Another option is naturally brewed soy sauce, which goes through a process of aging and fermentation. It contains about 300 distinct flavor components. “Salt is simply sodium chloride, and contains none of these components,” says Debbie Carpenter, senior marketing manager, foodservice & industrial, Kikkoman Sales USA, Inc., San Francisco. “Adding salt only amplifies flavors already present in the food without adding the complex savory notes that are created by an umami-rich product like soy sauce. This added umami benefit means that a smaller amount of soy sauce will create as much flavor as salt.” She suggests product and menu developers try substituting regular or low-sodium soy sauce in place of salt when seasoning stock to cut sodium and boost flavor.
It all comes back to flavor. “Consumers hear doctors and dietitians talk about cutting down on sodium,” says Chuck Ehemann, executive vice president, Wixon, “but they simply don’t want to sacrifice taste unless forced to do so.”
Fortunately, science helps reduce sodium without sacrificing taste.
Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in food science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at donnaberry@dairy-food.com.
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