The Enshittification of Soy Sauce

From: Bradley Bowen <bbowen737@msn.com>

Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2026 10:50 AM
Subject: The Enshittification of Soy Sauce

Soy sauce is traditionally made by a process of fermentation that takes 3 to 6 months, but most soy sauce sold in grocery stores is made by a chemical process that takes a matter of about two days. This saves the manufacturer a ton of money, but produces a crappy soy sauce.

The taste of chemically produced soy sauce is not as good and not as rich as the taste of traditionally-brewed soy sauce, so additional flavoring is added to it (MSG, corn syrup, and added salt). Also, the chemically-produced soy sauce requires added food preservatives that are not needed for traditionally brewed soy sauce.  Finally, the chemically-produced soy sauce contains 3-MCPD, which is a suspected carcinogen.

So, most soy sauce sold in grocery stores is crappy chemically-produced soy sauce, because grocery stores and soy sauce manufacturers are more interested in making more money than they are in selling or producing a good quality product.  You should buy traditionally-brewed soy sauce and use your money to communicate to grocery stores and to food producers that you want food and drinks that are good quality, not crappy shit that maximizes the profits of grocery stores and food producers.

Recommendation: Avoid purchase of soy sauce that lists hydrolyzed soy protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, lactic acid, sodium benzoate (preservative), potassium sorbate (preservative), caramel color, MSG, or corn syrup in the ingredients list. Here is what the ingredients list should look like:

1. Water
2. Soybeans
3. Wheat
4. Salt

Do NOT purchase or consume these crappy soy sauces:

• Great Value Soy Sauce (Walmart)
• Kroger Soy Sauce
• La Choy Soy Sauce
• Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce (but their Premium Dark Soy Sauce is naturally brewed)
• Asia Specialties Soy Sauce (from Aldis)
• Panda Soy Sauce packets (from restaurants)
  
  

Recommended good quality soy sauces:

• Kikoman Naturally Brewed Soy Sauce (costs about the same as crappy soy sauces)

• San-J Tamari Brewed Soy Sauce
• Lee Kum Kee Premium Dark Soy Sauce
• Yamasa Brewed Soy Sauce
• San-J Organic Tamari Brewed Soy Sauce (Gluten Free)
• Pearl River Bridge Superior Light Soy Sauce Naturally Brewed (a Chinese brand)

https://youtu.be/ICsgKpqZouw?si=7W9k0bLxuTy-OqNt

Bradley B.