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Goto Shoyu
About Goto Shoyu
In year 2 of the Taisho era (1913), my great-grandfather founded “Goto Shoyu Jyouzoumoto(Goto Shoyu Brewery)” here in Kitakyushu city. We have a factory on a small hill, which is a five-minute walk from the shopping district local people use every day. For over 100 years,we have been making high-quality products, such as soy sauce and miso, that are a major part of the diet of people in the region. I am the fourth-generation owner. Surrounded by the sea and mountains, Kitakyushu is a city blessed with an abundance of vegetables and seafood. As seasoning is something people use every day, we prepare our ingredients, carefully selected for safety and peace of mind, using time-tested methods. Our products are made without the use of additives such as chemical seasonings, preservatives, or artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors. In addition to traditional seasonings, we have also been developing new products in recent years, like our dressings made from local produce. Please consider our lovingly-prepared seasonings for a supporting role in your cooking and at your table.
C.E.O Ryuji Goto
OUR PASSION FOR INGREDIENTS
Our company carefully selects ingredients from specified producing areas, so that you can enjoy eating our products with peace of mind. The main ingredients for soy sauce are soybeans, wheat, and salt. First, “Fukuyutaka” soybeans from Fukuoka Prefecture are sprinkled uniformly with water. After the water is absorbed, the beans are steamed for a short time in a pressure cooker, so that they retain their umami (pleasant savory flavor). The Fukuoka-grown “Chikugoizumi” wheat is roasted until it is an even, golden brown color, then cooled and finely ground before we use it. The “Sakito” salt from Nagasaki Prefecture is dissolved in water. This salted water is then cooled before use. To make our products that much healthier for our customers, we do not use any additives, such as chemical seasonings, preservatives, or artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors.
How Our Soy Sauce is Made
1. Koji (starter) making
The steamed soybeans and roasted and ground wheat are sprinkled with seed malt and kept at a fixed temperature, making koji mold.
2. Preparation
The cooled, salted water is added to the freshly-made and cooled soy sauce starter, and they are mixed well. This mixture, called “moromi” (fermenting mash), is fermented to maturity in a tank.
3. Moromi
The mixture is stirred for ventilation, promoting fermentation and the growth of soy sauce yeast.
4. Pressure
The fully fermented moromi is wrapped in cloths, which are laid out flat, one by one. The weight of the moromi causes its liquid (soy sauce) and solid (sediment ) content to separate.
5. Kiage
The liquid extracted from the moromi is called “kiage,” or raw soy sauce.
6. Seasoning
When making sweet soy sauce, we add a sugar syrup for sweetness.
7. Heating
The main purposes of adding heat include: sterilizing and boosting preservation; deactivating the yeast that could degrade the umami content; enhancing the distinctive soy sauce aroma and color; and solidifying any impurities, making them easy to remove.
8. Bottling
In order to maintain freshness, the soy sauce is bottled while still hot. The label is put on, and the product is complete.
The Pursuit of Umami
Soy sauce is prepared by adding koji mold to steamed soybeans and roasted wheat, and allowing to mature before adding salted water. This mixture is called “moromi.” After the moromi has fermented for several months, the extracted liquid, with the solid content removed, is called “kiage,” or “raw soy sauce.”
Usually, this kiage is diluted with a saline solution and amino acid fluid until it reaches the required value for nitrogen content, which is considered the barometer for umami, or savory flavor, at which point the soy sauce is completed. However, at our company, in order to maintain its great natural flavor and depth when freshly extracted, we do not add saline solution or amino acid fluid to our whole-soybean soy sauce.
This is truly rich soy sauce, offering the full taste of the ingredients and their natural umami.
Additive-Free
Our whole-soybean soy sauce is made entirely without the use of additives such as chemical seasonings, preservatives, or artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors. Everyone from children to seniors can enjoy it with peace of mind.
In truth, when it comes to soy sauce from Kyushu, the use of additives like amino acid fluid and sweeteners for strong umami and sweetness is commonplace. However, at our company, we are committed to staying additive-free. We have found a method for adding an elegant sweetness with a sugar syrup (a byproduct from the making of rock candy; it has a distinctive flavor with an incredibly deep body). The mature sweetness and thickness of this sugar syrup matches very well with whole-soybean soy sauce, resulting in a mellow soy sauce.
Product Profiles
1. "Iki": Double-fermented soy sauce made from whole soybeans from Fukuoka Prefecture
(1) Rich, double-fermented soy sauce
Unlike typical soy sauces such as dark soy sauce, which are made by adding salted water to a starter, this double-fermented soy sauce is made with raw soy sauce (freshly extracted soy sauce that has not been heated) in place of the salted water. The mixture is then fermented. This rich and noticeably sweet and flavorful soy sauce is also called “Kanro soy sauce.”
(2) For use with sashimi
This soy sauce, carefully prepared and then prepared and fermented again with select soybeans and wheat from Fukuoka Prefecture, strongly carries the natural flavors of its ingredients. It also sets off the flavors of seafood, including red-fleshed fish. Also, adding just a little as a subtle seasoning for stewed or boiled foods will bring body to the dish.
2. "Akane," "Tsuki," "Kuro": Fukuoka whole-soybean soy sauces
(1) Whole-soybean soy sauce
Many of the soy sauces on the market are made from “defatted soybeans” that have had oil extracted from them. “Whole-soybean soy sauce” (or “marudaizu shoyu” in Japanese), on the other hand, is made from intact soybeans that have not had any fat or oil extracted. The difference between these two kinds of soybeans is whether they contain fat or not. Whole soybeans contain fat, which breaks down into components such as glycerin during the brewing process. This is what brings about that distinctively mellow, deep flavor.
(2) 100% made with whole soybeans and wheat from Fukuoka Prefecture
These soy sauces are carefully prepared and fermented with specially selected soybeans and wheat from Fukuoka Prefecture. The natural umami flavor of the ingredients is very strong, making these soy sauces great for cooking, on sashimi, and as all-purpose seasonings.
(3) Three levels of sweetness
We offer these three soy sauces: “Akane (sweet),” “Tsuki (slightly sweet),” and “Kuro (salty).” Our “sweet” soy sauce has a level of sweetness that is common in the Kyushu region, while the “salty” soy sauce has no added sweetness, like soy sauces from the Kanto region and northward. Our “slightly sweet” soy sauce is also popular among people who are not accustomed to sweet soy sauce, and is great to have at the table as a seasoning for all kinds of dishes.
3. Dressings
Vegetables are produced with sincere effort from season to season here in Kitakyushu. We make our “Syun no Yasai Dressings (Seasonal Vegetable Dressings)” with care, and entirely without the use of additives, because we treasure the natural flavors of these vegetables. In the spring, there are tomatoes and bamboo shoots. In the summer, akamoku (also called “sargassum seaweed”) and onions. In the fall, green peppers, shiitake mushrooms, and ginger. And in the winter, carrots, sakekasu (sake lees), and shungiku (chrysanthemum greens). These dressings that bring to life the flavor of vegetables can enhance not only salads, but a wide variety of dishes.
4. Ponzu Soy Sauce
Ponzu soy sauce is a traditional Japanese seasoning combining soy sauce and citrus fruit juice. One feature of our products is that they are made entirely without the use of additives such as chemical seasonings, preservatives, or artificial colors, sweeteners, or flavors. For our ponzu, we have sought the perfect balance of aroma, acidity, and savory flavor. We take a base that balances a fresh aroma and fruity acidity by using plenty of natural citrus fruit juice, and add to it dashi (fish stock), which is our ace in the hole for umami (savory flavor). The dashi are made with care overnight, bringing out the full, natural flavors of the kombu, dried bonito, dried and smoked mackerel, and shiitake mushrooms. It is precisely because we use several dashi that our ponzu has a combination of gentle, natural flavors that come together wonderfully, without the need for additives.
Company Profile
Company name: Goto Shoyu Co., Ltd.
Established: November 1913 (Taisho era year 2)
Incorporated: December 2011 (Heisei era year 23)
President and CEO: Ryuji Goto
Address: 1-3-18 Hinode, Yahatahigashi-ku, Kitakyushu-shi, Fukuoka-ken 805-0004
Telephone: +81-93-671-1171
Fax: +81-93-671-1179
Major clients:
Izutsuya, Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores, Isetan Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya
Kintetsu Department Store, Maruhiro Department Store, Nishitetsu Store, SeijoIshii
Dean & DeLuca Japan, Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten
Nissin Cisco, Marubeni Foods, Kokubu, Itochu-Shokuhin
Yamae Hisano, Kogetsu-Sangyo, Katosangyo, The Arcadia
Kitakyushu-Yahata Royal Hotel, Chigusa Hotel, Ryotei Kinnabe
Kokura Kinen Hospital
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