History of Natto and Its Relatives (1405-2012 - SoyInfo Center

Science Section, this document may be ordered from
the publisher: O.R.S.T.O.M., Attn: Bureau de Press et
Communication, 213 Rue Lafayette, 75480 Paris, Cedex 10,
France. Address: Pharmacien-Capitaine du Corps de Santé
Colonial, Détache à l’Offi ce de la Recherche Scientifi que et
Technique Outre-Mer [ORSTOM], 20, rue Monsieur, Paris
VIIIº, France.
355. Mogi, Masatoshi. 1958. [Shoyu, a Japanese sauce].
Japanese Patent 10,199. Nov. 25. (Chem. Abst. 53:4650a).
[Jap]*
• Summary: Koji is prepared from 550 gm soybeans, 129 gm
wheat, and 66 gm soy wheat. Then 660 cc of 7.5% sodium
chloride solution is added, and the mixture is inoculated with
the enzyme glutaminase obtained from the natto bacterium,
Bacillus subtilis. After 7 days, sodium chloride is added to
18% concentration. The mixture is kept at 30ºC for 3 months
to give shoyu containing 23.5 mg/cc glutamic acid. Address:
Noda, Japan.
356. Chung, T.S.; Kim, C.J.; Whang, K.S. 1958.
[Enzymological studies of the fermented soybean products.
IV. Amino acid composition of natto proteins]. Kwayon
Huibo (Bulletin of the Scientifi c Research Institute, Korea)
3(1):83-87. [Kor]*
357. Chung, T.S.; Kim, C.J.; Yoon, D.S. 1958.
[Enzymological studies of the fermented soybean products.
III. Isolation of B. natto and their classifi cation]. Kwayon
Huibo (Bulletin of the Scientifi c Research Institute, Korea)
3(1):75-82. [Kor]*
358. Tanegashima, C.; Kirita, Y. 1958. [Investigation of
pyridine carbonic acids. I.]. Mukogawa Joshi Daigaku Kiyo.
Seikatsu Kagaku-hen (Scientifi c Reports of Mukogawa
Women’s Univ.–Domestic Science Series) 6:105-09. [Jap]*
359. Dean, R.F.A. 1958. Use of processed plant proteins as
human food. In: A.M. Altschul, ed. 1958. Processed Plant
Protein Foodstuffs. New York: Academic Press. xv + 955 p.
See p. 205-47. Chap. 9. [99* ref]
• Summary: Contents: General considerations: Early sources
of protein for human food, competition for food between
man and his domestic animals, vegetarianism and vitamin
B-12, protein requirements (of children, of adults). Plant
proteins now in use: Foods that can be prepared in the home
(cereals, legumes {incl. groundnuts, soybean}, sunfl ower
seed, sesame), plant foods used after factory processing
(cereals, legumes, sunfl ower seed meal, cottonseed meal).
Other forms of plant food: Plankton, algae, food yeast, leaf
proteins (p. 237-38). Future extensions of the use of plant
proteins: The theoretical basis of selection, assessment of the
value of foods intended for human consumption, practical
measures for the future.
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 149
In 1957 some 160,000 tons of soybeans were used to
make tofu in Japan. “Magnesium or calcium salts are the
precipitants of the curd from the soybean milk; the product
is eaten by nearly every family in Japan with its breakfast
miso-soup.”
During World War II, the attempt was made to introduce
soya as a food crop to Uganda. But “no instruction was given
in the necessary details of preparation, with the result that the
crop was very reasonably declared inedible by the Africans.
They retain a violent prejudice against it and are suspicious
that it has been added to any food, such as yellow corn meal,
that they fi nd distasteful.
“One of the most interesting methods for making soya
edible has evolved in Indonesia and was described in full
by Van Veen and Schaeffer (1950). It takes advantage of
the ability of the mold Rhizopus oryzae to grow on the bean
and alter its constituents... The product made from soya is
called tempeh kedelee (kedelee = soybean).” Details of the
production process are given. A description of natto and its
composition is also given (p. 218).
The section on algae gives detailed information on
chlorella, a type photosynthetic single-cell protein. As early
as 1954, Morimura and Tamiya in Japan were experimenting
with the used of powdered Chlorella ellipsoidea in foods.
Note: This is the earliest document seen (Aug. 1997–one
of two documents) that mentions the use of algae or other
photosynthetic single-cell protein as food.
The section on leaf proteins (p. 237-39) begins: “Protein
synthesis is one of the chief activities of the leaf, and
proteins are comparable to animal proteins in their amino
acid composition (Lugg 1949). The young leaf is especially
rich in protein...” Pirie (1953) has suggested a process for
recovering the leaf protein from the fi brous residue left after
mechanical separation; the protein is usually very diffi cult to
free. Pirie (1953) has also described the likely structure of an
effi cient plant. “There are also obvious possibilities in such
abundant and little-used material as the leaves of sugarcane,
cassava, and bananas” (p. 238-39).
The section titled “Sesame” (p. 219-20) states that the
Zande people of southwestern Sudan steep the seeds in
water for a few minutes, then pound them lightly to loosen
the outer coat. They then dry the seeds and the outer coat
is sieved or winnowed away. The seeds are then roasted
and ground to a paste, which is sometimes used to make a
sauce (Culwick 1950). “The use of sesame as a sweetmeat or
condiment is fairly widespread in the Near East. A sweetmeat
called tahinya or tahina is made in the Gezira [Sudan] by
cooking the roasted seeds in sugar; sometimes the seeds are
crushed before the cooking, and sometimes not” (Culwick
1951). Describes how to make the condiment. Address:
Medical Research Council, Mulago Hospital, Kampala,
Uganda.
360. Itami, Kenkichi; Kato, Sumio. 1958. Nattô oyobi nattô-