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

epresenting roughly 2,000 soybean varieties and including
150 large-seeded vegetable type varieties collected mostly
in Korea and Japan; all of these were introduced into the
U.S. germplasm collection; (2) he realized for the fi rst time
the superiority and potential of the vegetable-type soybeans
for food use and later played the leading role in propagating
them and teaching others of their value; (3) he developed a
much better understanding of soybean growing methods and
technology; and (4) he collected more than [commercial]
250 food products made from soybeans, which he took back
to America, and did by far the most extensive studies on
soyfood production of any Westerner up to that time.
“In his journals and letters, Morse wrote more than once
that he was ‘amazed at the extent to which the soybean was
used for food in Japan.’ He was intrigued by the techniques
for making tofu, miso, shoyu, natto, and other soyfoods,
spent many days in small shops with producers, and
described their processes in great detail, taking hundreds of
pages of typed text with hundreds of photographs.
“The two-year trip was a tremendous adventure for both
Morse and Dorsett. Morse later remarked that he considered
it the highlight of his career. He was fi nally able to fully
grasp the great potential of the soybean, which he had only
been able to glimpse through his years of reading and work
in America.” Continued. Address: Soyfoods Center, P.O. Box
234, Lafayette, California.
874. Hara, Toshio; Aumayr, Andrea; Ueda, S. 1981.
Characterization of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid in
Bacillus natto: Evidence for plasmid-linked PGA production.
J. of General and Applied Microbiology (Tokyo) 27(4):299-
305. Aug. [14 ref]
• Summary: Describes the discovery of a 5.7-kilobase
plasmid, pUH1, which contains the gamma-glutmyl
transpeptidase (gamma-GTP) gene responsible for
polyglutamic acid production. Address: 1, 3. Dep. of
Food Science & Technology, Faculty of Agriculture,
Kyushu Univ., Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812, Japan; 2. Dep. of
Microbiology, Innsbruck Univ., Innsbruck 6020, Austria.
875. Inkson, Ms.; Mann, E.J. comp. 1981. Thesaurus:
Food Science and Technology Abstracts. 2nd ed. Shinfi eld,
Reading, England: IFIS (International Food Information
Service). 238 p. No index. 30 cm. First edition, 1977. [Eng]
• Summary: The Introduction states: “The original IFIS word
list, issued in 1970, did not attempt to give more than the
barest outline of the relations between the terms encountered.
In 1977, therefore, an FSTA Thesaurus was published, in
which the basic structuring of the material found in FSTA
was set out. The Thesaurus was designed to give maximum
compatibility with the EEC Multilingual (English / French
/ German / Italian) Food Thesaurus, published in 1979 (and
itself based largely on the FSTA system for the English
version), and to take into account the needs of on-line users.”
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 283
The terms are divided into headings (main terms or
descriptors), which are printed in capital letters, and lead-in
terms (non-descriptors) printed in lower case. Additional
information is included in square brackets. The following
abbreviations show the types of relationship between terms:
BT = broader terms. NT = narrower terms. RT = related
terms. UF = used for. lead-in term followed by “see” heading
(e.g. bean curd see TOFU).
Soy-related terms: Beverages: UF soy milk. Lecithins:
BT Emulsifi ers, Phospholipids. UF phosphatidylcholine.
Legumes: NT Soybeans. Miso: BT Soy Products. natto: see
Soy Products. Sauces: NT Soy Sauces. soy fl our: see Soy
Products. soy milk: see Beverages; Soy Products.
Soy Products: BT Soybeans, Vegetable Products,
Fermented Products. NT Miso, Soy Proteins, Soy Sauces,
Soybean Oils. UF natto, nyufu, soy fl our, soy milk, sufu,
tempeh, tofu, tsukudani, vital.
Soy Proteins: BT Protein Products, Soy Products,
Proteins Vegetable. RT Textured Vegetable Proteins. UF
okara protein, Promine [Central Soya Co.], Supro 620, yuba.
Soy Sauces: BT Fermented Products, Sauces, Soy
Products. UF moromi, shoyu.
Soybean Oils: BT Oils Vegetable, Soy Products.
Soybeans (Glycine max): BT Legumes, Oilseeds. NT Soy
Products.
Note: This is the earliest document seen (Sept. 2003)
that is a thesaurus containing terms related to soybeans and
soy products. Address: IFIS (International Food Information
Service), Lane End House, Shinfi eld, Reading RG2 9BB,
England.
876. SoyaScan Notes.1981. What is thua-nao? (Overview).
Oct. 23. Compiled by William Shurtleff of Soyfoods Center.
• Summary: Thua-nao is a fermented soyfood found mostly
in northern Thailand. A close relative of Japanese natto, it
is sold or eaten in either of two forms, as cooked thua-nao
paste or as thua-nao chips, both of which are made from
raw thua-nao paste. Especially popular in areas where fi sh
are scarce, it is are used like fermented fi sh to add fl avor to
richly-fl avored vegetable soups and chili-hot dishes. In some
areas it is used as a basic item in the diet rather than merely
as a seasoning.
To make thua-nao in the traditional way, 2 to 4
pounds of whole dry soybeans are washed then, without
presoaking, boiled in excess water for 3 to 4 hours, or until
soft enough to be easily crushed between the fi ngers. They
are then drained, transferred to a bamboo basket lined with
banana leaves, covered with additional banana leaves, and
allowed to undergo natural fermentation (without special
inoculation) at room temperature (86ºF or 30ºC) for 3 to
4 days, or until they are soft enough to turn into a thick
paste when lightly crushed [between] the fi ngers. As with
natto, the fermentation is activated by strains of Bacillus
subtilis bacteria. The fermented beans or raw thua-nao are