soy sauce

History of soy sauce

People in the eastern and western world have searched for better ways to preserve food for centuries. Through experience they discover that the use of salt not only preserves the taste, it improves it.
In ancient China, canned foods and their spices were known as jiang - perhaps the forerunner of what we now know as soy sauce. Different types of jiang were made from meat, seafood, vegetables, and grains. Of these ingredients, grain was the most readily available and easier to process, so Jiang, made from soybeans and wheat, developed faster. The process of making this grain jiang eventually spread from China to Japan and other neighboring countries. Today`s soy sauce is said to come from this spice.
The process of making naturally brewed soy sauce was introduced here in the mid-17th century, and it spread across the country.

Kikkoman soy sauces