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

536. Hesseltine, C.W.; Wang, H.L. 1969. Oriental fermented
foods made from soybeans. USDA Agricultural Research
Service. ARS-74-50. p. 45-52. Feb. Proceedings of the Ninth
Dry Bean Research Conference.
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Koji. Shoyu or
soy sauce. Miso. Hamanatto. Sufu. Tempeh. Natto. Idli.
Conclusion. Flow sheets (without quantities of ingredients)
show the basic process used in making the following foods:
shoyu, miso, hamanatto, sufu (fermented tofu), and tempeh.
A photo taken in Aug. 1948 shows a miso plant in
Tokyo, Japan, with large wooden vats in the foreground.
A part of this plant was destroyed during World War II.
Address: Northern Utilization Research and Development
Div., USDA, Peoria, Illinois.
537. Ebine, Hideo; Sakano, Keichi. 1969. Nattô miso no
shisaku [Production of miso from natto]. Shokuryo Kenkyujo
Kenkyu Hokoku (Report of the Food Research Institute) No.
24. p. 122-24. March. [7 ref. Jap; eng]
• Summary: Reprinted from Miso no Kagaku to Gijutsu
(Miso Science and Technology). No. 173. p. 23-25 (1968).
Address: Food Research Inst., Shiohama 1-4-12, Koto-ku,
Tokyo, Japan.
538. Ohta, Teruo. 1969. Nattô [Natto]. Shokuryo: Sono
Kagaku to Gijutsu (Food: Its Science and Technology) No.
12. p. 20-36. March. [Jap]
Address: National Food Research Inst., Tokyo, Japan.
539. Saio, Kyoko; Watanabe, Tokuji. 1969. Daizu shokuhin
no bisai kôzô [Observation of soybean foods under electron
microscope]. Shokuryo Kenkyujo Kenkyu Hokoku (Report
of the Food Research Institute) No. 24. p. 112-18. March. [8
ref. Jap; eng]
• Summary: Photos show 15 different electron microscope
pictures including raw (dry) soybeans, soaked soybeans,
steamed soybeans, natto, tofu, and frozen tofu. Reprinted
from Nihon Shokuhin Kogyo Gakkai Shi (J. of Food Science
and Technology) 15(7):290-96 (1968). Address: Food
Research Inst., Shiohama 1-4-12, Koto-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
540. Binding, George J. 1969. The soya bean–a vegetable
full of body-building protein. British Vegetarian. March/
April. p. 155-57.
• Summary: The “soya bean has the highest protein content
of any vegetable. As such it is God’s gift to man and is a
must for vegetarians. In the Far East it is known as ‘the
meat of the soil.’” The author spent many years in East Asia,
where he studied the foods of the region. Soya beans can
be used to make a wide variety of foods; the author briefl y
describes the following: Bean shoots [soy sprouts], soya
bean milk, bean curd or vegetable cheese [tofu], yuba, natto,
miso, soy sauce, and boiled whole soybeans.
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 185
Since World War II, America has become the largest
producer of soya beans. Before that war, England was one
of the largest importers of soya beans in the world. “All
vegetarians should make certain of a suffi cient daily intake
of protein. There’s no more effective and satisfying way of
doing so than eating soya beans.” Address: M.B.E.
541. Stanton, W.R.; Wallbridge, A. 1969. Fermented food
processes. Process Biochemistry 4(4):45-51. April. [34 ref]
• Summary: “Fermentation of starch tubers such as cassava
with fungal organisms such as Rhizopus can result in a food
product with signifi cant increases in protein content.” The
cassava dough is inoculated then extruded (like noodles) into
fermentation trays.
Table 1 shows many different “vegetable cheeses and
related fermented foods.” The fi rst such food mentioned
is minchin, made from wheat [gluten] in China. The
microorganisms used are Paecilomyces, Aspergillus,
Cladosporium, Fusarium, Syncephelastrum, Penicillium, and
Trichothecium species. This is an anaerobic fermentation of
wheat gluten for 2-3 weeks at room temperature during the
winter, with 10% salt added. The product is cut into strips
and used as a condiment. Eaten as a meat substitute, it is rich
in protein, nutritious, and healthy.
Fermented soy products include sufu, tempeh, meitauza,
Hamanatto, shoyu, miso, and natto. Address: 1. PhD, Head,
Microbiology Section, Tropical Products Inst., London,
England; 2. Parke Davis Co.
542. Watanabe, Tokuji. 1969. Industrial production of
soybean foods in Japan. Paper presented at United Nations
Industrial Development Organization Expert Group Meeting
on Soya Bean Processing and Use. 38 p. Document: ID/
WG.45/3. Held 17-21 Nov. 1969 at Peoria, Illinois. [16 ref]
• Summary: Contents: Tofu and its industrial production:
Process of tofu making, tofu production as an industry,
equipment for tofu production, varieties of tofu, new
materials of tofu, new types of tofu, aburage and other deep
fried tofu.
Kori-tofu and its industrial production: Process of koritofu
making, kori-tofu production as an industry, equipment
for kori-tofu production, distribution of kori-tofu, utilization
of by-products.
Yuba and its industrial production.
Kinako [roasted whole soy fl our] and its industrial
production. The Japanese word can be written either in
hiragana or using two Chinese characters which mean
“yellow fl our.” Kinako is made from whole soybeans.
Sometimes the soybean hulls are removed before roasting.
It is widely used as an ingredient in Japanese confections
[such as kinako mochi or Abekawa mochi (toasted mochi
in kinako); it was traditionally sold along the banks of the
Abekawa River in Shizuoka, Japan]. About 12,000 metric
tons of soybeans are used per year in making kinako.