Short abstract:

Based on my ethnography of a soy sauce brewery in the Netherlands, this paper sheds light on knowing and comparing microbes in relation to their surroundings.

Long abstract:

Based on my ethnography of a soy sauce maker in the Netherlands, this paper explores the concept of “comparison as knowing.” Soy sauce, or shoyu, was imported from Japan to the Netherlands around 1800. Nowadays, the fermented, umami-rich liquid is an increasingly popular seasoning in Dutch kitchens. This paper focuses on a small-scale maker founded in Rotterdam several years ago as the first European soy sauce brewery. The artisanal brewery is called “Tomasu,” based on the Japanese way of pronouncing Thomas, the first name of the founder. Thomas Uljee runs the company with three colleagues using a process they describe as “from soil to bottle”. One of his colleagues, a farmer, cares for the soil and grows soybean plants and wheat in a field 30 kilometers south of Rotterdam. Thomas applies koji, a mold, to the soybeans, then ferments the “moromi” (a mixture of koji, wheat, soy, and salt) in whiskey barrels for two years. Thomas started making soy sauce in his own way, after he learned a simple recipe in the U.S. He already had a basic knowledge of how microbes (such as yeast or koji) behave as a baker. He then began exploring how to create better, richer flavours and aromas, always comparing methods with traditional Japanese ways of making soy sauce. This paper traces how the brewery compares their own practices with Japanese artisans, tools, beans, recipes and so on. By doing so, this paper sheds light on knowing and comparing microbes in relation to their surroundings.