[mamabohl]

#1) Soy sauce is practically a staple in our house, so I want to buy the best kind I can...but I'm having a hard time finding naturally fermented soy sauce. The place listed in the "sources" section of NT has a website...but they don't carry soy sauce.

Any suggestions?

#2) This may sound stupid...but where do I go to get good fish and meat? Are there still actual butchers or do I just go to the meat counter in a grocery store?

 

[member]

The only grocery store I can find grass-fed, organic meats here is Wild Oats.

Your best bet is to find a farm in your area where you can buy direct. www.eatwild.com

 

[saratc]

I live in Northern VA, and grassfed, organic meats are impossible to find at the grocery store. There are quite a few farms in VA though that carry grassfed and close to organic (not certified, but similar practices). Eatwild.com is a good place to look up places that carry grassfed meats.

I get my Soy Sauce from Trader Joe's. I believe Whole Foods also carries a real fermented soy sauce. I like the Trader Joe's one cause it is also low sodium and I can use it for flavor while adding my own natural salt.

 

[Annabel]

try looking for tamari rather than soy sauce. As far as I can tell, it is the same thing, only without all the additives and it is naturally fermented.

 

[cobluegirl]

grr..it just erased my post...

I buy Bragg's Liquid Amino's for soy sauce. as for fish..the grocery store might have "wild caught" fish..that would be good. as for meat..there are a few natural butchers around..you would have to look in your phone book...or look for a local farmer..check out your paper...it really depends what you have available...

 

[Fermentula]

My favorite tamari/soy sauce is South River Miso Co.'s Miso Tamari. They are the only company in the US doing traditionally fermented country style Japanese misos. They are all organic and use very few ingredients. You can purchase their miso's at Whole Foods and some local HFS's but the tamari is produced in very small quantities so it is only available via mail order directly the company. They start shipping again mid-September so I would recommend checking them out. You won't be disappointed....

Speaking of Braggs.... Do you all know how Bragg's is produced? Since it is a non-fermented food, they break the soy beans down using hydrochloric acid and then neutralize the acid using baking soda. In that way, they can have the completely broken down amino acid profile listed on the label and also say no added salt because the saltiness is from the chemical reaction of the acid and the baking soda. I'm no expert but I would not in any way call Bragg's a natural product but they seem to have fooled a whole industry.

Check out www.southrivermiso.com . I love them so much.

-Marc

 

[twins10705]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fermentula Speaking of Braggs.... Do you all know how Bragg's is produced? Since it is a non-fermented food, they break the soy beans down using hydrochloric acid and then neutralize the acid using baking soda. In that way, they can have the completely broken down amino acid profile listed on the label and also say no added salt because the saltiness is from the chemical reaction of the acid and the baking soda. I'm no expert but I would not in any way call Bragg's a natural product but they seem to have fooled a whole industry.

What the heck? That sucks! What about Bragg's ACV? It is supposed to be raw and "aged in wood"...that angers me...off to google this...

 

[bigknitwit]

On the subject of "wild caught" fish, I recently read in Consumers Reports that at the grocery store counter (depending on the grocery store), especially in the off-season for different fish varieties, they are frequently lying and the fish is farm raised, being sold as "wild caught". Who knows if it's the grocery store lying, or whomeever they purchase from, but I found it definite food for thought...

 

[rstump]

As far as I know their ACV is great but the "soy" product is a major problem.

We use wheat free tamari and love it.

 

[cobluegirl]

whoa..thanks for the heads up..I had no idea.

 

[Fermentula]

As far as ACV goes, I choose Eden Organic or Omega Nutrition because I like the idea of store-grade apples being used to make the ACV and not windfall apples. Wind-fall are apples from the orchard ground that are picked up and processed into cider for ACV. I don't know what grade apples Bragg's uses but since their liquid aminos are so sketcky, why would their ACV be any different? Sorry to sound negative but once I heard how the aminos were made I have a strong distaste for the whole company.

-Marc

 

[gardenmommy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fermentula As far as ACV goes, I choose Eden Organic or Omega Nutrition because I like the idea of store-grade apples being used to make the ACV and not windfall apples. Wind-fall are apples from the orchard ground that are picked up and processed into cider for ACV. I don't know what grade apples Bragg's uses but since their liquid aminos are so sketcky, why would their ACV be any different? Sorry to sound negative but once I heard how the aminos were made I have a strong distaste for the whole company. -Marc

Many windfall apples are perfectly fine. We used to go to the orchard specifically for these for making applesauce (they were free). Just because it's not "handpicked" (most apples aren't btw, they're shaken into a catcher) doesn't mean that it isn't perfectly edible.

My local grocery store carries (in season) wild-caught sockeye salmon. It's a bit pricey, but it is definitely wild, not farmed (they have both, side by side in the case, and the difference is obvious). They list their source, and it's only available, in a good year, for about 6-8 weeks.

 

[kbchavez]

I agree with the negative assessment of Bragg's aminos, but they DO have two wonderful salad dressings made with cold pressed olive oil and ACV. It's the only store bought salad dressing I've ever seen with ONLY EVO. Probably because it gets hard in the fridge, and most people wouldn't like that. I just don't refrigerate mine.

I just checked the ingredients, and there are liquid aminos in the dressings. Bummer. I still think they're better than other store bought dressings, thought. I think the amount of aminos is small, but it's still sad...

 

[mmenzies]

Just thought I'd chime in and say where we buy our seafood. I have to say, this is the best salmon that I have ever had and well worth the price. Also, when I don't have much time to cook, I'll make salmon patties with the canned stuff - I buy the cans with skins and bones and grind it all in the vitamix. It is really awesome.

http://www.vitalchoice.com/