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After the Shoyu tasting we had plenty fun discussing the results and other stuffs. Here are some of the comments and thoughts from judges, family and friends relating to the Shoyu Shimmy.
- The results didn't show that one shoyu was better in a cooked role and different one is better in an uncooked role. Aloha Shoyu tasted the best in both applications. Maybe if the shoyu taste good to begin with, it's ono in any way you use it. Or maybe it's not about cooked vs. uncooked applications. Maybe certain shoyus are better with certain types of foods. Some people told me they use Kikkoman with sashimi, poke or sushi while they switch to Aloha for meat marinades. One guy uses a blend of Aloha and Kikkoman in his marinade and says that it enhances the flavor like you wouldn't believe. It's a secret marinade recipe so he didn't reveal anything further.
- The Bragg's Liquid Aminos tasted way better in a cooked role than in uncooked. Some judges had a hard time distinguishing the Bragg's from the real shoyu. Maybe Bragg's comes pretty close to tasting like real shoyu when used in a cooked application. If you like try em, go Umeke Market and order one of their stir frys or other dishes that uses Bragg's Liquid Aminos.
- We should've included a Chinese shoyu such as Lee Kum Kee that won top honors in the America's Test Kitchen blind taste test of about 10 soy sauces. Eden tamari ranked in the middle of this taste test.
- For the cooked application maybe we should've made shoyu chicken which is another popular use of shoyu in a cooked role.
- Did Aloha Shoyu win because the judges were mostly local folks who were raised on the flavor of Aloha Shoyu? Did they pick the shoyu that was most familiar tasting? Or is Aloha Shoyu's blend truly a cut above the rest? If we did the taste test again with people who weren't raised on Aloha Shoyu, would Aloha still win? Many folks say that Aloha Shoyu is really ono and that it could win in a mainland blind taste test among other popular shoyu brands. Go Aloha!
- What about all the "premium shoyus" out there. If they were included in the taste test, would they have ranked higher than the regular grade shoyus? Can you really tell the difference? Or is the difference only in your mind.
- Based on the judge's comments and scoring, it seems they liked the milder taste of Aloha Shoyu as opposed to the stronger saltier taste of Kikkoman, Yamasa and Eden. Is that what local folks look for in a good shoyu...mild flavor that doesn't over power the food it accompanies? Maybe that's what "good shoyu" in general supposed to do...enhance the food it's on and not take it over. If that's the case, then the Aloha Shoyu folks are spot on with their shoyu blend.
- Nate's (a WOW Grinds reader) wife said that Japanese shoyu tastes better wiith Japanese dishes while Chinese shoyu taste better with Chinese dishes. That makes me wonder what brand of shoyu they use in the ono Chinese restaurants.
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| Best Shoyu In A Cooked Role - Shoyu Sugar Hot Dog |
Click on a Judge to see their profile. Mouse over each Judge's score to see their comment explaining that score. A complete list of judge's comments is located below the results table. Scoring was based only on Taste=100%.
Judge's Comments
#1 Aloha Shoyu
Judge 1 - Taste 7. Light in taste, but not bad balance with sugar.
Judge 2 - Taste 4. Sweet, light in color.
Judge 3 - Taste 7. Good. Light shoyu allows sugar to come through.
Judge 4 - Taste 9. Mildest. Brown sugar flavor comes through. Best.
#2 Kikkoman Shoyu
Judge 1 - Taste 6. Slightly salty.
Judge 2 - Taste 3. Sweet and salty.
Judge 3 - Taste 6. Light shoyu taste.
Judge 4 - Taste 8. Not bad. Similar to E (Aloha), but little bit more rich.
#3 Yamasa Shoyu
Judge 1 - Taste 6. Mild taste. Slightly sweeter.
Judge 2 - Taste 3.
Judge 3 - Taste 4. Strong shoyu flavor, but sweet.
Judge 4 - Taste 6. Strong.
#4 Eden Tamari Soy Sauce
Judge 1 - Taste 6. Strong after taste.
Judge 2 - Taste 1. Bad after taste.
Judge 3 - Taste 4. Strong shoyu.
Judge 4 - Taste 7. Strongest.
#5 Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Judge 1 - Taste 5. Stronger after taste.
Judge 2 - Taste 2. Salty.
Judge 3 - Taste 1. Unusual taste.
Judge 4 - Taste 5. Is it B (Bragg's) from the tofu test? Ok, but subtle after taste.
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Best Shoyu In An Uncooked Role
Shoyu With Tofu
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Best Shoyu In A Cooked Role
Shoyu Sugar Hot Dog
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And the Oscar goes too...
The Shoyu Shimmy took place on February 28, 2009. We've run in to some snags planning the kal-bi blind taste test, so in the mean time, we did a mini shoyu challenge. The big 3 local shoyu favorites went up against a popular mainland brand tamari soy sauce and a healthy shoyu substitute (wildcard control entry). To see if certain shoyus taste better in a cooked application and others are better for table use (i.e. dipping), we tasted the the shoyus in both a uncooked application (tofu dip) and a cooked application (shoyu sugar hot dog). Click the tofu pic above to see the uncooked shoyu results and the shoyu sugar hot dog pic to see the cooked shoyu results. |
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| Best Shoyu In An Uncooked Role - With Tofu |
Click on a Judge to see their profile. Mouse over each Judge's score to see their comment explaining that score. A complete list of judge's comments is located below the results table. Scoring was based only on Taste=100%.
| Rank |
Name |
Judge 1
 |
Judge 2
 |
Judge 3
 |
Judge 4
 |
Judge 5
 |
Average Score Out of 10 |
Normalized Score |
| #1 |
Aloha Shoyu
(Made in Hawaii)
 |
6.0Taste 6. Light taste, slightly lacking in flavor. |
8.0 Taste 8. Mild flavor, not as aromatic. |
6.0Taste 6. |
7.0Taste 7 Good everyday shoyu. Tasty, but not too salty. |
9.0Taste 9. Mildest. |
7.20 |
100% |
#2
|
Kikkoman Shoyu
(Wisconsin)
 |
8.0Taste 8. Milder taste with nice aroma. |
6.0Taste 6. Salty. Chemical odor. |
2.0Taste 2. Tastes salty and almost metallic. |
8.0Taste 8. Good sushi shoyu. Good flavor, deep taste, clean taste. |
7.0Taste 7. 2nd strongest, similar to E (Yamasa). |
6.20 |
86.1% |
#3
|
Yamasa Shoyu
(Japan)
 |
7.0Taste 7. Not bad taste, but just a little too salty. |
7.0Taste 7. Smells like chemicals. |
3.0Taste 3. Salty. |
4.0Taste 4. Salty, more robust. |
6.0Taste 6. Strongest, too salty. |
5.40 |
75.0% |
| #4 |
Eden Tamari
(Michigan)
 |
5.0Taste 5. Salty with slightly hotter after taste. |
7.0Taste 7. Very dense. |
1.0Taste 1. Very bitter. Reddish color. |
5.0Taste 5. Appears thick. Ok. |
8.0Taste 8. Strong and stout. |
5.20 |
72.2% |
| #5 |
Bragg's Liquid Aminos
 |
2.0Taste 2. Weird color, salty taste. |
6.0Taste 6. Light in color and value. |
0.0Taste 0. Really strong and has a bitter taste. The color was light. |
1.0Taste 1. Salty, unusual flavor, light in color. |
2.0Taste 2. Weird taste. Like nutty flavor. |
2.20 |
30.6% |
Judge's Comments
#1 Aloha Shoyu
Judge 1 - Taste 6. Light taste, slightly lacking in flavor.
Judge 2 - Taste 8. Mild flavor, not as aromatic.
Judge 3 - Taste 6.
Judge 4 - Taste 7 Good everyday shoyu. Tasty, but not too salty.
Judge 5 - Taste 9. Mildest.
#2 Kikkoman Shoyu
Judge 1 - Taste 8. Milder taste with nice aroma.
Judge 2 - Taste 6. Salty. Chemical odor.
Judge 3 - Taste 2. Tastes salty and almost metallic.
Judge 4 - Taste 8. Good sushi shoyu. Good flavor, deep taste, clean taste.
Judge 5 - Taste 7. 2nd strongest, similar to E (Yamasa).
#3 Yamasa Shoyu
Judge 1 - Taste 7. Not bad taste, but just a little too salty.
Judge 2 - Taste 7. Smells like chemicals.
Judge 3 - Taste 3. Salty.
Judge 4 - Taste 4. Salty, more robust.
Judge 5 - Taste 6. Strongest, too salty.
#4 Eden Tamari Soy Sauce
Judge 1 - Taste 5. Salty with slightly hotter after taste.
Judge 2 - Taste 7. Very dense.
Judge 3 - Taste 1. Very bitter. Reddish color.
Judge 4 - Taste 5. Appears thick. Ok.
Judge 5 - Taste 8. Strong and stout.
#5 Bragg's Liquid Aminos
Judge 1 - Taste 2. "Weird color, salty taste.
Judge 2 - Taste 6. Light in color and value.
Judge 3 - Taste 0. Really strong and has a bitter taste. The color was light.
Judge 4 - Taste 1. Salty, unusual flavor, light in color.
Judge 5 - Taste 2. Weird taste. Like nutty flavor.
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When you ask most local folks about shoyu, you most likely get one ear full about the three local standards, Kikkoman, Aloha Shoyu and Yamasa. And then shoyu talk gets more complicated because people say some shoyus are better for cook with and some are better for table use. But everybody get their own opinion. So we put the 3 local shoyu favorites through our WOW Grinds Blind Taste Test and threw in couple wild card entries just for fun. In addtion to ranking them like we usually do, we wanted to see if the same shoyu would come out on top in both a cooked and uncooked (i.e. dipping) application. So for this one we did two rounds of shoyu tasting. First round was tasting shoyus in a uncooked application (dipping with tofu) and second round had the shoyus in a cooked style (shoyu hotdog). The results will be posted soon.
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