Ito Shoten Japanese Denemon Tamari Soy Sauce

200 ml jar - Japan
 

Aged three years

Wheat free Tamari

This Japanese tamari soy sauce is quite remarkable. First it is wheat free, as you know not all tamari is wheat-less.

Tamari is often regaled as the wheat free soy sauce, but one should be very cautious and read the label as wheat is often reduced but not eliminated.

This very special aged Tamari is made with Japanese grown soybeans and sea salt aged in wood casks made of cedar for three years.

The result is a heavenly rich in color, in flavor, and has a viscosity that has a higher resistance to deformation compared to other soy sauces.

To the nose it is milky with a heavy feel. To the eye, it is beyond dark, and more solid in color leaning toward red. Tilt the spoon and the deep auburn red color is evident, and the viscous liquid trails like a ten year old balsamic might.

To the mouth it has a complex multiplexed flavor profile. Salt (less salt than a soy sauce) may be the first and last flavor hits you get, but in between it is combination of wow, a richness which comes across as a hint of smokiness, and a sweetness or roundness that surrounds the other flavors. The tingle you get might be from the saltiness or is it that your taste buds are overwhelmed with so much information!?

It is wonderfully complex, bold yet delicate, and should be used to finish, and never to be cooked with.

Brush on fish and vegetables, use it as dipping sauce, or finish a lentil or rice dish. Maybe it would marry well with a Parmigiano-Reggiano risotto. And wouldn't it be great with a little melted butter on rice. Simple and elegant!