Rokusuke Salt Now Contains Amino Acids: Comparing the Old and New Products by Tasting Them Straight, on Onigiri, and in Peperoncino

According to Ryuji, Rokusuke salt is known as an additive-free seasoned salt and is extremely popular. The old product's ingredients were only salt (made in Australia), kombu, dried shiitake, and dried scallops. In general, products labeled "additive-free" tend to sell even at a high price. Ryuji estimates that Rokusuke salt costs more than 1,000 yen, and compares that with the aji-shio seasoned salt Ryuji normally uses, which costs around 200 yen.

The current product's ingredients are salt, dried shiitake, kombu, dried scallops, and seasoning (amino acids). Ryuji explained these amino acids as "basically something like Ajinomoto." A perception has spread that people were buying an expensive salt believing it was additive-free, only for it to contain amino acids, and it "seems to be causing a backlash" among organic-minded consumers.

Ryuji uses aji-shio a lot and doesn't think adding amino acids is bad. Still, Ryuji says the reason for adding them is a point of curiosity. One possibility Ryuji suggested is that the cost of raw materials rose, making it unprofitable to keep using shiitake and scallops as before. Ryuji suspects it may have been a difficult decision made for that reason. Ryuji also said they hadn't heard of any price revision, and that the price has probably stayed the same.

Ryuji also paid attention to the order of the ingredient list. Ingredients are listed starting with whatever is present in the greatest amount. In the old product, kombu came right after salt, but in the current product, dried shiitake comes right after salt. From this, Ryuji inferred that the proportion of kombu has been reduced and the difference made up with a flavor enhancer. A staff member described this as "a very Buzz Recipe-style way of using it."

Ryuji also took issue with the fact that Rokusuke has not clearly announced that the product is "no longer additive-free." Among people who have been using it believing it was additive-free, there must be many who wouldn't buy it if it weren't, Ryuji said. Since Ryuji couldn't find any such explanation in their own search, they asked anyone who knows the circumstances to share them.

In the first test, the old and current products were put in separate small dishes, and Ryuji tasted them blind. They can't be told apart by appearance. Both are medium-grain salts, and Ryuji said they seemed like a good match for meat dishes such as chicken steak.

After tasting B, Ryuji said it was "extremely aji-shio," while noting it had more depth than aji-shio. Ryuji then tasted A and said A had stronger umami, while B felt more natural. Ryuji then identified A as the one with amino acids, and was correct.

Ryuji said "the taste is completely different," and that anyone who had been using B couldn't possibly fail to notice. The one Ryuji found tasty was also B, the old product. As for A, the current product, its umami intensity is almost the same as aji-shio, so people who like aji-shio would probably like it. It has some mellowness and dashi-like flavor from the shiitake and scallop adductors, but the taste of the flavor enhancer is very strong. Ryuji's impression was therefore that "if it's A, I feel like aji-shio would do." The old product is no longer available in stores, and anything bought new will contain amino acids. Even so, Ryuji repeated that the previous version seemed tastier.

Ryuji recommends Rokusuke salt as being great on onigiri. It's also enough on its own for pasta and salt-seasoned karaage, Ryuji says. So, with the staff joining in, they tested whether a difference would show up when combined with rice.

In the first round, everyone answered which of two onigiri—one made with the old product and one with the current product—contained amino acids. Opinions were split, and the correct answer was B, the current product. One staff member said B had a kind of sweetness, or rather umami that came on in a "whoosh." Ryuji remarked that if only they added more kombu powder, it would get closer to the old product's taste.

Next, they added the everyday aji-shio and made three types of mini onigiri. The goal was to check the question of whether, if Rokusuke contains flavor enhancer, aji-shio would do just as well. Freshly cooked rice was too hot to shape, so it was first transferred to a bowl to cool, then each onigiri was shaped with a pinch of salt.

Blindfolded, Ryuji correctly identified the first one as aji-shio. Ryuji answered that the second one contained amino acids, but this was wrong. The correct answer was that the third one contained amino acids, and the second was the old product. Ryuji recalled that the second one was very salty. Ryuji explained that their salting was inconsistent, and that the amount of the amino-acid salt was too small, which also contributed. Ryuji admitted that with amounts matched to the gram it might be possible to tell, but that their own palate couldn't tell them apart in onigiri. Tasting the salt directly makes the difference clear, but given time, the salt dissolves into the rice. Ryuji also said French fries might make it easier to tell.

Ryuji said they hope tests like this help viewers choose seasonings. Ryuji always checks the ingredient list on the back when buying a product, and has never once failed to do so. Ryuji's view is that if you can read the label correctly, you can predict that "it contains amino acids, so the umami is probably strong," and that this helps in daily life.

Next, Ryuji prepared onigiri, and the staff ate all three types and wrote their answers on paper. The correct answers were: No. 1, the old product (no amino acids); No. 2, aji-shio; No. 3, the current product (with amino acids). All the staff got it right. Even a staff member who had just joined got it right, and Ryuji, who had gotten it wrong, laughed wryly: "Your palate is better than mine."

Asked which tasted best, two people chose No. 1, the old product, and one chose No. 2, aji-shio. Ryuji said Rokusuke has a different flavor and more depth. On the other hand, aji-shio has the merit of enhancing the ingredients when they already have flavor of their own. Ryuji's view is that Rokusuke forcibly adds the umami of scallops and so on. Overall, more people said the version without amino acids tasted better. Ryuji also felt the old product tasted better when tasted directly, and said the current product's umami was too strong.

A staff member asked, in effect, whether it was fair to call this a change for the worse, given that amino acids were added without a change in price. Ryuji's answer came with reservations. When used in cooking, the difference may not be that large. However, tasted directly, the old product is much better, so for uses like sprinkling it on meat, the difference may be significant. The conclusion was therefore that viewers should take this only as a reference.

At this point, Ryuji said that ending here would leave things at "the old one was better," which would leave a bad aftertaste. The old product can now only be bought on Mercari. Joking that going this far was just too mean-spirited, and saying they had no intention of attacking the brand, Ryuji decided to make a dish with the current product.

The dish was one-pan peperoncino. The steps are as follows.

1. Smash one large clove of garlic (about 12 g) without mincing it.
2. Heat the garlic over low heat in at least 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
3. Once it has colored, remove the garlic for the time being.
4. Add about two seeded dried chili peppers to release their aroma.
5. Add 380 cc of water and 1.5 mm pasta, and simmer for about 5 minutes.
6. Add the current Rokusuke salt (the amount in the description box is half a teaspoon).
7. With about a minute and a half remaining, cook off the liquid.
8. Return the garlic and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
9. Taste and add more salt.

Ryuji explained the reason for removing the garlic as follows. In the earlier "Ultimate Peperoncino," the garlic was left in while simmering. But in one-pan pasta, aroma is important, and leaving the garlic in causes it to burn. A little burning is fine, but Ryuji recently realized that removing it partway through leaves a strong garlic presence. Ryuji also said the chili peppers are less likely to burn if added later.

As for the salt, Ryuji said that since it contains flavor enhancer, the flavor should come through well. Ryuji also uses flavor enhancers in dishes like the Ultimate Peperoncino. With the umami of scallops and shiitake added on top of that, Ryuji expected it to be tastier than an ordinary peperoncino. Ryuji used to make it in a small frying pan, but used a regular-sized one this time. Ryuji also said that Italian parsley or the like would normally be added, but it wasn't used because they don't keep it on hand at home.

During cooking, Ryuji added some personal preferences. Personally, Ryuji prefers it without flavor enhancer. For salt sprinkled as a finishing touch, Ryuji thinks the version with flavor enhancer comes across as a bit "heavy-handed." For example, for salt served alongside a steak, Ryuji prefers it without flavor enhancer. Cooking off the liquid lets the dissolved wheat starch coat the noodles along with the umami, creating a thick, silky sauce. The heat was high this time and it burned slightly in places, but Ryuji said that was tasty too. Ryuji also said one-pan pasta was what first made them famous, and that it felt nostalgic after so long.

On tasting it, Ryuji and the staff said in unison, "This is really good." Comments followed: this might be tastier than the onigiri, the version with flavor enhancer is totally fine, maybe it's good for cooking. The verdict was that it didn't taste like aji-shio and had real depth. Ryuji said, "Peperoncino might be better with the amino-acid version."

The test results summarized at the end are as follows. Rokusuke salt now contains chemical seasoning, but it is quite delicious when used in cooking, and is especially well suited to peperoncino. For uses like tasting it directly or sprinkling it on food, Ryuji feels the old product is tastier. On the other hand, in cooked dishes, the strengths of the amino-acid version come through. No explanation has been found for why Rokusuke stopped being additive-free, and the reason remains a matter of Ryuji's speculation.