What is "soja" in this recipe from 1914?

It is not soy sauce made from soybeans, but a homemade dark coloring sauce made from brine and burnt/melted rock sugar. It was used to color and flavor sauces and soups.

Boil the brine (1 liter), skim it, and strain it through cloth. Melt 1 kg rock sugar in a pot to a syrup, take the pot off the heat, and add the boiling brine while stirring constantly. Bring the soja to a boil and cook until it is smooth.

How is the finished soja stored?

It is poured into bottles and corked while hot. The high salt and sugar content makes it keep for a long time.

Why must the sugar be taken off the heat before the brine is added?

Melted sugar is very hot, and boiling liquid will spatter and boil up vigorously. By taking the pot off the heat and stirring the brine in gradually, you avoid spattering and clumping of the mass.

Soja (Homemade Browning Sauce)

Erken's soja from 1914: 1 l strained and skimmed brine is stirred into burnt rock sugar (about 1 kg) cooked to syrup, brought to a boil until smooth, and bottled and corked. Used as a dark, salty coloring for sauces.

Source: Henriette Schønberg Erken, Stor kokebok, 1914-utg. s. 353 (falt i det fri)

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About the dish

Erken's "soja" is not soy sauce, but a dark, salty coloring sauce made from strong brine (preferably from meat salting) and burnt rock sugar, used to color and season sauces.

How to make it

1
Boil the brine
Bring the brine to a boil, skim it well, and strain it through a clean cloth.
2
Burn the sugar
Melt the rock sugar in a pot and cook it to a syrup.
3
Combine
Take the pot off the heat and add the boiling brine while stirring constantly.
4
Cook until smooth
Bring the soja to a boil and let it cook until it is smooth.
5
Bottle
Pour the soja into bottles and cork them.

Changes from the original

Measurements modernized; the sugar amount was unclear in the source and has been set to 1 kg. "Meat cloth" is modernized to cloth/straining cloth. The method is divided into numbered steps.

Time machine – what changed?

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Frequently asked questions

What is "soja" in this recipe from 1914?: It is not soy sauce made from soybeans, but a homemade dark coloring sauce made from brine and burnt/melted rock sugar. It was used to color and flavor sauces and soups.
How do you proceed?: Boil the brine (1 liter), skim it, and strain it through cloth. Melt 1 kg rock sugar in a pot to a syrup, take the pot off the heat, and add the boiling brine while stirring constantly. Bring the soja to a boil and cook until it is smooth.
How is the finished soja stored?: It is poured into bottles and corked while hot. The high salt and sugar content makes it keep for a long time.
Why must the sugar be taken off the heat before the brine is added?: Melted sugar is very hot, and boiling liquid will spatter and boil up vigorously. By taking the pot off the heat and stirring the brine in gradually, you avoid spattering and clumping of the mass.

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