Soy Sauce Taste and Flavour

Soy sauce taste and flavour

Soy sauce is a well-known salty condiment used for flavour enhancement in Asian dishes. It can be produced in either two ways, the traditional fermented method or chemical method which involves acid hydrolyzation.

The fermentation process involves mixing soybeans, grain, mould cultures, yeast and bacteria. Fermentation can take up to 6 months to produce soy sauce that has delicate flavours and aromas. However, the chemical method or non-brewed method, involves artificially breaking down the soy proteins by hydrolysis and this is a faster process taking 2 days compared to several months.

The flavour profiles of the non-brewed sauces are harsher and have less desirable taste profile in comparison to the fermented ones. It is the delicate flavours of soy sauce that can determine the quality of the product. Determining the compounds or ingredients that help develop a distinct taste or flavour can aid manufacturers in producing a great tasting high quality product.

Our FlavourSpec system provides a robust complementary technique to sensory panels, it can analyse complex soy sauce matrices and identify changes to flavour.