Homemade Soy and Worcestershire Sauce

[windmorn]

I was thinking about the things I use to make jerky and how many to stock up on. Then I started wondering if I could make my own. I've found several recipes online. The soy sauce ones take weeks to make and the worcestershire ones take several ingredients - many I don't have. Has anyone ever made either one of these and was it work the time/cost?

[Amishway Homesteaders]

wow! good question!

But seeing they store so long (unopened) and are very cheap to buy, I think it would be better to just buy-n-store them?

They also don't take up a lot of room?

[windmorn]

I thought about just buying and storing, but I don't have a lot of room to store small bottles which is all I can find here. I thought about ordering bulk, but then there's shipping. I did just now found a powdered one http://www.firehousepantrystore.com/lbsoysaucepowder.html that looks promising. The recipe for homemade is simple and doesn't take many ingredients (soy beans, flour, water and salt). It just takes a few weeks and I wonder about taste. Maybe I'll make some to see. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/103707-making-soy-sauce-at-home/. I saw on another recipe you can leave out the flour for gluten free sauce.

 

Worcestershire is the one that takes the most ingredients. I found another recipe that doesn't take so many weird things. http://www.upmykilt.net/2009/09/home-made-worcestershire-sauce/. The tamarind I just saw in the Mexican section of a local grocery for a couple of dollars. I was thinking if it turned out I could dehydrate the ingredients except the liquid and make mix packets. Since I just found the powdered soy sauce, I thought they might have powdered worchestershire and turns out they do. http://www.firehousepantrystore.com/lbworscpw.html.

 

Now the question is - Do find space for mixes or for ingredients I could use for other things and make my own? I guess it'll come down to taste and finding the time to experiment.

[Mt_Rider]

Good question. My daughters come from Korea and many folks in rural areas there make their own soy sauce. I hadn't thot of making it. We've made our own kim chee long ago. DH and I don't use much of that anymore since DD's aren't at home now. But we do use soy sauce and I buy it by the gallon at Asian markets. It kind of settled but can be shaken up.

 

 

If we ever get to the point of living on VERY basic diets....consisting of stored grains/legumes/sugar-honey/etc, some amount of thought and effort needs to go into spices/sauces to make those simple ingredients have variety and flavor. Not to make all of our favorite recipes and live life as we've always known it. But to avoid the dreaded 'food fatigue'. Especially in our picky eaters like young/elderly. And to make a transition for all of us to a less EXCITING menu as a long-term hooey drags on.

 

So I am currently looking at which of the spices/sauces might benefit DH and I the most. I don't feel that I can devote time/money to stock up on everything. I surely do not want to take too much money away from basic calorie/nutrient-producing foods.

 

My personal criteria: I'm trying to focus on what is inexpensive [not saffron ] and what is versatile, and what DH and I are most likely to use for many dishes. Storage issues come in there too or...ability to create/grow/wild harvest.

 

Soy sauce fits that criteria well. Thanks for the research, Windborn!!! I'll be looking at this too. I've just begun to wonder if I can get some soy beans from somewhere. They surely are not grown out here in our Mt.s.

 

 

EDITED TO ADD: wow, just read thru the whole three pages of posts for this thread Windborn posted. It IS a complex process but maybe not any more complex than homemade vinegar [i failed...too many other 'beasties'] or saurkraut [success the first year and oye-stink! the second year] . The heavy brine should kill off any non-salt-resistant beasties. Be sure to read the full thread and I think more research is needed to get specifics. The first guy was watching his experienced uncle and was vague. Other posters filled in some blanks. Fun read tho!

 

MtRider

[windmorn]

I hadn't thought about sources yet. I think where I am I could grow them, but an on hand supply to start with would be helpful. I found the beans at https://www.usaemergencysupply.com/food_storage/bulk_beans_legumes.htm but need to look for other sources. They had an info on legumes page where they listed things you can make with soy beans. I never thought about making tofu which would also produce soy milk and you would get miso making soy sauce. You can also make flour and I guess oil if you know how to press it. I think I'll be adding soy beans to my supply list. Wonder if you can find non-gmo anywhere.

[sassenach]

I love miso and soy sauce is a basic condiment I find handy for alot of dishes so having the recipe for it would be great. thanks for the posts on it. can one use plain dried soybeans or do they have to be fresh?

Oh, and also anyone like A1 sauce? thats the Brits recipe for Brown Sauce. BTW, that is, if anyone needs to know how to make it too.

Sometimes when watching salt intake I find rice vinegar, asian beginnings, there is great for rice or salads too if you like it. I think my store even sells several flavors of it.

[windmorn]

<p style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr">The recipe says dried beans cooked until soft. If you try it before I get to, please let us know how it is.

 

 

Do you have the recipe for the A1? I'd like to try that too.

<p style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr">

<p style="margin-right: 0px;" dir="ltr">

 

 

 

[sassenach]

windmorn, stopping in for a bit , will try and find it but not sure if I have it doc'd. Probably easy to find on the internet though! Ever try recipe.com ? They have a ton of things available .

ok, not recipe.com but this one has several brown sauce recipes, its ok if its refrigerated but maybe one of the master canners here has one that can be appropriately canned for long term storage.

 

http://recipes.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Category:Brown_Sauce_Recipes

 

umm, edited, checked the recipes they are just plain gravy recipes, except number 4 maybe. either way its not what i meant if we want something like the A1 and the brown sauce I had in england was just like it..... like a bottles worth on a pastie pie. We used to put a little dab on our plates to dip a bite of meat in it.....

but they pour it on in the UK I guess. I didn't complain, lol.

I will have to keep searching til I find that particular type of recipe unless someone can find it good for canning is great too... if I made a batch I would want it safe to can.

 

[windmorn]

Thanks Arby! I'll check it out and see if some of the other recipe sites I belong to have it as well. If I find one that looks good, I'll post it.

[windmorn]

[qyoute]

EDITED TO ADD: wow, just read thru the whole three pages of posts for this thread Windborn posted. It IS a complex process but maybe not any more complex than homemade vinegar [i failed...too many other 'beasties'] or saurkraut [success the first year and oye-stink! the second year] . The heavy brine should kill off any non-salt-resistant beasties. Be sure to read the full thread and I think more research is needed to get specifics. The first guy was watching his experienced uncle and was vague. Other posters filled in some blanks. Fun read tho!

 

MtRider

 

I was just re-reading because I was thinking about what if.... and just saw your edit.

 

I saw on a youtube video that the person making the sauce (different person) didn't use enough salt and it started fermenting again. Most of the homemade recipes I found had the same process as the guy in the article. I found another recipe that tells what kind of mold to use if you to make sure what is growing and a couple of other variations. I'm not sure where to get the mold though. I did a google search and it didn't come up with much on the first couple of pages. I'm thinking maybe a cheese or winemaking site.

 

I thought about trying to make vinegar as well. I'd love to be able to make things at home even if it's not a have to situation. I really need a huge out building for just of cooking/experimenting/preserving.