Welcome to the new seasoning series where we will explore the different sauces and seasonings available at Clearspring and their uses.
Tamari
What's the difference between shoyu soya sauce and tamari soya sauce?
Shoyu is made using soya beans and wheat while tamari does not contain wheat. Clearspring Tamari is certified gluten-free by the Coeliac Society. Find out more.
How is it made?
Clearspring Tamari is made using 500 year old techniques which gives it a complex and tasty flavour more intense than other tamari sauces. It is made using only whole beans and it takes more than 300 beans to produce just one 150ml bottle. Read the Tamari producer story here.
What's it used for?
Tamari soya sauce can be used in much the same way as conventional soya sauce. As it has such a unique, deep flavour it will always add an extra dimension to your dish and can even be used in place of salt to season food. To really make the most of the tamari taste, use it on its own as a condiment on chilled silken tofu or cooked vegetables and salads or add it to salad dressing, soups and sauces. Alternatively, use it as a marinade for tofu, shiitake mushrooms or add it to a cooking broth for a flavour boost to simmered vegetables or any other ingredient of your choice. You can also use it as a seasoning for roasted nuts and grains.
Ume Plum Seasoning
What is Ume Plum Seasoning?
Ume Plum Seasoning is the juice from pickling Japanese plums - ume. It has a tangy, salty, citric taste and attractive pink colour. In Japan it is much loved.
Is it good for you?
For a long time umeboshi have been used as a folk remedy in Japan to cure anything from the common cold to stomach complaints and to improve liver and kidney function. They are also said to fight fatigue. Ume Plum Seasoning contains many of the healing qualities and nutrients associated with umeboshi. For more information click here.
What's it used for?
Ume Plum Seasoning is versatile. It can be used in place of regular vinegar in dressings and dips, or alone as a dip for tempura, tofu or cooked vegetables such as broccoli. It works equally well for vegetable pickling, infusing the ingredients with a lovely ume flavour and subtle pink colour. Alternatively, try using it in stir-fries for an interesting sour edge. When cooking with ume seasoning it is not generally necessary to add salt or other salty condiments as it is already quite salty.
Teriyaki
What's so special about Clearspring Teriyaki sauce?
Clearspring Organic Teriyaki Sauce is a delicious versatile sauce, made to an authentic Japanese recipe. Organic Mikawa Mirin (sweet rice seasoning) and Malt Syrup are used as a sweetner rather than commonly used refined sugars. It's good taste and has been recognised by the Great Taste Award.
What does it taste like?
Clearspring Organic Teriyaki Sauce is rich and savoury with a naturally sweet and tangy taste.
What is it used for?
Clearspring Teriyaki Sauce can be used as a glaze for vegetables, tofu and tasty summer kebabs. Try skewering a selection of your favourite vegetables such as asparagus, red peppers, courgettes and onions and grilling or barbecuing them. You can either coat them in Teriyaki Sauce before you start cooking or use it to baste them during the process. You can also use Teriyaki Sauce as a tangy addition to stir-fried vegetables, noodles and rice or to enrich simmered shiitake mushrooms for use in stews and sushi or noodle rolls. Alternatively, use it as a condiment for wholesome veggie roasts.
Mirin
What is Mirin?
Mirin is a sweet sake and one of the three essential seasonings in Japanese cuisine, together with soya sauce and rice vinegar. It has a unique power to draw out the flavours of ingredients, giving a wonderful richness and depth to all kinds of cooking.It is even used in making fruit-added liqueurs, such as plum wine. Traditionally it has been prepared with sweet glutinous rice as the base ingredient, but today, most conventional mirin is made with various cheap starches. Our Organic Mikawa Mirin is brewed in the traditional way, to create a thick and delicious, naturally sweet liquid that complements many dishes.
How’s it made?
A culture known as koji is mixed with sweet glutinous rice and shochu and allowed to ferment for up to three months. The liquid is then strained away from the solids and further matured for as much as 200 days to make mirin. This traditional and lengthy brewing process gives Clearspring Mirin an exceptionally delicious, rich and complex flavour. Find out more about mirin brewing here.
What is it used for?
Mirin adds both sweetness and umami to dishes, complementing the other tastes to make a more rounded and satisfying flavour. It can be added to dipping sauces such as summer soba; hotpots, soups and stews; used as a marinade ingredient; mixed into dressings; and splashed into stir-fries.
What's the difference between standard rice vinegar and Clearspring Brown Rice Vinegar?
There are two major differences between conventional rice vinegar and Clearspring Brown Rice Vinegar. Firstly, rice vinegar tends to be made from polished (white) rice, while Clearspring Rice Vinegar is made from unpolished (brown) rice. Secondly, Clearspring Brown Rice Vinegar is fermented for much longer than normal rice vinegar. Produce in Kyushu, one of the southern islands of Japan, a 1,000 year old method is used to make the vinegar in a process that has been lost elsewhere. Pure brown rice wine is slowly fermented outdoors for over a year. The result of these two factors is a vinegar that is full-bodied and sweet, yet mild, without the harsh sharpness that other vinegars often have.
What is it used for?
Brown Rice Vinegar is the perfect seasoning for all sorts of dishes, adding a mellow vinegary kick as well as a hint of sweetness. It works in a whole range of dressings for noodles, vegetables, sea vegetables, and salads. It can be added to sushi rice, dips and grains.