Authentic, traditional soy sauce is a versatile, beneficial seasoning. It is a staple condiment for half of the world’s people. 2,500 year old records in China are the earliest references to a fermented liquid sauce made of cooked soybeans, water, and salt. Monks brought soy sauce to Japan in the 1600s, where it was greatly improved. Japanese soy sauce was introduced to Europe in the 1600s. Its remarkable qualities intrigued nobility. In 1670 Dutch traders took soy sauce to France at the request of Louis XIV. The king spoke highly about his special cooking ingredient from the other side of the world that was fermented in huge wooden casks for two years.
The renown of Japan’s soy sauce comes from two things: its effect on the taste of food it is used on, and the bracing, beneficial effect after consumption. Esteem for Japan’s shoyu soy sauce has continued to rise since the 16th century, hampered only by unseemly imitations that became, and remain, common since the 1950s.
Wisdom is Love in Discerning
Authentic soy sauces are hard to find. Knowing facts about how particular ones are made is necessary to choose a worthwhile soy sauce. That knowledge will be well rewarded. You can depend upon Eden Foods selection. We have been doing this for over 50 years. EDEN soy sauces deliver reliable assurance of an exceptionally great tasting and beneficial experience. The use of old artisan skills and real organic ingredients are essential. The taste and efficacy of authentic EDEN Soy Sauce are not present in modern, chemically made soy sauce. The remarkable, artisan characteristics only develop through long koji fermentation overseen by brewmasters, heirs to the know-how handed down through generations. EDEN soy sauce is aged through two full cycles of the seasons at ambient seasonal temperatures and made using U.S. organic family, non-GMO soybeans.
Organic EDEN Shoyu is koji Aspergillus oryzae fermented whole soybeans, wheat, pure water, and sea salt. The magic of authentic, traditionally brewed shoyu soy sauce is not just in its taste, but the effect it has on the taste of food it is used with. Shoyu’s taste almost disappears as it enhances and harmonizes the taste of food. This quality thoroughly differentiates shoyu from tamari. An enticing aroma is also evident when using shoyu. Shoyu’s soothes, helping alleviate lactic acid buildup in our muscles. Shoyu is a cooking ingredient, a finishing sauce near the end of cooking, and a table condiment. It is the base of dipping sauces, cooking broths, dressings, marinades, and toppings.
Genuine soy sauces, like those prized for centuries, are rare. Commercial soy sauce uses hexane extracted, GMO defatted soy isolate, refined sugar, harsh salt, caramel color, GMO enzymes, and toxic additives. They are made using chemicals and a controlled environment to speed up their process. Most are not fermented; made in a day using acid to hydrolyze the soy protein (HVP), caramel color, and chemical flavorings added. These are fake, synthetic soy sauces, the most common soy sauces in the Western world since the 1950s. The real thing, EDEN Soy Sauce, is otherworldly.
Imported organic EDEN Tamari and U.S. made organic Tamari are made similarly to shoyu, without the mellowing wheat added before fermentation. Tamari’s taste is reminiscent of miso from which it was originally derived. Its taste remains on food when it is used. While shoyu is excellent for sautéing, stir-frying, and accentuating the taste of foods, tamari’s taste is bolder. Its American popularity has risen with the increase in those seeking to avoid the gluten of wheat, which after koji fermentation where the proteins are disassembled, is no longer an issue. EDEN shoyu tests to ≤ 10ppm, gluten free. FDA’s gluten-free threshold is ≤ 20ppm.
Complimentary Opposites
Shoyu and Mirin are the right and left hands of Japanese cuisine. EDEN Mirin is a koji fermented, sweet, rice cooking wine. Like shoyu, it is a multi-purpose seasoning with a renowned reputation. This has led to a flood of undesirable imitations in the market.
EDEN Mirin is a sweet liquid seasoning and essential ingredient of dashi cooking, noodle broth, teriyaki, barbeque sauces, and marinades. Mirin was the original sweetener put in sushi rice to give it a mild sweet taste and shiny appearance. Mirin and Shoyu are complementary opposites, yin and yang, sweet and salty. Mirin with shoyu, or, mirin, shoyu, and brown rice vinegar are supreme marinades. Mirin can be used for grilled dishes such as tofu, tempeh, fish, seafood, and vegetables. It adds delightful complexity to soup, noodles, sauces, gravies, and salad dressings. EDEN Mirin is old-world fermented in Japan made of Lundberg family California organic short grain brown rice, pure water, non-GMO koji Aspergillus oryzae enzymes, and fine sea salt.
Modern, industrial mirin is made quickly from molasses, glucose, GMO-derived imitation koji enzymes, GMO cornstarch, ethyl alcohol, and chemical additives. It has none of the qualities that have made mirin a spectacular seasoning. EDEN Mirin is authentic mirin. It is an exceptional version of what people are seeking when they are looking for mirin.
EDEN Ponzu Sauce is a unique Japanese five taste seasoning. Ponzu is used as a dipping sauce, condiment, marinade, noodle sauce, and cooking ingredient. The combination of ingredient tastes is excellent when used in a salad dressing. Ponzu is a medley of sweet, sour, tangy, salty, and savory tastes from shoyu soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, barley malt, and two Japanese citrus fruits, yuzu and sudachi (like lemon/lime). EDEN Ponzu adds a sparkling taste that brightens up almost any dish. It is a pure & purifying liquid seasoning masterfully created from pure food.
Wisdom is Love in Discerning
In the late 1960s, the initial impetus that gave rise to Eden Foods was the necessity of pure healthy food vs. what was being commercially produced and made available at grocery stores. This remains the driving force of Eden’s work; the desire to be a reliable alternative to industrialized, imitation food for monopolized profit.
Even with fifty-three years of experience amassed, the work remains a constant challenge. Despite considerable know-how and resourcefulness at Eden Foods, barriers to commonsensical pure food have become more sophisticated and effective; overriding social policies driven by Wall Street, huge scale centralized farming geared toward the export of mono-cropped corn and soybeans, consolidation of food production and distribution, a national void of policy concerning food production for domestic consumption, and fundamental changes (well disguised, well hidden) to food labeling laws that hide what is in commercial food.
The need to know more about our food, to get closer to our food, is no longer a sentimental journey. It is essential if we are to remain independently resilient, healthy, and joyous.