Tamari

Why tamari is rated low

Tamari is low FODMAP at about 1 tablespoon (20mL), a generous splash for seasoning, enough to give deep umami flavour to a stir-fry, a marinade or a dressing. Larger portions are moderate, as the mannitol it carries builds with a bigger pour. Low here means low at that serve, not unlimited, but a tablespoon covers most of what a meal uses, so the tamari itself is rarely the issue. The thing to watch is the rest of the bowl it lands in and the sauces it is blended into.

What changes your risk

• Splash versus pour about 1 tablespoon (20mL) is low and larger portions are moderate. Seasoning a stir-fry with a spoon keeps it low, while refilling a dipping dish through the meal is how the pour grows.
• The sauce it is mixed into Tamari rarely turns up alone. Stir-fry sauces, teriyaki glazes, marinades and dressings built around it often carry onion powder, garlic powder, garlic paste or onion based stock, and that is usually what causes trouble rather than the tamari itself.
• The whole meal's total load A low rating is per serving, not per meal. Tamari alongside a bowl that already carries mushrooms or other mannitol sources adds to the same total, so it is worth looking at the plate as a whole rather than at any single item.
• Read the label on the bottle Tamari is sold in regular and gluten free versions and in blended sauces that are only part tamari. Anything with onion or garlic in the ingredient list is a different product with a different profile.
• Cooking does not reduce it Simmering tamari into a sauce or reducing it in a pan concentrates the liquid rather than removing anything, so a sticky reduction carries everything that went into the pan.

What else works

Tamari itself is one of the more useful low FODMAP savoury seasonings, so the real work is naming the lookalikes that are not equivalent. Bottled teriyaki, hoisin, oyster sauce, stir fry sauce blends and most marinades sold as soy based carry onion and garlic, and those are not swaps for plain tamari. Whole soy beans at ordinary servings are high FODMAP even though tamari is not, while firm tofu works well in the same dishes. To build flavour around tamari without adding to the load, reach for garlic-infused oil, fresh ginger, the green tops of spring onions, chives, rice vinegar, sesame oil and a pinch of asafoetida. Maple syrup or plain table sugar balances a savoury glaze without pulling anything else in.

How to keep it low

Keep a plain bottle of tamari with a short ingredient list rather than a pre mixed sauce, and build the sauce at home so the onion and garlic never enter the pan. Measuring with a spoon straight into the wok keeps both the seasoning and the serve at about 1 tablespoon (20mL). When ordering out, ask for the dish seasoned with plain soy or tamari and no garlic or onion in the sauce, because restaurant stir fry bases almost always include both. If gluten is also being avoided, check for a gluten free label, which is a separate matter from the FODMAP level.

Common questions

is tamari low fodmap

Yes. Tamari is low at about 1 tablespoon (20mL). Larger portions are moderate, as its mannitol builds.

how much tamari can i use

About 1 tablespoon (20mL) is the low serve, a generous splash for seasoning. Larger portions are moderate, so measure rather than pour, and check the sauce it is blended into as well.

can i have tamari on the elimination phase

Plain tamari at about 1 tablespoon (20mL) suits the elimination phase. The thing to check is the label, since blended and bottled sauces built on tamari often carry onion or garlic.

is teriyaki sauce the same as tamari

No. Teriyaki and most bottled stir fry sauces are blends that commonly contain onion and garlic, so they do not carry the same low rating that plain tamari does.