{"id":790846,"date":"2026-10-03T16:42:15","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T16:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/790846\/"},"modified":"2026-10-03T16:42:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T16:42:15","slug":"a-hefty-umami-punch-the-best-and-worst-supermarket-light-soy-sauce-tasted-and-rated-sauces-and-gravies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/790846\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A hefty umami punch\u2019: the best (and worst) supermarket light soy sauce, tasted and rated | Sauces and gravies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soy sauce was created in China about 2,200 years ago, as a means to preserve food and to zhoosh up the humble vegetarian Buddhist diet. It\u2019s a demonstration in kokumi \u2013 literally \u201crich taste\u201d \u2013 a flavour sensation that\u2019s often called the sixth taste.<\/p>\n

I tested all of today\u2019s soy sauces straight from the bottle, in all their intensity. I first identified distinctive aromas such as cooked potato, sulphur and broth (all typical in soy sauce and not as off-putting as they sound), alongside caramel and malty notes. The best ones are more nuanced, with fruity high notes and vinous tones.<\/p>\n

The best supermarket light soy sauce\u00a316.30 for 250ml at Ocado (\u00a36.52\/100ml)<\/a>\u00a318.99 for 250ml at Selfridges (\u00a38\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n

A delightful, wildly complex aroma with a fruity note of banana blossom and forest-floor undertones. Hits the palate with a broad flavour profile, astringent with roasted popcorn and caramel, then salt and acidity, and a strong bean base. Made from non-GMO soya beans grown in southern Taiwan, pressed only once and naturally fermented with no additives. Well worth the price.<\/p>\n

Best bargain:
Yutaka organic tamari soy sauce\u00a32.35 for 150ml at Sainsbury\u2019s (\u00a31.57\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n

A wonderfully deep flavour profile with notes of dark malt, green vegetables and molasses. Salt-forward with an intense, rounded mouthfeel and a beany mushroom base note. Naturally fermented for eight months and gluten-free. Just four ingredients and a high ratio of organic soybean (45%). Incredible value.<\/p>\n

And the rest \u2026Kikkoman soy sauce\u00a33 for 150ml at Tesco (\u00a32\/100ml)<\/a>\u00a33 for 150ml at Sainsbury\u2019s (\u00a32\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

A deep, beany aroma with meaty notes and a sweet, fruity caramel finish. Massive flavour that fills the mouth with an intense, salty, soy-forward, umami complexity that\u2019s like the scrapings off a sticky roast beef rib. Just four ingredients \u2013 water, soybeans, wheat, salt \u2013 and naturally brewed and fermented for six months. Zero additives.<\/p>\n

Clearspring organic yaemon tamari soya sauce\u00a33.80 for 150ml at Ocado (\u00a32.54\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<\/p>\n

A sweet, malty, caramel aroma with deep savoury notes of mushroom and potato. An intensely rich, salt-forward taste with a hefty umami punch and balanced acidity. Double-strength gluten-free organic tamari aged in cedarwood kegs over two summers, with a high ratio of soya beans (52%) and zero additives.<\/p>\n

Amoy light soy sauce\u00a32 for 150ml at Tesco (\u00a31.34\/100ml)<\/a>\u00a32.10 for 150ml at Waitrose (\u00a31.40\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A deep, meaty, cooked-mushroom aroma with notes of caramel, potatoes and cheese. Salt-forward with a sharp high note of alcohol and beany mushroom undertones. Made with more soy sauce extract (51%) than the other cheaper products, and six additives, including colour, acidity regulators, preservative (potassium sorbate) and flavour enhancers.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/p>\n

Sainsbury\u2019s light soy sauce55p for 150ml at Sainsbury\u2019s (37p\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A sweet and floral mirin aroma with a synthetic, meaty undertone. Sweet-forward on the palate, with a strong, caramel flavour and malty cola notes. Made with 15% soy sauce extract and three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).<\/p>\n

Morrisons light soy sauce90p for 150ml at Morrisons (60p\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A dark, meaty, Bovril aroma with an intensely salty taste and a strong but one-dimensional caramel, brothy flavour. At just 3%, it has the lowest stated soybean content of any product in this lineup and contains three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).<\/p>\n

Waitrose light soy sauce\u00a31.35 for 150ml at Waitrose (90p\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A mushroomy Bovril aroma and an intense salty, bitter flavour with notes of smoke, caramel and brassica. A low soy sauce extract percentage of 6%, and three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).<\/p>\n

M&S light soy sauce\u00a31.20 for 150ml at Ocado (80p\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

A sweet, fruity floral aroma with mushroom and meaty caramel undertones. Intensely salty and powerful, with a deep but one-note umami base. Made in Malaysia using Chinese soy sauce extract, with only 8% soybeans, and three additives (colour, acidity regulator, preservative).<\/p>\n

74p for 150ml at Co-op (50p\/100ml)<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/p>\n

An intense, malty, caramel aroma with a hint of smoke. Intensely salty and powerful, with a meat and potato umami, sulphuric notes and a sweet aftertaste. Use sparingly. Made with 20% soy sauce extract, otherwise made up from water, salt, caramelised sugar syrup, acidity regulator (lactic acid) and preservative (potassium sorbate).<\/p>\n

For more, read the best hot sauces, tasted and rated<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Soy sauce was created in China about 2,200 years ago, as a means to preserve food and to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790847,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[84,59,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-790846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-gb","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790847"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}