by Thomas Mitchell Nov. 12, 2055
editor@stoningtonfresh.com

Bob Florence, a partner in Moromi with his wife Debbi Michiko Florence and James Wayman (of Nana’s and River Bar) gave a talk at the United Theater last Sunday. It was a deep and fascinating dive into the history and processes of making what most of the world calls Shoyu — the fermented concoction of soybeans, wheat, salt and water our government says must be called Soy Sauce.

Shoyu originated in ancient China some 2,500 years ago as a fermented paste called Jiang and spread to other parts of Asia, gradually evolving into the liquid condiment known today. The fermentation process, which initially involved soybeans and various grains, was refined and developed further, with the modern recipe becoming established by the 17th century.

Hundreds of Shoyu brewers blossomed in Japan, but their numbers have been declining over the past century. Yet today "There's something like 20 regional soy sauce varieties on the shelves in Japan versus the few brands you find on U.S. shelves," Bob said. "I felt like the soy sauce industry was due for a renaissance like the craft beer industry years ago."

Bob is a chemist, a 1982 alumnus of SUNY’s Environmental Sciences and Forestry program. Years working in China and the Far East for major companies such as Apple, GE and a biofuels company gave him a serious appreciation of the foods and cultures there. His wife Debbi, an acclaimed author and third-generation Japanese American from California, encouraged his vision. It was 2010, they’d settled in North Stonington, and since the biofuels company had gone bankrupt, Bob was looking for work. Making soy sauce seemed like a good career move.

His big question was “Why is Japanese soy sauce so delicious? And why is the soy sauce available in America kind of, meh? I was like, OK, I'm just curious about how really great soy sauce is made. So I started playing around at home.”

Reading, research and experimentation followed. As Bob knew, the “big brand” soy sauces we are familiar with are produced on an industrial scale. Industrial soy sauce is often made from defatted soybeans (meh!) and can be produced quickly using chemical processes. Artisanal soy sauce on the other hand uses whole natural ingredients and ferments much longer, developing more complex flavors. Bob wanted to use strictly organic, non-GMO and as far as possible local ingredients.

The basic shoyu making process goes like this:

First steam soybeans and roast wheat, then mix them with a koji mold culture (aspergillus oryzae) to create the "koji". After a few days allowing the culture to grow, you add this koji to a salt-water brine to create a mash called "moromi," which is then fermented at controlled temperatures for six months to a year. Finally, the liquid is pressed from the moromi and can be pasteurized.

Bob made a few sample batches that year. He and Debbi had become friends with then chef at Oyster Club in Mystic, James Wayman, and took some of the homemade samples to the restaurant for a professional opinion.

“So he tasted it,” Bob recalls, “but not only did he taste it, he put it on his menu. It was a “Look mom!” moment for me. I was just flabbergasted.

“Then James started talking to his chef friends and they all began buying my soy sauce. I'm making soy sauce at home. My daughter had gone off to college and I converted her bedroom into a factory with 50 experimental recipes going on at once… and the basement… the dining room. My wife was like ‘If you're going to do this, think about scaling up somewhere other than the house.’ ”

Scaling up meant learning more. Bob had reached the limit of what he could read about and discover from a simple 2,500-year-old recipe. He needed a mentor, so he wrote to the CEOs of 15 Shoyu makers in Japan and introduced himself. Three welcomed him to visit, and before long he was on a familiar flight across the Pacific.

One of the CEOs was particularly receptive. “Kyosuke Iida, Director of Chiba Shoyu in Chiba, Japan, took me into his factory and showed me everything” Bob recounts. “I have no idea why, but he opened up the doors… He tested my soy sauce in their laboratory. An expert taster tried my soy sauce and told me all the things that were wrong with it and how terrible it was. They politely said you could use some improvements, and they showed me how those improvements could be made.” Bob had found his mentor.

Meanwhile, James Wayman was embarking on his own entrepreneurial path that would lead to Nana’s CT, Nana’s RI and River Bar. Both men share a deep commitment to local farms and products, giving back to the Earth, authentic culinary processes and extraordinarily good food. Mystic Koji LLC was born, with Bob, Debbi and James as partners to run Moromi, which is now selling products in over 170 stores in the USA and online here.

Koji LLC also works to foster development of KOJICON, an annual event run by our Yellow Farmhouse Education Center, which celebrates and shares the art and science of Koji and fermentation. Their local Moromi farm suppliers presently include Stonington Fresh members Seacoast Mushrooms and Stonington Kelp Company.

A talk with Bob Florence

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