Gluten Free Soy Sauce
Soy sauce is an essential ingredient of the east and south East Asian cuisines. Soy sauce was firstly introduced by Chinese nation around 2,800 years back. Since then, it has become an important part of the Asian cuisine and also became popular in western cuisines. The main ingredients for the preparation of soy sauce include soy beans, wheat and salt.
For all those people who are gluten-sensitive or diagnosed with celiac disease, gluten free soy sauce is available which is free from wheat (source of gluten) and known as tamari. Normally, there are two ways of making soy sauce; either by natural fermentation or through Chemical hydrolysis. The traditional and natural method is fermentation or brewing. In both the methods of making soy sauce, the complex proteins (gluten) are broken down into minute particles to form amino acids and polypeptides.
Naturally prepared Gluten Free Soy Sauce
Naturally prepared soy sauce is considered as more authentic and rich in taste, as no harmful chemicals are involved in its making. It is made without adding wheat. There are very limited companies that deal in traditional soy sauce i.e. tamari. The soy sauce produced by chemical method of hydrolysis is locally available everywhere with a small price tag, but it contains carcinogenic particles and toxic components that are present due to the hydrolysis of hydrochloric acid. They are also not appropriate for gluten-sensitive people.
In order to check whether a soy sauce is gluten free soy sauce or a normal one, there is a test that helps in determining the level of gluten content present per million of gluten. For a gluten free soy sauce, there should be less than 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten in the product. This limit of gluten was proposed by FDA and European legislation. If a soy sauce is gluten free, it will not cause any harm to celiac patients and gluten intolerant people.
There are many brands in the market that deal in gluten free soy sauce. It is important to read the label before buying any bottle of gluten free soy sauce as it looks similar to a chemically produced soya sauce. Some of the gluten free soy sauce brands are:
Kikkoman Gluten Free Soy Sauce:
The major ingredients used by Kikkoman Company to produce gluten-free soy sauce are soybeans, water, salt and rice. It has no wheat content present and is known as the traditional tamari soya sauce.
San-j gluten-free soy sauce:
This brand has launched a wide range of gluten-free products. San-j gluten free soy sauce is certified as gluten-free by gluten-free certification organization(GFCO), as it contain less than 5ppm of gluten which is less than the limit imposed by the FDA and European legislation. They use corn and sugarcane based alcohols, rather than gluten-based alcohols in the gluten-free soy sauce.
Eden organic gluten-free soy sauce:
Eden foods use soybeans, water, sea salt, and steamed rice (koji with koji mold scores) to manufacture gluten-free tamari. They produce two types of organic gluten free soy sauce, which are produced in different production houses that include U.S and Japan. These mentioned brands produce 100% gluten-free soy sauce that is suitable for gluten-sensitive and gluten-intolerant people twho are diagnosed with celiac disease.