xv ' 3 Groff: Soy Sauce in Kivangtung 313 



inferior quality of soy, but it can be sold very cheaply. After 

 the soy is drawn from the beans, it is placed in an iron pan 

 and boiled from two to four hours. The longer the better, but 

 it must be boiled at the least two hours or it will not keep. It 

 is then taken off and allowed to cool and is ready for salt. The 

 manufacturers never boil the first drawing. They always sun 

 this and sell it for their finest grade. 



Mixing of soy. — It is interesting to note that of the four 

 drawings of soy the only drawing that is sold as it is drawn is 

 the teng ch'au (]tf J$), "first drawing." The others are all 

 mixed together and are sold under the names of the price they 

 cost per catty. This mixing process is shown in the list of 

 samples submitted. 



Prices of raiv materials. — The prices of beans and flour vary 

 considerably, but the soy beans, wong kam tan ( j| ^ J£), can 

 be bought for about 6 cents per catty wholesale; the flour, t'o 

 fui min (±. j/< H), for about 6.5 cents per catty; and the salt, 

 shdng im (/£ gg) , for about 4 cents per catty. The retail price 

 is 8 cents per catty for the beans, 10 cents per catty for the 

 flour, and 5 cents per catty for the salt. The manufacturers 

 figure that the materials for one jar cost about 8.50 dollars. 

 They expect to sell the different grades of soy and the beans left 

 for about 14 dollars. This does not include labor, equipment, 

 rent, etc. Candied molasses, kat shui (jf§ 7JO, which is added 

 to the very cheapest soy as a coloring and to sweeten it, costs 

 about 8 cents per catty. 



Sainam soy. — Sainam, 50 miles distant from Canton on the 

 Samshui Railway, is famous for its soy. The establishments 

 there are much larger than in Canton, and a superior quality 

 of soy is produced. There are eight factories, all of about the 

 same capacity, doing a business of over 100,000 dollars a year. 

 The methods used in Sainam appear to be the same as those 

 used in Canton, the only noticeable difference being in the quality 

 of materials used. The Sainam soy makers advise buying the 

 very best quality of raw materials, while the Canton manu- 

 facturers are content with materials of inferior grade. They 

 believe that these inferior materials make just as good soy. 

 The yards in Sainam also are very spacious, allowing the manu- 

 facturers to sun their product to better advantage. Ground 

 is much less costly, and hence the sunning process is not so ex- 

 pensive. In one yard it was also noted that there were about 

 five hundred jars not in use which were being sunned. Both 



