My dad was given a bottle of this stuff for a business deal he did with some Japanese folks but he doesn't really eat rice or knew how special it was until my brothers friend who's half Japanese came over and got all googley eyed lol so my dad gave it to him and he had us over for a big Japanese feast, it was amazing
I thought the same. But I must ask, do the favors go acidic, pungent soy, fermented (wine) soy, mild salt? If it is what I imagined, I definitely will buy at some point.
i had bought a bottle before this, the most expensive one at 220 pounds (38 years of aging process), and i must say, the flavor is out of this world. Very smooth sweet taste but the after taste leaves your mouth with a very tangy salty flavor followed by slight notes of earthy wine, its a powerful aromatic i can only describe as rich and dark. Amazing soy sauce.
That would *suck*. I'm pretty sure they must taste-test weekly though. I figure if it somehow "went bad", they'd just toss it out or use it for another purpose somehow before wasting more time.
@@Mrtheunnameable yeah, they open it up and be like "Damn, the bastard put a handful of Froot Loops in here right before it was sealed!" Greatest 40 year prank ever.
HA! I didn't see those two mice the first time. For all the people saying attention to detail you would think that the mice would've been removed before the cameras came in.
I have great respect for the Okada family and their tradition. I hope that more people will see this video and help this company to be more profitable and long-lasting.
@@Phlegethon I wonder... If that's what is was... makes sense though, any rodents falling in wouldn't be able to climb the sheer sides of the tank and the contents would rapidly cause them to dehydrate, die, and desiccate...
@@Phlegethon bacterias from dead mices wont do much to the pulp due to its salt and acidity content. Whats more baffling is their 40+year old "soy sauce", it cannot be a thing or be profitable whatsoever, person in the video compares this to vinnegar but it cannot be compared since its open fermentation compaerd to vinnegar jugs, this soy sauce will just completely evaporate and the idea itself is wrong and cannot be sustainable.
I live in Higashikagawa and seen the surroundings of this soy sauce factory and the museum. I haven’t tasted the actual product but the smell of the soy sauce from the factory was so good! The town of Hiketa in Higashikagawa is very rural but people visit this town for some fun events like Hinamatsuri doll display (spring), Fireworks display (summer), and gloves fair (autumn). Long ago Higashikagawa produced salt from Seto inland sea until glove production began. Gloves production is also another highlight in Higashikagawa so I highly recommend giving my town a visit!
@@inquisitorwalmarius6650 That was long ago. At least in Hiketa it’s not famous for salt making anymore. However Salt-Lemon flavored delicacies are famous around the Seto sea region.
Crazy how this is ‘so expensive.’ Imagine what everything else’s standards are. This is why I have trust issues because I know other people out there be slacking since it’s just easier
Narrator: "before the soy sauce can even begin to be created, workers must first enter the building. This first step is crucial to the decades-old tradition: step too far to the left, and they'll miss the door completely. If they don't turn the doorknob far enough, the door won't open, and the soybeans will never be cooked. It has taken Miyataro-shinsaki 300 years to master this art. Let's hear his advice for the younger generation." M: "my father wouldn't even let me step on the foundation without first practicing my stepping-technique. He had me place my right foot on a single grain of rice for 60 years, every day, until my heels were bloodied, before I could think of attempting both feet. Only by attuning the soles of your feet with the ground that the soybeans rest on, can you attune your soul to the soy sauce-making process." Narrator: "this explains the extraordinary pricetag to the soy sauce -- $0.75 for 6 gallons. But will tradition alone be enough to preserve this cherished industry? Only time will tell."
@@mattw5840 Yikes. However, it is kind of amusing that people with more dollars than sense (cents get it lol) are swilling it down with their pinky stuck out thinking "I'm so special". 🤣
The "3D" category was great and I'm going to start using that going forward. Also the producer asking "what would happen if I jumped in?" was fantastic. Really out there representing people like me...
Recently bought myself a bottle of Yamaroku Soy Sauce (aged 4 years) because of one of Insider's videos. I was just curious about comparing it to Kikkoman and it blows cheap soy sauce out of the water. Such complexity of flavor and richness. Can't imagine how much better soy sauce aged for 20 years would taste.
Once people got the gist of the science behind fermentation and other methods of food preservation, aged beans is an inevitable byproduct of humans evolved understanding of food science. I doubt people actually immediately thought that aging all these products was a good idea, it was trial and error.
At 2:14 That's wheat, not soybeans. Its purpose is to add another layer of aroma and increase the sugar content of the mixture to help the fermentation process and to give the final product a thicker feel.
May the Kamebishi soy sauce company remain in the hands of the Okada family for another 18 generations without sacrificing the quality. Admittedly this is quite unlikely for many reasons, however one can hope.
We need to hold on to our traditions worldwide, I believe that is one of the things that makes us human. Much respect to the Okada family for keeping such a labor intensive production method alive.
Traditions are just solutions to problems that nobody even remembers or knows what the problem is anymore..... but abandon the tradition and you will soon damn well find out.
I live in Japan just north of the area where they make it. I ordered some of their soy sauce, I stopped at the 5 year bottle. It was 200ml for 13USD, which is expensive considering you can get a normal 1 litre bottle for like 1.40USD. Different from the normal supermarket soy sauce for sure. Not sure if I will ever get the 20 year old stuff. Maybe as christmas present one year. (= These are definitely a finishing product. I wouldn't use it to make fried rice or something like that.
Make it into a "luxury good" and it will have the hype and will be sold out. That way the business can keep going on. I think the biggest issues is that ppl would not know how to use it so it can't be fully appreciated thus less ppl would be less inclinded to buy or try. You would need to get a master chef to pair it with the most amazing dish and ppl would go for it.
@@solconnection2 They need to partner up with high-end restaurants to make a signature dish with the item or with one of those "craft" type boutique eateries that will sell smaller bottle of it at a lower price, preferable a tourist trap area. I do this professionally btw, -marketing essentially, but more on the creative side. Lol. And by experience, you don't need a good product to sell it. Look at Temu, everyone know what that is. Most business go out bc they don't want to spend on marketing but it works. I learned that in my business/econ. class which mostly entailed studying failed businesses and identifying what went wrong.
Everytime a new video about some expensive, rare food item comes out, I’m furiously tryna find out if I can buy it online, absolutely ready to spend $100+ for some soy sauce lol
I don't know whether the surface material in those aging vats will get into the final product and probably it won't, but I have to say that if those are dead mice at 8:47 it is more than just a bit off-putting. But I love the process, the obvious rarity of the sauce and the magic of waiting this long and then be blown away.
Kamebishi is quite rare, which explains its hefty price tag. The whole process behind that may have costed a lot more that usual with making soy sauce.
The video didn't explicitly state that the process costs more than the final product, people (to the dummies replying to this comment, specifically). The rarity is assumed given these videos' usual fare. Jesus, I swear there are so many "geniuses" here. 😒
It's technically not soy based either. The Swiss sauce is supposed to be some kind of meat extract with herb flavoring. It's still very good and can be used in similar applications.
I kind of feel sorry for the current owner - in the way that she truly wanted to do something else with her life. I understand that Japanese culture has an emphasis on heritage and the preservation of family businesses, but hopefully she can find someone else to pass this business along to so she could move on to whatever lies next. The look in her eyes and the way her body language speaks is what's giving me this observation. Maybe I'm just talking out of my ass, though.
She made the smart choice of continuing this ancient family business. Sometimes you have to go against your desire for something more niche and favorable and convenient. She might not even become successful if she pursue other careers due to insane competitive markets nowadays.
I'm a respiratory therapist. When they mentioned "mold" and they were wearing no masks or regular surgical masks, it terrified me. Fungal infections are the WORST infections you can get.
I love how the Japanese don’t compromise from what they feel is the correct way to make or do anything. It doesn’t have to be technologically complex. It’s about doing it the CORRECT way. I hope to try this soy sauce one day.
Because that's part of the natural process. The fermentation will catch up to the carcasses. Plus, that batch isn't going to be pressed, so it should be fine
Honesty Level 💯! But still, you know they gonna Film so just pick them out like others do! On such Occasions... Still Safe because Saltcontent and Heat after Bottling but still.😂
@bogusbits6810Most people are price conscious considering the ridiculous cost of living these days. Anything aged that long will be crazy expensive because the maker has to charge money for all those years of waiting. So naturally there will be very less demand for it unless it's so incredible that it can literally turn turd into honey.
I didn't have this brand, but I got a 20 year aged bottle of soy sauce a while back. Worth the money if you've got a little expendable income. It's not even a comparison to what we see in stores today.
It's sad that our palates have become so homogenised by industrial food processes, most will never have the opportunity or inclination to taste the time it takes to make these wonderful foods.
More people will taste it now as compared to any other time in history. prior this type of stuff would've been reserved to royalty or the insanely rich. Now niche things have dedicated audiences of many thousands and realistically anyone living in a first world country has the ability to purchase it if they really want to.
Wow, all this amazing hard work for a product that you have to believe the methodology of based on the people who did it before you and wrote it down! Imagine you spend 50 years of your life making soy sauce that you just have to hope will be the best. I have the utmost respect for crafts like this, such belief in tradition and honest hard work.
Wheat and barley are different grains. Those were wheat berries, not barley and definitely not soy beans. I have no idea where the narrator got the idea that barley was anywhere in the factory? Do they actually say barley anywhere in the video in Japanese? The subtitles keep talking about wheat.
I love how my soy sauce in the cupboard has a best by date that is about 1 year from the purchase date. In the meantime, they are purposely aging it for 20 years in open vats. I guess mine is just gaining value the longer it sits!
That soy sauce will last a lot longer than a year. I have some on the shelf that is about 7 yrs old. It is my emergency stash Lol and it is stout after so long. There is definitely some type of aging going on. It is very dark, you can't see through even a small amount in a bowl. It is thicker than the newer stuff (not as thick as the stuff in the video) and the flavor profile is completely different. It has a really rich umami flavor, far less salty with fruity notes and just a little hint of bitter. It is not like any soy sauce I have ever purchased. I seriously recommend sitting on a bottle for a few years. There should be no need to refrigerate it or anything, at least I have not done anything with mine but sit it on a shelf. So long as it does not grow mold you're good. I wish I could tell you exactly the point the flavor changed but I think about 2-3yrs and it just kept intensifying over time.
@@MA-mh1vs Ok, this bugged me for a few days, it's enough, I need answers: -Was it light soy sauce? Dark soy sauce? Another different kind? -Was it still sealed with the thinghy that you throw away when the bottle is opened or already opened and then just closed? -What brand was it? -Did it reduce over time? I'm seriously evaluating buying like 2-3 500ml bottles just for that purpose, maybe trying to see if something will change, what, how... 2-3? Maybe even more, damn, I could totally picture myself going insane over it and like trying different products, buying 1 bottle each every year for a while. After all 500ml is like 1.5-4€, so that would be like a no more than 20€/year dangerously interesting experiment. I can already picture myself in like 5 years, at the end of my PhD, with 25 different bottles.
@@mattia_carciola It is just the normal Kikkoman soy sauce. I got it from where I worked at the time, they got it in bulk so I transferred it into clean plastic bottles. Those bottles are like the ones the 16oz milks are in but I transferred a few into this bigger container that is a thicker opaque plastic that once had oil in it. I will note that the gallon of dark soy I bought came in an opaque plastic jug rather than a clear one. Since sunlight can degrade soy sauce I expect that is why the larger quantity was not in clear plastic. So using opaque plastic might be advisable as it may not give the same effect in clear plastic unless you keep it out of the light. Maybe try some in both. Based on what I have read with the soy sauce being unsealed and in plastic does allow for oxidation to occur and some degree of evaporation can occur through the plastic. In addition an online search says pasteurization of Kikkoman soy sauce kills 'most' of the vegetative cells. Those are the bacterium used in fermenting and most is not all. So I believe I am correct that some fermentation is also occurring in my soy sauce.
I've heard that the the expiry date is not the expiry date of the sauce, but rather the point at which the plastic bottle start to breakdown and leech carcinogens into the liquid.
I saw a bug leg at about 8:06 of course if you are fermenting something in open air you will accumulate quite the collection of insects in your concoction. It probably adds to the complex flavors you get.
yeah i thought about that too. 20 years is a lot of random stuff that gets on top. strings, dirt, bugs, etc. but osmosis, heating, and filtering will obviously rid it of those.
And several Mice!😂 Nothing unusual in open Food production, but usually picked before Filming! High Saltcontent and Heat after Bottling making it safe. Just a, normally hidden, True.
It's sad that so many of these generational companies are so unsure if the new generation will carry on a family business, simply because it's hard work.
The younger generation simply don't want to work. I am saying this as a young person myself. Everyone of my age just wants to earn money by typing on a keyboard. Physical work is a strict no-no.
@@anupdev5845 they younger generation wants clear guarantees from their job, something that physical job are failing more and more, and "typing on a keyboard" jobs are a bit better at. Signed, a person that is tired to "type on a keyboard" as a job and cannot find a physical job with decent enough work-life balance.
Companies like these, ones that maintain traditional styles of manufacturing ANYTHING, should be preserved by their country's governments somehow. As long as they stay true to the processes, then they're basically historical artifacts. Far too often businesses like these go under because other companies can just outpace them.
Weird that soy sauce is "tanking" in sales. I love it, and in the last few years I've been adding it to soups, stews, pastas, and even marinade for meats. Perhaps it's phasing out from one group of people, and being enjoyed by another? Who knows!
More like with this type of expensive soy sauce asian usually buy it for gift. And I don't think younger generation would interested in gifting soy sauce to their friends or co worker when you can get pretty package candy or electric product.
2:18 I wonder if that steam has anti-aging properties akin to rice as a part of geishas’ beauty regimen [Beauty brand: Tatcha] If it does then I’d want to have a steamed soybean sauna
I would buy a bottle of this to share with my daughter. We both love Japanese food, and I have always loved Japan. I started learning katakana and hiragana when I was 12, although Japanese is a hard language to learn for someone like me.
Narrator: "before the soy sauce can even begin to be created, workers must first enter the building. This first step is crucial to the decades-old tradition: step too far to the left, and they'll miss the door completely. If they don't turn the doorknob far enough, the door won't open, and the soybeans will never be cooked. It has taken Miyataro-shinsaki 300 years to master this art. Let's hear his advice for the younger generation." The dickriding is crazyyyy
Soy is one of those mysterious foods that’s used for a lot of things, soy milk, soy sauce to even non food items like candles it’s absolutely amazing and we have south East Asians to thank for that because without them we probably wouldn’t have soy anything, funnily enough my state has been planting soybeans alongside tobacco and sugar cane!
Probably none, cleanliness in facilities like that is taken much more seriously in japan than in other countries, you would need to have a cockroach or rat infestation for any of them to end up in it at all. They're not making it in a nasty trash filled apartment, you probably consume more insects and rat bits.
@@rozzi574 Bro LOL I didn't even make it that far into the video to see that thank you for time stamping it! All these comments about cleanliness, clearly they didn't finish the video either! SEVERAL DEAD RATS LOL
My dad was given a bottle of this stuff for a business deal he did with some Japanese folks but he doesn't really eat rice or knew how special it was until my brothers friend who's half Japanese came over and got all googley eyed lol so my dad gave it to him and he had us over for a big Japanese feast, it was amazing
What exactly Is its flavor profile like?
@@chaytonhurlow840 it's basically a way more concentrated version than the stuff ur used to so u don't need alot
I thought the same.
But I must ask, do the favors go acidic, pungent soy, fermented (wine) soy, mild salt?
If it is what I imagined, I definitely will buy at some point.
*flavors
@@chaytonhurlow840 I think it would be all of the above plus umami that's why it's special.
i had bought a bottle before this, the most expensive one at 220 pounds (38 years of aging process), and i must say, the flavor is out of this world. Very smooth sweet taste but the after taste leaves your mouth with a very tangy salty flavor followed by slight notes of earthy wine, its a powerful aromatic i can only describe as rich and dark. Amazing soy sauce.
Kinko's is better.
@@escapetarkov3838 next time you are thinking of escaping tarkov, just stay
I like La Choy
if i pay 220 for soy sauce commit me to the asylum@@bennybeeeee
I like the cheap soy sauce made in a lab
The attention to detail, the wooden room, the fiber rings on the barrels, everything about the process is respect for tradition. Beautiful.
I am fascinated and perhaps a little grossed out, not sure lol.
Good thing they pasteurize it before selling.
I wonder how many pounds of human skin flakes in that special sauce?
Omg, unnecessarily tedious thing, japan
8:47
The blue plastic tarp
Funny how if you worked there and prepared everything for aging, they wouldn't know if you did a good job till 20 years later.
What about the 41 year old soy sauce that is older than the person working on it?
That would *suck*. I'm pretty sure they must taste-test weekly though. I figure if it somehow "went bad", they'd just toss it out or use it for another purpose somehow before wasting more time.
@@Mrtheunnameable yeah, they open it up and be like "Damn, the bastard put a handful of Froot Loops in here right before it was sealed!" Greatest 40 year prank ever.
@@schizo8923LMAO
American mentality
Ingredients: Soy, Wheat, Barley and Mice. 8:48
Extra protein for more umami flavour!
HA! I didn't see those two mice the first time. For all the people saying attention to detail you would think that the mice would've been removed before the cameras came in.
Japanese mice. They know a good soy sauce.
Damn, that is nasty…
I guess if it’s gonna sit there for 50 years it’ll get visited by some mice 😂
I have great respect for the Okada family and their tradition. I hope that more people will see this video and help this company to be more profitable and long-lasting.
Hope more people will see the dead mice at 8:48
@@Phlegethon I wonder... If that's what is was... makes sense though, any rodents falling in wouldn't be able to climb the sheer sides of the tank and the contents would rapidly cause them to dehydrate, die, and desiccate...
@@Phlegethon bacterias from dead mices wont do much to the pulp due to its salt and acidity content.
Whats more baffling is their 40+year old "soy sauce", it cannot be a thing or be profitable whatsoever, person in the video compares this to vinnegar but it cannot be compared since its open fermentation compaerd to vinnegar jugs, this soy sauce will just completely evaporate and the idea itself is wrong and cannot be sustainable.
Looks like they're selling a 38 year option for £275/ 55g already@@Vivinski7
@@Phlegethon Whoa...you'd think they'd at least pick them out, WTF.
I live in Higashikagawa and seen the surroundings of this soy sauce factory and the museum. I haven’t tasted the actual product but the smell of the soy sauce from the factory was so good! The town of Hiketa in Higashikagawa is very rural but people visit this town for some fun events like Hinamatsuri doll display (spring), Fireworks display (summer), and gloves fair (autumn). Long ago Higashikagawa produced salt from Seto inland sea until glove production began. Gloves production is also another highlight in Higashikagawa so I highly recommend giving my town a visit!
soo, you are saying you could, set up a salt shop around seto and make money? like the danish shore salt shops do?
@@inquisitorwalmarius6650 That was long ago. At least in Hiketa it’s not famous for salt making anymore. However Salt-Lemon flavored delicacies are famous around the Seto sea region.
@@kunogi09midori that is interesting. Really.
How could you live so near and not ever bought soy sauce from them? I'd have gone back time and time again...
@@jiahaotan696 Because it’s very expensive T_T Instead I buy Shodoshima island’s soy sauce which is just across the inland sea.
The sauce is very thick and condensed which genuinely tells its quality and texture as well as the efforts people put into the process
I can condense and make a grocery store bought soy sauce by simply heating it to evaporate the water content. EFFORT PROCESS!
Except the dead rats at 8:48
8:48 no one going to mention that?
Glad I'm not the only one to see those 2 dead mice.
Itsa tru o m g
probably died from the mold next to it...
@@halbschwabe maybe they were jus cuddling and they decided to take a quick nap there
Crazy how this is ‘so expensive.’ Imagine what everything else’s standards are. This is why I have trust issues because I know other people out there be slacking since it’s just easier
They highlighted another aged soy sauce last year and I bought a bottle. It's amazing. I bet this one is worth every penny.
i was just about to say that
@@experimenter19 same!
My boyfriend bought me one and I am now an addict. Wood barrel aging or bust!
It’s been in my wish list lol
@@gc2236 Yamaroku traditional wood-barrel aged soy sauce. About 45$ a bottle tho.
The narrator of these So Expensive videos always sounds like every detail is the most impressive and unbelievable thing they've ever heard
Narrator: "before the soy sauce can even begin to be created, workers must first enter the building. This first step is crucial to the decades-old tradition: step too far to the left, and they'll miss the door completely. If they don't turn the doorknob far enough, the door won't open, and the soybeans will never be cooked. It has taken Miyataro-shinsaki 300 years to master this art. Let's hear his advice for the younger generation."
M: "my father wouldn't even let me step on the foundation without first practicing my stepping-technique. He had me place my right foot on a single grain of rice for 60 years, every day, until my heels were bloodied, before I could think of attempting both feet. Only by attuning the soles of your feet with the ground that the soybeans rest on, can you attune your soul to the soy sauce-making process."
Narrator: "this explains the extraordinary pricetag to the soy sauce -- $0.75 for 6 gallons. But will tradition alone be enough to preserve this cherished industry? Only time will tell."
@@Atylonisus😂😂😂
@@Atylonisusthis is genius. I read this in the narrators voice
@@Atylonisus This is so true 😂😂😂😂
I just wish she'd put some effort into pronunciation.
"Gor-gee" made me cringe every time.
8:45 - Those dead mice laying on top of the 50 year old soy sauce add just that extra little bit of kick to the flavor profile.
Yea, I think that guy with the pole was smashing them 🤣🤣
WTF?
How many mice must be in the tanks that are full of liquid soy sauce, i bet there's a lot of bones at the bottom
@@mattw5840 Yikes. However, it is kind of amusing that people with more dollars than sense (cents get it lol) are swilling it down with their pinky stuck out thinking "I'm so special". 🤣
Damn that’s wild
The "3D" category was great and I'm going to start using that going forward. Also the producer asking "what would happen if I jumped in?" was fantastic. Really out there representing people like me...
Recently bought myself a bottle of Yamaroku Soy Sauce (aged 4 years) because of one of Insider's videos. I was just curious about comparing it to Kikkoman and it blows cheap soy sauce out of the water. Such complexity of flavor and richness. Can't imagine how much better soy sauce aged for 20 years would taste.
You’re selling pitch is perfect for me to make this adult purchase. 😊
It probably tastes like more mice like 8:48
@@Phlegethon 🐭
@@Phlegethondamnnn. i need to pause and look carefully to see the mouse. haha
😂
Crazy how foods get invented, "let's take some beans and wait till they go bad and look like toddler diarrhea. Then it's going to be tasty"
Haha, mmm, toddler diarrhea. My favorite. The bits of animal cracker and celery with oeanut butter give the product this uniquely umami flavor.
Somebody forgot a wine barrel and turned out to be good vinegar after 75+ years.
You could say the same for beer
Once people got the gist of the science behind fermentation and other methods of food preservation, aged beans is an inevitable byproduct of humans evolved understanding of food science. I doubt people actually immediately thought that aging all these products was a good idea, it was trial and error.
I love the 2 dead mice in the moromi at 8:48 . thank god this stuff is pasteurized and filtered
Extra tangy and salty flavour
Secret ingredient leaked.
flavor enhancers lol
umamicey
I honestly think that's just oddly shaped mold.
man I really hope they can keep this up, a tradition stemming from so many centuries needs to keep going!
I came here by searching "dead rat soy sauce documentary"
youtube's SEO is SO Optimized.
I love the videos it shows so many details of the making process and why it is so expensive. The so expensive series is my personal favorite.
At 2:14 That's wheat, not soybeans. Its purpose is to add another layer of aroma and increase the sugar content of the mixture to help the fermentation process and to give the final product a thicker feel.
May the Kamebishi soy sauce company remain in the hands of the Okada family for another 18 generations without sacrificing the quality.
Admittedly this is quite unlikely for many reasons, however one can hope.
I second this blessing!
There is NO WAY at 8:47 I'm looking at two dead mice...
We need to hold on to our traditions worldwide, I believe that is one of the things that makes us human. Much respect to the Okada family for keeping such a labor intensive production method alive.
Traditions are just solutions to problems that nobody even remembers or knows what the problem is anymore..... but abandon the tradition and you will soon damn well find out.
THE DEDICATION THEY PUT ON WHAT THEY DO IS JUST MINDBLOWING. I WISH ONE DAY I WILL FIND MY CALLING AND BE AS DEDICATED AS THIS PEOPLE.
SO FOUR DAYS LATER, DID YOU FIND YOUR CALLING?
IF ONLY THEY WERE A TINY BIT MORE DEDICATED THEY COULD HAVE PICKED ALL THE DEAD RODENTS OUT BEFORE THE FILM CREW SHOWED UP
I live in Japan just north of the area where they make it. I ordered some of their soy sauce, I stopped at the 5 year bottle. It was 200ml for 13USD, which is expensive considering you can get a normal 1 litre bottle for like 1.40USD. Different from the normal supermarket soy sauce for sure. Not sure if I will ever get the 20 year old stuff. Maybe as christmas present one year. (= These are definitely a finishing product. I wouldn't use it to make fried rice or something like that.
9:10 guy wears a face mask 8:48 just dead mice casually laying there in your traditional Japanese sauce
Make it into a "luxury good" and it will have the hype and will be sold out. That way the business can keep going on. I think the biggest issues is that ppl would not know how to use it so it can't be fully appreciated thus less ppl would be less inclinded to buy or try. You would need to get a master chef to pair it with the most amazing dish and ppl would go for it.
much better marketing idea than soy sauce pizzas
@@solconnection2 They need to partner up with high-end restaurants to make a signature dish with the item or with one of those "craft" type boutique eateries that will sell smaller bottle of it at a lower price, preferable a tourist trap area. I do this professionally btw, -marketing essentially, but more on the creative side. Lol. And by experience, you don't need a good product to sell it. Look at Temu, everyone know what that is. Most business go out bc they don't want to spend on marketing but it works. I learned that in my business/econ. class which mostly entailed studying failed businesses and identifying what went wrong.
Everytime a new video about some expensive, rare food item comes out, I’m furiously tryna find out if I can buy it online, absolutely ready to spend $100+ for some soy sauce lol
Good luck there's dead mice in there soy sauce, how did you miss it? 8.30 watch.
@@alfiebarrett2485yeah, it's extra flavour
go for it! they had another aged soy sauce video. i bought a bottle, and it was really good!
Do you wanna buy some dead mice?
@@alfiebarrett2485 why you too negative .. let them do whatever they want with their money
I don't know whether the surface material in those aging vats will get into the final product and probably it won't, but I have to say that if those are dead mice at 8:47 it is more than just a bit off-putting.
But I love the process, the obvious rarity of the sauce and the magic of waiting this long and then be blown away.
They probably dried out by now and are not a health risk from the sheer amount of salt at least
Kamebishi is quite rare, which explains its hefty price tag. The whole process behind that may have costed a lot more that usual with making soy sauce.
Thanks, captain obvious
I’m sure that seemed smart in your head, before you watched the video and realized that’s what it explains. Obviously.
Einstein...
The video didn't explicitly state that the process costs more than the final product, people (to the dummies replying to this comment, specifically). The rarity is assumed given these videos' usual fare. Jesus, I swear there are so many "geniuses" here. 😒
Human skin flake sauce is not cheap.
And here I thought Maggi soy sauce was expensive.😆
It's technically not soy based either. The Swiss sauce is supposed to be some kind of meat extract with herb flavoring.
It's still very good and can be used in similar applications.
This whole video hits different after noticing the two dead mice in one vat. @8:47
I doubt the cameraman pans right over them and the editor cuts to it if it’s not just an optical illusion. Maybe? I dunno 😂
02:15 , it's not soybean. It's wheat grain.
I caught that too and was looking for this comment. 😂
8:48 the 50 year soy sauce must really be something else with all the dead mice in it...
No shot... is that really mice hahaa
just down the road you can buy dog for dinner aswell :)
Had to pause and go back to look. Those are for sure dead mice in there.
08:00 Daam Producer was asking the question as I was thinking it at the same time. Good video flow
bro tell me those aint rats in the soy sause at 8:48
I kind of feel sorry for the current owner - in the way that she truly wanted to do something else with her life. I understand that Japanese culture has an emphasis on heritage and the preservation of family businesses, but hopefully she can find someone else to pass this business along to so she could move on to whatever lies next. The look in her eyes and the way her body language speaks is what's giving me this observation. Maybe I'm just talking out of my ass, though.
I hope you prefer investing over saving because investing saves lives
To be fair she said her father gave a her a clear choice. And she herself made it. Americans and other westerners are plenty "traditional" too.
@@only1_babybashfanpagewhat does this have to do with what he said?
She made the smart choice of continuing this ancient family business. Sometimes you have to go against your desire for something more niche and favorable and convenient. She might not even become successful if she pursue other careers due to insane competitive markets nowadays.
You extrapolated all that from her body language? Lol. I love RUclips. Full of expert psychologists.
8:47 couple mice sacrificed themselves for that extra umami
8:47 we just gonna gloss over the fact there's just dead mice marinating releasing all that juicy flavor in there okay
No one commenting on the dead mice sitting in the vats of soy sauce. 8:48.
I was really digging this sauce until i saw the VAT WITH 2 DEAD RATS IN IT!!!!! Now im really starting to hate when they deacribe it as tangy 😅
I love the level of commitment that goes into making things of old fashion Chinese and Japanese culture.
*8:46** - There are dead mice on top.*
that makes the Jap sauce very expensive.
I'm a respiratory therapist. When they mentioned "mold" and they were wearing no masks or regular surgical masks, it terrified me. Fungal infections are the WORST infections you can get.
Just because you spent a long time on it doesn't make it good. Also the 8:48 dead mouse in the sauce I can do without.
I love how the Japanese don’t compromise from what they feel is the correct way to make or do anything. It doesn’t have to be technologically complex. It’s about doing it the CORRECT way. I hope to try this soy sauce one day.
😂8:48 the mice too??
0:02 me after eating gluten
I love any artisnal product. Its so cool to watch the process, and people totally master a craft.
Must be the mouses at 8:48 that gives it the unique flavoring 😂😅
I count at least two mice in the shot at 8:49
Narrator: Soy sauce starts with its most basic ingredient: soy beans
Video: shows barley...
Thank you, I felt like I was going crazy and couldn't see anyone else in the comments that noticed this
At that part of the video I was like "Why do the soybeans look like little coffee beans?"
8:48 theres two dead rats floating on the fermenting soy sauce pool
i'm might be wrong, but are those mices on top of the aged soy sauces at 8:47 ?
8:47 they even have plans to do a 50 year batch, and then pan to the batch that has at least 2 floating dead rats in it. Why leave them in there?!?!
Flavor 🤤
Because that's part of the natural process. The fermentation will catch up to the carcasses.
Plus, that batch isn't going to be pressed, so it should be fine
Honesty Level 💯!
But still, you know they gonna Film so just pick them out like others do!
On such Occasions...
Still Safe because Saltcontent and Heat after Bottling but still.😂
It’s amazing the extent of patience for sake of excellence.
I would absolutely love to use this, looks wonderful.
I will try getting it in the future 😊
Before you do, notice the, at least 2, dead rats at 8:48! IN THE SAUCE VATS
My mother is a CPA and she has a wealthy client that gives out bottles of this every year as a gift. It's so good
Narrator's voice is so soothing..
Shes getting annoying
@bogusbits6810Most people are price conscious considering the ridiculous cost of living these days. Anything aged that long will be crazy expensive because the maker has to charge money for all those years of waiting. So naturally there will be very less demand for it unless it's so incredible that it can literally turn turd into honey.
8:01 hes asking what everyone was thinking about, we all want to do that
No one mentioning the 2 dead mice at 8:47 lol
looks good though
yeah wth is that?!??!
Such a great piece, very informative and interesting to watch. I’m glad I clicked on it.
8:47 Those dead mice
holy shit
I didn't have this brand, but I got a 20 year aged bottle of soy sauce a while back. Worth the money if you've got a little expendable income. It's not even a comparison to what we see in stores today.
You're paying to get dead rats in your soy sauce 8:47
@@jazzfeline5970 "Didn't have this brand"
This would be insane with sashimi. Considering how many dishes japanese cuisine has that are raw and utilizes soy sauce for flavor.
That’s probably what this soy sauce is primarily for
One of my favorite episodes to date. Deff want to make sure I try this when I go to Japan
When ya do tell me how them mice taste skip to 8.47.
I like that steaming the soy in a cold room will ruin the flavor but the dead mice floating in the vats won’t
Is that mice in the moromi at 8:47?
Did anyone notice the dead mice in the soy tank at 8:47 ?
Flavor enhancers
Very complicated process but the outcome is very impressive and excellent
It's sad that our palates have become so homogenised by industrial food processes, most will never have the opportunity or inclination to taste the time it takes to make these wonderful foods.
More people will taste it now as compared to any other time in history. prior this type of stuff would've been reserved to royalty or the insanely rich. Now niche things have dedicated audiences of many thousands and realistically anyone living in a first world country has the ability to purchase it if they really want to.
"Tasting the time" I like that.
I wouldn't mind working a shift at KAMEBISHI its the kind of labor I enjoy for a product I love.
Wow, all this amazing hard work for a product that you have to believe the methodology of based on the people who did it before you and wrote it down!
Imagine you spend 50 years of your life making soy sauce that you just have to hope will be the best.
I have the utmost respect for crafts like this, such belief in tradition and honest hard work.
😂andd mice?? 8:48
Fascinating. Beautifully narrated too.
ANYTHING BUSINESS INSIDER JAPAN: "It takes years to master putting the label on the bottle"
Nailed it.
8:49 a number of dead mice are floating on the soy sauce and probably an untold number submerged beneath for that zesty taste!
We gonna talk about how at 2:16 seconds you guys showed wheat barley I trusted business insider’s, but now I trust them less
Noticed that too! Thought it might be wheat since most soy sauce has it but looked pearled like barley. Good eye
Wheat and barley are different grains. Those were wheat berries, not barley and definitely not soy beans. I have no idea where the narrator got the idea that barley was anywhere in the factory? Do they actually say barley anywhere in the video in Japanese? The subtitles keep talking about wheat.
Did anyone else see the dead mice sitting on the aged sauce? 8:47. Still going to buy a bottle though. Sour salty and furry...
I love how my soy sauce in the cupboard has a best by date that is about 1 year from the purchase date. In the meantime, they are purposely aging it for 20 years in open vats. I guess mine is just gaining value the longer it sits!
I don't think that would be the case as the fermentation already stopped
That soy sauce will last a lot longer than a year. I have some on the shelf that is about 7 yrs old.
It is my emergency stash Lol and it is stout after so long. There is definitely some type of aging going on. It is very dark, you can't see through even a small amount in a bowl. It is thicker than the newer stuff (not as thick as the stuff in the video) and the flavor profile is completely different. It has a really rich umami flavor, far less salty with fruity notes and just a little hint of bitter. It is not like any soy sauce I have ever purchased.
I seriously recommend sitting on a bottle for a few years. There should be no need to refrigerate it or anything, at least I have not done anything with mine but sit it on a shelf. So long as it does not grow mold you're good. I wish I could tell you exactly the point the flavor changed but I think about 2-3yrs and it just kept intensifying over time.
@@MA-mh1vs Ok, this bugged me for a few days, it's enough, I need answers:
-Was it light soy sauce? Dark soy sauce? Another different kind?
-Was it still sealed with the thinghy that you throw away when the bottle is opened or already opened and then just closed?
-What brand was it?
-Did it reduce over time?
I'm seriously evaluating buying like 2-3 500ml bottles just for that purpose, maybe trying to see if something will change, what, how... 2-3? Maybe even more, damn, I could totally picture myself going insane over it and like trying different products, buying 1 bottle each every year for a while. After all 500ml is like 1.5-4€, so that would be like a no more than 20€/year dangerously interesting experiment. I can already picture myself in like 5 years, at the end of my PhD, with 25 different bottles.
@@mattia_carciola It is just the normal Kikkoman soy sauce. I got it from where I worked at the time, they got it in bulk so I transferred it into clean plastic bottles. Those bottles are like the ones the 16oz milks are in but I transferred a few into this bigger container that is a thicker opaque plastic that once had oil in it.
I will note that the gallon of dark soy I bought came in an opaque plastic jug rather than a clear one. Since sunlight can degrade soy sauce I expect that is why the larger quantity was not in clear plastic. So using opaque plastic might be advisable as it may not give the same effect in clear plastic unless you keep it out of the light. Maybe try some in both.
Based on what I have read with the soy sauce being unsealed and in plastic does allow for oxidation to occur and some degree of evaporation can occur through the plastic. In addition an online search says pasteurization of Kikkoman soy sauce kills 'most' of the vegetative cells. Those are the bacterium used in fermenting and most is not all. So I believe I am correct that some fermentation is also occurring in my soy sauce.
I've heard that the the expiry date is not the expiry date of the sauce, but rather the point at which the plastic bottle start to breakdown and leech carcinogens into the liquid.
You telling me, that with all of modern technology we cant mimic the chemical reactions the sauce undegoes in those 2 years just sitting there?
8:47 those are two dead mice on top of the fermented product, it in the same room as the guy stirring the soy, how did nobody catch this.
"What if i jump in here"
Man let his intrusive thoughts win
Awesome video ❤
I saw a bug leg at about 8:06 of course if you are fermenting something in open air you will accumulate quite the collection of insects in your concoction. It probably adds to the complex flavors you get.
Wait another 41 seconds for even more "aroma" ;)
yeah i thought about that too. 20 years is a lot of random stuff that gets on top. strings, dirt, bugs, etc. but osmosis, heating, and filtering will obviously rid it of those.
Nope, that was just straw from the mats. But good on you for making me look for them.
@@johntilghman No, it's clearly a insect leg. Come on.
And several Mice!😂
Nothing unusual in open Food production, but usually picked before Filming!
High Saltcontent and Heat after Bottling making it safe.
Just a, normally hidden, True.
Guys, give a bit more oomph to the audio next time.
8:48 RIP mices, the secret ingredient
Did anyone else see the dead mice in the barrell at 8:48?
It's sad that so many of these generational companies are so unsure if the new generation will carry on a family business, simply because it's hard work.
Also younger people want more conventional jobs
The Japanese textile business is in the same situation. It’s heartbreaking.
The younger generation simply don't want to work. I am saying this as a young person myself. Everyone of my age just wants to earn money by typing on a keyboard. Physical work is a strict no-no.
Its not that tbe younger generation dont wanna work, its that they only want japanese to work
@@anupdev5845 they younger generation wants clear guarantees from their job, something that physical job are failing more and more, and "typing on a keyboard" jobs are a bit better at.
Signed, a person that is tired to "type on a keyboard" as a job and cannot find a physical job with decent enough work-life balance.
Companies like these, ones that maintain traditional styles of manufacturing ANYTHING, should be preserved by their country's governments somehow. As long as they stay true to the processes, then they're basically historical artifacts. Far too often businesses like these go under because other companies can just outpace them.
Weird that soy sauce is "tanking" in sales.
I love it, and in the last few years I've been adding it to soups, stews, pastas, and even marinade for meats.
Perhaps it's phasing out from one group of people, and being enjoyed by another? Who knows!
I think people just buy the cheap ones
More like with this type of expensive soy sauce asian usually buy it for gift. And I don't think younger generation would interested in gifting soy sauce to their friends or co worker when you can get pretty package candy or electric product.
My guess is the 2 dead rats in the sauce shown at 8:48 left a.... bad taste... in a lot of peoples mouths
This is just amazing. And my mind is blown. How do they come up with these processes in the first place? Just wow 😯
2:18 I wonder if that steam has anti-aging properties akin to rice as a part of geishas’ beauty regimen [Beauty brand: Tatcha]
If it does then I’d want to have a steamed soybean sauna
yes 8:47
Intrusive thoughts almost won with that question of jumping into the soysauce
Love it! Keep making the Soy sauce! I think it's amazing you have done it for 18 Generations! I have Great Respect for your family in that! From USA !
😂 the mice too?? 8:48
8:01 Producer’s intrusive thoughts begin emerging.
I would buy a bottle of this to share with my daughter. We both love Japanese food, and I have always loved Japan. I started learning katakana and hiragana when I was 12, although Japanese is a hard language to learn for someone like me.
Hopefully you like a hint of dead rat flavor in your soy sauce, go to 8:47
@8:48 the secret ingredient to the flavor is dead mice🤫
Narrator: "before the soy sauce can even begin to be created, workers must first enter the building. This first step is crucial to the decades-old tradition: step too far to the left, and they'll miss the door completely. If they don't turn the doorknob far enough, the door won't open, and the soybeans will never be cooked. It has taken Miyataro-shinsaki 300 years to master this art. Let's hear his advice for the younger generation."
The dickriding is crazyyyy
Soy is one of those mysterious foods that’s used for a lot of things, soy milk, soy sauce to even non food items like candles it’s absolutely amazing and we have south East Asians to thank for that because without them we probably wouldn’t have soy anything, funnily enough my state has been planting soybeans alongside tobacco and sugar cane!
Over the span of those 20 years how many cockroaches and rats drown and die in that mix?
Probably none, cleanliness in facilities like that is taken much more seriously in japan than in other countries, you would need to have a cockroach or rat infestation for any of them to end up in it at all. They're not making it in a nasty trash filled apartment, you probably consume more insects and rat bits.
8:48
This is Japan, so of course they keep it clean as F.
Shhh.. those are the secret ingredients!
@@rozzi574 Bro LOL I didn't even make it that far into the video to see that thank you for time stamping it! All these comments about cleanliness, clearly they didn't finish the video either! SEVERAL DEAD RATS LOL
How incredible this is, I hope they can keep the company going longer.