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

an processing, margarine and shortening, oilseed food
industries), industrial fats and oils (the soap industry, paint
and protective coating industry). Domestic production of
oilseeds and oil-bearing materials: Soybeans (farm income
and management, research), rapeseed, other oilseeds, rice
bran, marine oils, including whale, animal fats. Foreign
trade: Soybeans, other oilseeds, marine oils, animal fats,
oilcake and meal, trade controls. Demand and price: Price
supports. Consumption. Marketing and market development:
Marketing vegetable oils, marketing oilseeds (storage,
inspection, soybeans, rapeseed), market development.
Bibliography. No names of Asian crushers are given.
Japan’s margarine and shortening production in 1960
was 88,600 metric tons, nearly 4½ times that of 1950...
Margarine production in 1960 was 43,000 tons. Shortening
production was only 41,600 tons in 1960. The margarine and
shortening industry in Japan consists of 26 manufacturers,
but a large percent of plant capacity is found in only a few
plants: 4 plants have one-third of the industry capacity,
which is around 400 metric tons per 8-hour day... 67% of
the oils used to make margarine and shortening in Japan are
animal and marine oils, with whale oil being the most widely
used (26% of the total) followed by tallow and lard (21%),
then fi sh oil (20.0%). Palm oils comprise 19.0% of the total
and vegetable oils 14.0%.
Concerning oilseed food industries (p. 17-20), in 1960
some 532,218 tonnes (metric tons) of soybeans were used
directly as foods or manufactured into foods in Japan.
Substantial amounts of peanuts and sesame seeds were also
so used. “The Japanese American Soybean Institute in Tokyo
is actively promoting U.S. soybeans for food uses and has
promoted soybeans as the meat of the fi eld because of the
excellence of their amino acids.”
Note: This is the earliest document seen (Jan. 2005)
containing the phrase “the meat of the fi eld.” Notice that
it refers to soybeans and was apparently coined by an
American organization in Japan.
“More soybeans are used directly for food than are
grown in Japan, and the cake and meal from an additional
420,000 tons of soybeans are now used each year. The main
soybean foods are: Miso, shoyu, tofu, aburaage (fried tofu),
frozen tofu, natto, kinako, monosodium glutamate (extract of
fermented soybeans and rice used as a seasoning compound;
a low-grade shoyu is a by-product), tonyu (soybean milk,
cooked water-extract of soybeans, not widely produced in
Japan at the present time).
Miso: There are about 3,200 to 3,800 miso plants
in Japan, and a large amount of home-made miso is also
produced. “About 117,600 tons of soybeans and 52,300
tons of defatted soybean meal (expeller cake is thought to
be the best) are required by this industry. Miso consumption
is estimated at 28.9 grams per capita per day.” Domestic
Japanese soybeans, such as white hilum soybeans from
Aomori are preferred to U.S. beans, which cook unevenly
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 157
because of their hard seed coats.
Shoyu: There are about 5,000 producers; some have
very large plants but many are small. Per capita consumption
is about 3 gallons per year. This requires about 18,500
tonnes of soybeans and 155,000 tonnes of defatted soybean
meal per year. A small amount of soybean oil (about 1,000
tonnes/year) is skimmed off the top of shoyu and used for
a cutting oil. The cake that remains after pressing out the
shoyu contains 4% salt, but it is an ideal hog feed as well
as a fertilizer. Around 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes a year are
produced. A taru (4½ gallons) of shoyu wholesales for about
$3.60. A large volume of soy sauce is now being exported to
the USA.
Tofu: There are around 50,000 small tofu plants in
Japan. Their demand for soybeans is large and increasing.
In 1960 production of tofu and aburaage required 254,800
tonnes of soybeans and 20,000 tonnes of defatted soybean
meal. More soybeans and meal are used to make tofu than
any other food in Japan, followed by shoyu, then miso.
About three-fi fths of the soybeans used are imported. In
1960 production of frozen tofu required 27,100 tonnes of
soybeans.
In 1960 about 22,800 tonnes of soybeans were required
to make natto, 6,200 tonnes to make kinako, 64,800 tones of
defatted soybean meal were required to make monosodium
glutamate, and 10,000 tonnes of soybeans plus 30,000 tonnes
of defatted meal were required to make other soybean food
products [such as whole soybeans, soybean milk, etc.].
Address: USDA Fats and Oils Div.
411. Akiya, Shichiro; Sawamura, Ryoji. 1961. Nattô-kin no
sansei suru nenseita tôshitsu ni kansuru kenkyû. I. Chûshutsu
oyobi seisei [Studies on the viscous polysaccharide
produced by Bacillus natto. I. Extraction and purifi cation].
Yakugaku Zasshi (J. of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan)
81(11):1583-87. Nov. [17 ref. Jap; eng]
• Summary: Natto is made by culturing Bacillus natto,
a strain of Bacillus subtilis, on boiled soy-beans. Natto
contains a viscous polysaccharide, which, when hydrolyzed
gave three monosacchsarides: arabinose, xylose, and
galactose. Address: 1. Tokyo Medico-Dental University,
Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; 2. Pharmaceutical Inst.,
College of Science and Engineering, Nihon Univ., Kandasurugadai,
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. Both: Japan.
412. Akiya, Shichiro; Sawamura, Ryoji. 1961. Nattô-kin no
sansei suru nenseita tôshitsu ni kansuru kenkyû. II. Asechiruka
oyobi mechiru-ka [Studies on the viscous polysaccharide
produced by Bacillus natto. II. Acetylation and methylation].
Yakugaku Zasshi (J. of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan)
81(11):1588-92. Nov. [2 ref. Jap; eng]
Address: 1. Tokyo Medico-Dental University, Yushima,
Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; 2. Pharmaceutical Inst., College of
Science and Engineering, Nihon Univ., Kanda-surugadai,