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

849. Pennington, Jean A.T.; Church, Helen Nichols.
eds. 1980. Bowes and Church’s food values of portions
commonly used. 13th ed. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: J.B.
Lippincott Co. xvii + 186 p. Index. 28 cm. 1st ed. was 1937.
2nd ed. was 1939. 10th ed. was 1966. [62 ref]
• Summary: The index contains entries for: Beans (but no
soy). Cheese and cheese food (but alternatives). Cheez-its,
Chili–vegetarian. Float, Dairy Queen. Flour. French fried
potatoes (Arthur Treachers, Burger Chef, Burger King,
Dairy Queen, Long John Silver’s, McDonald’s, Wendys). Ice
cream bars. Infant formulas (Isomil–Ross Labs, L-Soyalac–
Loma Linda, Neomullsoy–Syntex, Nursoy, ProSobee–
Mead Johnson, Soyalac–Loma Linda). Irishmoss [Irish
moss]. Milk (goat, human, Indian buffalo, reindeer, sheep,
soybean, whole). Miso. Natto. Oils. Soyamaise dressing
(p. 122). Soyamel. Soybeans, fermented. Soybean curd.
Soybean fl our. Soybean milk. Soybean nuts. Soybean oil.
Soybean protein. Soysauce. Teriyaki sauce. Tigers Milk Bar.
Tofu. Tom Collins. Veg Skalops. Veja-Links. Vegeburger.
Vegetarian products made mostly by Worthington Foods
and Loma Linda (p. 22-23): Beef style roll, Chicken style,
Chic-Ketts, Chili, Corned beef style, Croquettes, Dinner
cuts, Fry Sticks, Gran Burger, Meatloaf mix, Nuteena,
Prosage, Proteena, Rediburger, Smoked beef style, Stakelets,
Stripples, Tasteecuts, Turkey Style–Smoked, Vega-links,
Vegeburger, Veg Skallops, Vegetarian Burger, Vitaburger,
Wham. Yogurt.
Aluminum is not among the lists of trace minerals in
foods in the back. The book does list the following as trace
minerals: chromium, cobalt, fl uoride, iodine, molybdenum,
nickel, selenium, and tin. Address: 1. Formerly Instructor
of Nutrition, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco,
California [Now with U.S. Food and Drug Administration,
Washington, DC]. Phone: 202-245-1064.
850. Quadernos de Natura (Editorial Posada, Mexico).1980.
La alimentacion macrobiotica [The macrobiotic diet]. No.
10. 88 p. [10 ref. Spa]
• Summary: Includes information on miso, natto, tamari,
tekka miso, and sea vegetables.
851. New York Times.1981. Dining out guide: Japanese
restaurants. Jan. 4. p. D55.
• Summary: This is a list of the 11 best Japanese restaurants
in New York City based on reviews that appeared in the
New York Times. One of these is Hatsuhana, which features
a sushi bar. Among the recommended dishes is “natto, a
pungent mix of fermented [soy] beans,...”
852. Root, Waverley. 1981. A cordial bow to the byproducts
of the soybean. Los Angeles Times. Jan. 15. p. J42.
• Summary: This article is indebted to: Simonds, Nina. 1979.
“Chinese cuisine: Bean curd.” Gourmet. Sept. p. 28-29, 84-
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 274
91.
The soybean, which offers extraordinary versatility as
a human food, can be transformed into soybean milk, “the
soybean milk skin [yuba] derived from the milk, the bean
sticks [dried yuba sticks] made from the milk skin, the also
edible sediment given off by the milk [okara], untreated
bean curd [regular tofu and perhaps silken tofu], pressed
bean curd which produces bean curd noodles [pressed tofu
noodles], more tightly compressed bean curd cakes, and
frozen-and-thawed bean curd [dried frozen tofu].” Note: This
is the earliest English-language document seen (Nov. 2011)
that uses the term “frozen-and-thawed bean curd” to refer to
dried frozen tofu.
In the process of making “pressed bean curd, another
soybean food is created–bean curd skin [pai yeh, pressed
tofu sheets], which should not be confused with soybean
milk skin [yuba]. Dried bean curd skin,” which needs
no refrigeration and is often stuffed, for example with
chopped meat, is sold by weight by Chinese specialty shops
throughout the world; fi ve or six sheets weigh one ounce.
“There is a whole family of foods made from fermented
bean curd” [fermented tofu]. Bean curd can be fermented in
various ways. Bean curd loaves, for example, can be stored
for the winter in a cool dark place; micro-organisms from
the air cause fermentation. “The loaves acquire a fungoid
coating, which has to be scraped off, and as far as I know is
not used for food,...” Fermented bean curd, which has been
called “soybean cheese,” is easier to digest than unfermented
bean curd. Bean curd can also be marinated in rice wine,
fl avored with spices, and then allowed to ferment. A most
unusual type of fermented tofu is stinky bean curd (sh’ou tou
fu), a favorite Chinese snack. In Taipei, there are many street
vendors who ply the streets with their portable deep fryers.
This fermented tofu is usually deep-fried and usually eaten
with one’s choice of soy sauce, vinegar, mashed garlic, and
chili paste.
Other fermented foods include miso, natto, hamanatto
(which is of Korean origin), tempeh (of Indonesian origin),
and shoyu (Soybean sauce, soy sauce).
“It is said that the best grades of soy sauce can take as
much as six to seven years of aging to reach perfection, and
that the making of a superb soy sauce requires ‘as much art
in its preparation as good French wines.’”
Flavorings are added to some Chinese soy sauce
“various herbs, especially citronella; spices (ginger);
aromatic vegetables (onions); and not only fermented fi sh,
but even fermented chicken meat. To produce three liters (3.1
quarts) of sauce requires on kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beans.
“Fukien has the reputation of producing the best soy
bean sauce in China and consequently stews many foods
in it, giving them a color which has caused the culinary
techniques of this region to be called ‘red cooking.’”
Soybean sauce is “often an important ingredient in many
more complicated sauces–for instance Hoisin sauce in China