Tamari

Produced mainly in Japan, Tamari is a type of soy sauce that is darker in appearance and richer in flavour than regular varieties. It contains little or no wheat, and is therefore a popular condiment among people eating a wheat free diet.

Tamari is the "original" Japanese soy sauce, as its recipe is closest to the soy sauce originally introduced to Japan from China. Technically, this variety is known as miso-damari, as this is the liquid that runs off miso as it matures.

Authentic soy sauces are made from whole soybeans, but many cheaper brands are made from hydrolysed soy protein. Traditionally soy sauces were fermented under natural conditions, such as in giant urns and under the sun, which was believed to contribute to additional flavours. Nowadays most of the commercially-produced counterparts are fermented under machine-controlled environments instead. These soy sauces do not have the natural color of authentic soy sauces and are typically colored with caramel.