Most people don’t give a second thought to their soy sauces. After all, one bottle of murky brown fluid is the same as another, right? Actually, the truth is that there is a lot of variety among Asia’s favorite condiment. Many are surprised to learn that the soy sauce you might find at I Love Sushi’s Seattle restaurant is a distinctly Japanese variety.

Indeed, there are important differences between Japanese soy sauces and those made of the Chinese. The main distinction comes from the ingredients that go into the production of the product. While Chinese soy sauce is generally manufactured with little or no wheat, Japan will usually mix varying degrees of wheat into the soybeans during the fermentation process. Wheat gives soy sauce a sweeter taste, which became popular among Americans and explains why the soy sauces found in the United States are most commonly of Japanese origin.