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

Swaminathan, M.; Subrahmanyan, V. 1961. Chemical
composition and nutritive value of soyabean and soyabean
products. Food Science (Mysore, India) 10(3):52-64. March.
Published in 1961 as a 32-page book by the Soybean Council
of America in Hamburg, Germany. [178 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Chemical composition
and nutritive value. Soyabean oil. Carbohydrate in soyabean.
Minerals in soyabean. Vitamins in soyabean. Factors
affecting nutritive value: Trypsin and growth inhibitors,
heat processing, other factors. Digestibility and biological
value: Animal experiments, supplementation with sulphur
amino acids, human feeding experiments. Supplementary
value to other food proteins. Processed foods from soyabean:
Soyabean milk, dried milk substitutes from soyabean, malt
foods containing soyabean, soyabean fl our, multipurpose
food (fortifi ed soyafl our), dehydrated soup mixture, balanced
food, soyabean protein isolate. Fermented soyabean
products: Soy sauce, tofu or soyabean curd, miso, natto,
tempeh. Conclusion.
Note 1. This is the earliest document seen (Jan. 2001)
from India that mentions tempeh.
Note 2. This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Aug. 2003) that contains the term “soyabean protein”
(or “soyabean proteins”).
Note 3. This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Aug. 2003) that contains the term “soyabean protein
isolate” (or “soyabean protein isolates”). Address: Central
Food Technological Research Inst. (CFTRI), Mysore, India.
408. Smith, Allan K.; Wolf, Walter J. 1961. Food uses and
properties of soybean protein. I. Food uses. Food Technology
15(5):4-6, 8, 10. May. [34 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Summary. Introduction. Commercial
soybean protein fractions. Soybean foods: Soybean varieties
(garden varieties vs. fi eld varieties, main differences between
them, U.S. soybean breeding program). Trends in protein
requirements (worldwide protein shortage). Soybeans and
fractions used in food: Whole soybeans, defatted soybean
meal, isolated proteins, protein concentrate (called “protein
concentrate 70” in the summary), Gelsoy.
Whole soybeans may be baked or boiled, or used
to make sprouts, fresh or dried tofu, vegetable milk (or
“soybean milk”), yuba, and many fermented food products,
including “miso or soy paste, natto, hamanatto, shoyu (soy
sauce), tempeh, and some less important foods.”
“Protein concentrate: Extraction of dehulled and
defatted meal with dilute acid (pH 4.5) removes soluble
sugars, nonprotein nitrogen, and other low-molecular weight
components and a small amount of protein. The fl avors are
also mostly removed in the extract or in drying. The dried
concentrate contains about 70% protein unless soybeans
containing above-average protein are used.
“This product, having a manufacturing cost between
that of soy fl our and isolated protein, has been introduced
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 156
recently into the food industry. This protein concentrate is a
combination of the acid-precipitated protein plus the residue
normally obtained in isolating the acid-precipitated protein...
A protein concentrate can also be made by extraction of
SOM [soybean oil meal] with about 70% ethanol at 50ºC or
higher. This type of product is fi nding its place in the food
industry.”
Note: This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Dec. 2005) that uses the term “protein concentrate
70” or the term “protein concentrate” to refer to a product
containing 70% protein on a dry-weight basis. Address:
NRRL, Peoria, Illinois.
409. Hayashi, Shizuka. 1961. Soybeans in the nutrition of
Japan. Soybean Digest. June. p. 31.
• Summary: “Japan, with a population of 95 million people
on a land area smaller than that of the state of California,
is confronted with the problem of how best to feed its
population. With the population increasing at a rate of
1 million annually, the problem perhaps will become
permanent. According to 1959 government statistics, the
following amounts of soybeans (in tonnes or metric tons)
were used to produce oil and soyfoods in Japan: Crushed for
oil 840,583, tofu 318,150, shoyu (soysauce) 217,686, miso
173,933, frozen tofu 40,000, natto 35,000, kinako [roasted
soy fl our] 13,000.
Japan uses 420,000 tonnes of soybeans that are grown
domestically and 1 million tonnes imported from the U.S. Of
the 26.7 gm of fats and oils available to each Japanese daily,
7.6 gm (28%) is supplied by soybeans. Of the 67.7 gm of
protein available to each Japanese daily, soybeans provide
10.6 gm (15.7%).
“Meat is not only scarce but the price is too high to
meet the daily needs of average people. Annual per capita
meat consumption in the United States is 237 pounds while
in Japan it is only 2.3 pounds.” “The Japanese intake of fats
and oils is less than 10 pounds per capita in comparison with
about 50 pounds in western countries.”
“The Japanese live too much on carbohydrate foods.
Rice eating must be minimized and more protein foods eaten.
The obvious conclusion is the increased consumption of
soybeans.”
Note: This is the 2nd earliest document seen (Jan.
2012) that contains industry or market statistics for natto by
geographical region. Address: Managing Director, Japanese
American Soybean Inst., Nikkatsu International Building.,
No. 1-chome Yurakucho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
410. Spilsbury, Calvin A. 1961. Japan’s oilseed and fats
and oils industry. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. FAS
M-120. iv + 52 p. Oct. Illust. 28 cm. [9 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Summary. The fats and
oils industry: Total supply of fats and oils, edible fats and
oils industries (oilseed crushing and refi ning industry, rice