce can be divided into high-salt diluted method and low-salt solid method.
The soy sauce usually has a longer fermentation time and a better flavour, if it’s fermented in high-salt diluted method.
5. Shake to observe the bubbles
If you shake the bottle of soy sauce, high-quality soy sauce usually has a rich, hard-to-dissolve foam. On the contrary, if the foam is minimal and disappear quickly, the quality may be lower.
