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

and porridges. Soyabean soups. Soyabeans as a meal on
their own. Soyabean patties. Soyabean sweet snack foods.
Soyabean breads. Fermented soyabean products: Soyabean
Daddawa, Soyabean Sprouts. Soyabean oriental delicacies:
Tofu (curded with lemon juice, vinegar, kuka [the fruit of the
baobab tree], calcium sulphate, or epsom salts), Basic Fried
Tofu, Soyabean Cheese (with okara), Soy Yogurt. Appendix:
Measurements. Home made ovens. Soyabean feeding trials
with infants. References.
Includes 67 Nigerian-style recipes. Soybeans are used
mostly in the form of “soybean paste” (fresh soy puree or
gô) and homemade whole soy fl our. To make the paste: Soak
soybeans overnight, dehull by hand and fl oat off hulls, grind
cotyledons with a small amount of water, use in a cooked
preparation. To make fl our: Boil beans for 30 minutes, wash,
soak in two times the volume of water for 12-24 hours,
change water every 4-6 hours, sun-dry, grind.
Soyabeans were introduced to Nigeria in 1908, and
most of the early research was carried out at the Moor
Plantation in Ibadan. Germination of the imported seeds
was a major problem, leading to the failure of early
attempts to grow soybeans in Southern Nigeria. However
subsequent trials in the Guinea Savannah belt proved
successful. In 1928 soyabeans were successfully grown at
the Samaru Experimental Station. This success encouraged
the development of a programme which eventually resulted
in the distribution of seed to subsistent farmers in order to
establish soyabeans as a cash crop. A world shortage of oil
seeds immediately after World War II accelerated the drive
for increased soybean production in Nigeria.
A map (Fig. 1, p. 2) shows the main soybean growing
area in Nigeria, which is in the Southern Guinea Zone; here a
rainy season of 5 months or more discourages the cultivation
of groundnuts and cowpeas. Benue state is the main soybean
growing area, followed by the Abuja area in Niger State and
the southern divisions in Kaduna State. The crop is planted
in small holdings of 1 to 2 hectares per farmer. The most
common variety planted is the Malayan variety.
Table I shows Nigerian soybean production and market
value from 1957-58 to 1972-73. The peak production
year was 1962-63 (26,450 long tons); only 234 tons were
produced in 1972-73. Address: Extension Home Economist,
Ahmadu Bello University, Agricultural Extension and
Research Liaison Services, P.M.B. 1044, Samaru-Zaria,
North Nigeria.
769. Ford, Barbara. 1978. Future food: Alternate protein
for the year 2000. New York, NY: William Morrow and
Company, Inc. 300 p. Index. 22 cm. [40+ ref]
• Summary: The author concludes that soybeans are most
likely to be the protein source of the future. Chapter 2, “The
Cinderella Bean” (p. 32-53) and Chapter 3, “Soybeans,
Oriental Style” (p. 54-71) both discuss the benefi ts of
soybeans. Pages 37-38 note that soybeans were once called
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 256
“haybeans” and their hay was called “haybean hay.”
Note: This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Oct. 2011) that which uses the term “haybean” or
“haybeans.”
The work of the USDA Northern Regional Research
Lab. (NRRL) with soyfoods is described at length. While at
the NRRL she fi rst encountered “sufu.” In “Chinese markets,
sufu is not called sufu but ‘bean curd’ or ‘bean cake.’ As
soon as I saw sufu I realized it has an image problem–not
as unappetizing as natto, but distinctly unpleasant. Picture
grayish chunks of some odd-looking material fl oating in a
murky liquid, like biology specimens in a bottle, and you
have a typical bottle of sufu.
“Sufu looks so bad that my husband, who has faithfully
eaten a number of odd-looking sources of protein that I have
purchased over the years, refused it. It took a little courage
for me to tackle one of the grayish lumps myself but I fi nally
ate one. To my surprise, it was good, rather like a tangy dairy
cheese but with a distinctive, nonbeany fl avor of its own” (p.
60-61).
Chapter 6, “It Ain’t (Just) Hay,” is about alfalfa leaf
protein and leaf protein concentrate. Research on leaf protein
“really started during World War II, when British scientist
N.W. Pirie suggested the use of leaves to augment dwindling
meat supplies... Pirie’s proposal never got underway during
the war because of the costs involved, but after the war he
was given a laboratory where he carried out most of the
pioneering work on leaf protein.”
Chapter 9, “SCP: Promises, Promises,” is about
single-cell proteins such as the bacteria Cellulomonas and
Pseudomonas (the champion, which can double its weight
in 9 minutes). A probable culprit in SCPs is “nucleic acids,
which have been shown to cause elevated uric acids in
humans if used over an extended period of time. Raised uric
acid levels lead to gout, kidney stones, and gallstones. Some
bacteria contain from 15 to 16 percent nucleic acids, a fairly
high level. Yeasts and fungi contain from 6 to 11 percent,
still a high level. Algae have less.” It is recommended that
humans not consume more than 2 grams (0.7 ounces) of
nucleic acids per day. Address: USA.
770. Frazier, W.C.; Westhoff, D.C. 1978. Food microbiology.
3d ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Co. xvi + 540 p.
Index. 24 cm. [400+* ref]
• Summary: Contents: 1. Food and microorganisms.
2. Principles of food preservation. 3. Contamination,
preservation, and spoilage of different kinds of foods. 4.
Foods and enzymes produced by microorganisms. 5. Foods
in relation to disease. 6. Food sanitation, control, and
inspection.
In the section on “Oriental fermented foods” (p. 387-91),
the following soy-related foods are mentioned: Koji (chou
in Chinese), soy sauce, tamari sauce, miso, tempeh, natto,
soybean cheese or tou-fu-ru. Address: 1. Univ. of Wisconsin