Coconut aminos, have you tried them?

[taxlady]

I have been seeing coconut aminos mentioned for a while now. As I understand it, they are a soy free, gluten free, substitute for soy sauce. All I knew about it until a couple of days ago was that they cost a fair bit more than soy sauce or tamari. Just yesterday, I discovered that some coconut aminos don't have very much sodium, especially compared with soy sauce and tamari. T

They seem to be a traditional sauce made in Indonesia from coconut flower sap and sea water, which is then fermented. I haven't had much luck find much about them, so that description of how they are made may be wrong. Mostly I could find websites selling the coconut aminos and websites discussing the health aspects for people who need to avoid soy or gluten with very little about how it's made. No, I don't want to make it. I'm curious.

Have you tried them? What are they like? What are the good brands? What should I be looking for, if I buy it?

 

[pictonguy]

Coconut amino's are not traditional at all and have been produced only in the last few decades as an alternative to soy and gluten and seen as a healthy alternative to gluten, basically, and where that boom in products helped promote this one. Coconut sap on the other hand has been used for centuries and has been used for quite a few different products, one being an alcoholic drink, coconut sugar and there's a vinegar as well. Apparently nothing is added during fermentation and rely on the bacteria of the immediate environment, sometimes sea salt is added to help prevent the growth of undesirable microorganisms and maybe some use sea water.

Anyway, food science figured this one out a few decades ago for people looking for an alternative to soy sauce and who believe gluten was a problem for them.

I was given some a few years ago, used it once if I remember correctly, yeah I don't want it to replace soy sauce, that just changes the whole dish and not something that I ever want to happen, I use soy for a reason, and most of that has to do with taste.

Basically it was formulated and sold as a health product but considering it's going to represent a minuscule amount in a persons diet and the fact the amino's are few and far between and the ones that are there aren't very bioavailable, it's basically a salty sweetener in most dishes, like a salad dressing and for me not an alternative for a stir fry or anything else people use soy sauce for. That's just my opinion and I'm sure some people would find it appealing.

 

[taxlady]

Basically it was formulated and sold as a health product but considering it's going to represent a minuscule amount in a persons diet and the fact the amino's are few and far between and the ones that are there aren't very bioavailable, it's basically a salty sweetener in most dishes, like a salad dressing and for me not an alternative for a stir fry or anything else people use soy sauce for. That's just my opinion and I'm sure some people would find it appealing.

That is why I have never had any interest before. Getting a much smaller amount of sodium than from tamari or soy sauce is the only reason I am interested now. If I add 1 tablespoon of tamari to my food, that's well over half of the limit I'm supposed to be aiming for at the moment (1500 mg/day).

 

[dragnlaw]

Have you looked into the Lites? Both the soy sauce and the Tamari I have is a bit less for a Tablespoon at 29%.

 

[taxlady]

Have you looked into the Lites? Both the soy sauce and the Tamari I have is a bit less for a Tablespoon at 29%.

I was thinking about that and forgot. I will check, but I am still curious about the coconut aminos. The lites are probably cheaper than the coconut aminos too.

 

[blissful]

I haven't tried the coconut aminos.
I have watered down soy sauce 1/2 water 1/2 soy sauce, for spraying on air popped popcorn. Then we sprinkle them with a mix of onion/garlic/smoked paprika we call POP.
Actually that sounds like a good snack tonight!

 

[taxlady]

I started thinking about the lite tamari. It seemed to me that I remembered buying some. I went downstairs and found it. D'oh! Instead of 980 mg of Na/Tbsp, the other one has 490 mg of Na/Tbsp. Now, I'm looking at about 1/3 of the limit I am aiming for. Something with less Na, would still be welcome. But, the lower salt tamari will certainly do me for now.

 

[Kathleen]

Restricting salt can be hard.

 

[taxlady]

Restricting salt can be hard.

It sneaks in in such surprising places, like milk and cream and in chard! There are 333 mg or Na in 100 grams of cooked chard. My daily limit is 1500 mg. I'll be looking more at other greens.

 

[Kathleen]

@taxlady I had no idea.

 

[HeyItsSara]

tried them a few years back. did not love.

 

[taxlady]

tried them a few years back. did not love.

But, did you hate them? Were they "okay"?

 

[HeyItsSara]

Meh. Just prefer soy sauce, although i know it has some carbs.

 

[Paid In Grapes]

I have tried the Bragg's brand and found it has an interesting flavor. I can taste a sweet coconut flavor that I don't usually want when using soy sauce. For me it doesn't have the same versatility as soy sauce. Most often I'll use a dash of it mixed with a dash of soy sauce to make an impromptu Worcestershire sauce substitute.

 

[jennyema]

I was given some a few years ago, used it once if I remember correctly, yeah I don't want it to replace soy sauce, that just changes the whole dish and not something that I ever want to happen, I use soy for a reason, and most of that has to do with taste.

I’m so with you on soy sauce!

Back when I worked in an office every day I drove past what was then the largest Whole Foods in the US on my way home every night (it had a hair salon!).

I tried coconut oil and coconut aminos from WF maybe 10 years ago. The coconut oil was a keeper but I threw away the coconut aminos. Just not for me.

If you want to cut down on sodium, try green salt. It’s actually not that bad.

 

[Linda0818]

Meh. Just prefer soy sauce, although i know it has some carbs.

Very minimal. One tablespoon of soy sauce contains 0.7 grams of net carbs. Soy sauce is not something I would worry about if I were watching my carb intake.

 

[dragnlaw]

How did this go from salt content to carbs?

 

[HeyItsSara]

That was meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Linda0818]

How did this go from salt content to carbs?

Sara mentioned that soy sauce has carbs and I mentioned that it doesn't have that much.

 

[Kathleen]

I’m so with you on soy sauce!

Back when I worked in an office every day I drove past what was then the largest Whole Foods in the US on my way home every night (it had a hair salon!).

I tried coconut oil and coconut aminos from WF maybe 10 years ago. The coconut oil was a keeper but I threw away the coconut aminos. Just not for me.

If you want to cut down on sodium, try green salt. It’s actually not that bad.

Jenny, please tell us more about the green salt. I've seen it advertised, but have never tried it. I see it has a umami flavor to it. How do you use it and how does it compare to like sea salt?