What are the differences between different types of soy sauce and vinegar? 4 tips to help you quickly choose seasonings

Rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea, seasonings play an important role in our daily life, and almost everyone eats them every day.

So, is there a simple, easy-to-remember, and practical method that can help us choose healthy, delicious, and safe condiments? Let's talk about it in this article today.

Four principles for choosing seasonings

Let’s start with the major selection principles.

1. Choose more natural seasonings

Natural condiments, in simple terms, are condiments made from natural ingredients, such as vinegar made from sorghum and bran, and soy sauce made from soybeans and wheat.

Prepared condiments refer to condiments made with natural condiments as the main ingredients and various food additives added for the purpose of seasoning, coloring, and nutritional enhancement. For example, sour sauce (prepared vinegar) prepared with glacial acetic acid and water. Or soy sauce (prepared soy sauce) prepared with more than 50% brewed soy sauce, hydrolyzed vegetable protein seasoning liquid, food additives, etc.

Compared with prepared seasonings, natural seasonings are often more fragrant and richer in nutrients. Therefore, it is recommended that you give priority to natural seasonings. But this does not mean that prepared seasonings are harmful. As long as they are qualified products that meet the relevant national health standards, they will not harm your health.

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Some friends worry about accidentally buying the wrong product and buying formulated vinegar or formulated soy sauce, but there is actually no need to worry.

Starting from January 1, 2021, the commercial standards SB/T-10337-2012 (prepared vinegar) and SB/T10336-2012 (prepared soy sauce) that were originally used as the standards for prepared vinegar and prepared soy sauce have been abolished. Soy sauce and vinegar manufacturers are no longer allowed to produce and sell products labeled as "prepared soy sauce" and "prepared vinegar". Prepared vinegar and prepared soy sauce have been managed as "compound seasonings" in accordance with the national standard GB31644-2018 (National Food Safety Standard Compound Seasonings).

This means that the products labeled vinegar and soy sauce that you can buy on the market today are all brewed vinegar and brewed soy sauce.

2. Choose condiments with a single ingredient list

Single seasoning can be understood as seasonings that contain only one flavor, such as salt, vinegar, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, etc. Compound seasoning refers to products that are made from two or more seasonings as raw materials, with or without auxiliary materials, and processed through corresponding processes and can be in liquid, semi-solid or solid form, such as oyster sauce, chicken essence, seasoning wine, acidic seasoning liquid products, etc.

The reason why we don’t recommend using too many compound seasonings is based on the difference between natural seasonings and formulated seasonings mentioned above, and because the salt and sugar content in compound seasonings is not low, but they are often ignored because they are “invisible”. However, qualified compound seasonings are safe in themselves, just be careful not to use them in combination.

If you use a single seasoning and then use a compound seasoning, it will be more detrimental to controlling blood pressure and blood sugar stability when the intake is large. For example, when cooking, salt is already added, and chicken essence, oyster sauce, soy sauce, etc. are also added. Little do people know that chicken essence contains about 30% salt, and the salt content of oyster sauce and soy sauce is also more than 10%.

3. Choose according to the quality indicators of different condiments

Different condiments have different standards for measuring their "excellence". For example, soy sauce focuses on "flavor enhancement". When choosing, we should look at the amino acid nitrogen content of the soy sauce. The higher the content, the richer and more delicious the taste. Vinegar focuses on sourness and fragrance. When choosing, we should pay attention to the total acidity index. The higher the total acidity, the stronger the sour aroma.

4. Learn to read the ingredient list and nutrition facts table, and choose low-salt and low-sugar products

Modern people are generally threatened by the three highs and four highs, so even if the amount of condiments is small, it is recommended that everyone try to choose low-salt and low-sugar products. At this time, it is particularly important to learn to read the ingredient list and the nutritional composition table.

Regardless of the type of condiment, the ingredients in the ingredient list are listed in descending order of content, with the first one being the main ingredient. The nutritional information table gives more detailed information on the salt and sugar content.

Note: In the nutrition facts table, "carbohydrates" refers to the total amount of carbohydrates such as added sugar and starch. Usually, condiments only refer to the amount of added sugar (a small amount of starch is found in oyster sauce). "Sodium" refers to the amount of salt. The conversion formula for sodium and salt is 1g sodium = 2.54g salt.

Here is another little-known fact: not only soy sauce, oyster sauce, chicken essence, MSG, and various sauces contain sodium, but even vinegar contains sodium.

Next, let’s take a look at how to quickly “select the best” of various condiments.

Choose these 5 seasonings!

1. Salt

Salt is the first of all flavors. But salt has little flavor variation, so choose it for health reasons.

-If your family members have high blood pressure, or they eat too much salt and want to control the health risks of a high-salt diet, it is recommended that you choose low-sodium salt.

- For ordinary families, we recommend that you choose iodized salt. This is because in most areas of my country (coastal areas have a slightly higher iodine intake than inland areas due to the large number of seafood consumed, but it is still insufficient), people's daily iodine intake does not reach the iodine reference intake recommended by the Chinese Dietary Guidelines, which is 120ug/d.

2. Vinegar

-Look at the total acidity mentioned above. The higher the total acidity, the more flavor substances there are, and the higher the nutritional value is usually. And because of the high acidity and strong antibacterial properties, there is no need to use more salt and preservatives. The total acidity must reach 3.50% or more to be qualified. The total acidity of Shanxi aged vinegar exceeds 6%.

- Look at the raw materials. Vinegar can be brewed from grains such as sorghum, barley, glutinous rice, indica rice, bran, etc., or from fruits such as grapes and apples. White vinegar can also be brewed from wine. Different raw materials determine its different aroma and taste experience.

Grain vinegar is usually more sour and mellow, such as Shanxi aged vinegar; rice vinegar is relatively refreshing; fruit vinegar has a fruity and sweet taste; white vinegar is relatively bland and lacks aroma. Which one to choose depends on your personal taste preference.

- Cooking needs. Some delicacies require specific vinegar to make. For example, white vinegar is usually used for cold dishes, which does not stain and is more refreshing.

From a health perspective, Shanxi aged vinegar is a good choice. It not only has a high total acidity and low salt content, but also has a higher content of amino acid nitrogen (umami) and flavonoids (antioxidant) due to its long brewing time.

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3. Soy sauce

-Classification When it comes to choosing soy sauce, the country has already done the homework for us, and we just need to "copy the homework". The national standard GB18186-2000 stipulates that soy sauce is divided into special grade, first grade (≥0.70%), second grade (≥0.55%), third grade (≥0.40%), and special grade according to the different amino acid nitrogen contents. The amino acid nitrogen content of special grade soy sauce should be ≥0.8%, and it tastes the best.

- Salt content

Soy sauce also contains salt. For health reasons, we should try to choose soy sauce with lower sodium content. You can compare the premium soy sauce and choose the one with lower sodium content. Some soy sauces have words like "reduced salt" or "low salt" on them, which can also be preferred.

It should be noted that different soy sauces may have different amounts in their nutritional information, so when comparing sodium content, you should first convert it to the same amount. For example, a premium soy sauce may have a nutritional information table that says "per 10ml" and another premium soy sauce may have a nutritional information table that says "per 15ml", so you need to convert it first when comparing.

The nutritional information of different soy sauces may vary. Image source: screenshot of e-commerce website

4. Oyster sauce

- Oyster sauce content The main ingredient of oyster sauce is oyster sauce, which has its own umami flavor. Therefore, the higher the oyster sauce content, the umami taste of the oyster sauce. Some products will specifically mark the oyster sauce content. If it is not marked, you can look at the ingredient list. If oyster sauce is listed first, it means that oyster sauce is the ingredient with the highest content.

- Salt and sugar content

In order to make the taste more delicious and rich, oyster sauce also contains salt and a small amount of sugar. If you need to control the intake of salt and sugar, try to choose products with lower salt and sugar content. Or when using oyster sauce for cooking, reduce the amount of salt.

Image source: E-commerce screenshot

Please note that since oyster sauce contains a lot of protein, it is easy to spoil if not stored properly. It is recommended that you follow the instructions and refrigerate the opened oyster sauce.

5. Chicken essence or MSG, mushroom powder and other flavor-enhancing condiments

Many friends like to use chicken essence, monosodium glutamate, mushroom powder, etc. to enhance the flavor. When choosing such products, pay attention to two indicators.

-Content of main freshness enhancers

Specifically, chicken essence and mushroom powder usually contain other condiments or food additives for flavoring and enhancing freshness. Therefore, if you buy chicken essence, you can choose chicken powder and chicken at the top of the ingredient list; if you buy mushroom powder, you can choose mushrooms and other ingredients at the top. In this way, we can at least get "value for money" and really pay for these delicious ingredients.

- Salt content

The salt content of these products is often not low. When using them, you should not only pay attention to reducing the amount of salt, but also choose products with lower salt content. The method is still to look at the "sodium" content in the nutrition label, which will not be repeated here.

Image source: E-commerce screenshot

Here are 3 little tips about MSG:

① Monosodium glutamate, the ingredient of MSG, is not a chemical compound, but a product of glutamate and salt, which are found in various meats, seafood, and mushrooms. ② The main ingredient of chicken essence is MSG, and chicken essence is not healthier than MSG;

③ There is no sufficient scientific evidence to support the claim that MSG causes hair loss, cancer, etc., and it can be considered a rumor.

Okay, that’s all we have to say about some tips on choosing condiments this time. When you go shopping in the supermarket, remember to take this article out and refer to it when making your purchase!

References [1] Chinese Nutrition Society. Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents, People's Medical Publishing House, Beijing: 2022. [2] Chinese Medical Association Endemic Disease Branch, Chinese Nutrition Society, Chinese Medical Association Endocrinology Branch. Iodine Supplementation Guidelines for Chinese Residents, People's Medical Publishing House, Beijing: 2018.

Author: Wang Lu, registered dietitian

Review丨Ruan Guangfeng, Deputy Director of Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center