Yuasa Shiro Shoyu - White Soy Sauce 6.8 fl oz (200ml)

Shiro Shoyu is a wheat soy sauce made from 80 percent wheat and 20 percent soybeans. This special soy sauce comes from the city of Yuasa, where Japanese soy sauce was born 750 years ago. In Japan, wheat soy sauce containing 80% wheat is known for its light golden color and mellow sweet wheat flavor. It has historically been made only in limited quantities.

Wheat soy sauce is mainly used for preparations in which chefs want to avoid the darker color and the strong shoyu flavor of ordinary soy sauce. Many Japanese chefs (and home cooks) have been seeking lighter color and more refined flavors in their cooking, and Marushin Honke Company predicted that there would be a demand for a good quality, light color wheat soy sauce. This resulted in the birth of their white soy sauce and the product achieved instant success in Japan.

The production of shiro shoyu follows the regular soy sauce manufacturing process. The roasted wheat and cooked soybeans are mixed and tossed with koji mold which produces an enzyme necessary for fermentation. The mixture is left in a fermentation tank along with spring water, sea salt and the liquid in which the soybean were cooked. This liquid gives the soy sauce its unusually rich and umami-filled flavor.

The short three month fermentation process preserves the golden yellow lighter color. This soy sauce tastes slightly gamey, with lots of umami. Its mild saltiness, complex unique flavors and light color make it an excellent seasoning well suited for any cuisine, whether it be Japanese, French or Italian. The salt content is 17%.

Marushin Honke Company was founded in 1881. It is located in the town of Yuasa, Wakayama Prefecture. Under the present fifth generation family member president, Toshio Shinko, the company continues to produce varieties of the very best artisanal soy sauce products in Japan. Some of them have been received repeated prestigious Le Monde Selection Awards in Europe. Mr. Shinko's passion is teaching the younger Japanese generation about the traditional food culture of Japan.