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

consumption was 6.7 kg per capita. Indonesia consumes
about 1 million tonnes of soybeans annually, 60-65% of them
in the form of tofu and 35 to 40% as tempeh.
Malaysia consumes only about 30,000 tonnes of
soybeans per year as food. In Singapore, more than 75%
of the population of 2.5 million are Chinese. Therefore
tofu, soysauce, and soymilk are the predominant traditional
soyfoods consumed.
Thailand consumes about 40,000 tonnes of soybeans a
year as food, mainly in the form of tofu. The Philippines uses
only 5,000 tonnes of soybeans annually for food, mainly as
tofu.
To summarize (Table 6), annual per capita consumption
of soybeans in various East Asian countries, in descending
order of the amount consumed, is as follows: Taiwan 13.2
kg (population 19 million); Japan 8.3 kg (population 120
million); South Korea 7.5 kg (population 40 million);
Indonesia 6.7 kg (population 150 million); Singapore 6.25
kg (population 2.4 million); China 4.5 kg (population
1,000 million); Malaysia 2.1 kg (population 14 million);
Thailand 0.8 kg (population 50 million); Philippines 0.3
kg (population 15 million). Address: Director, American
Soybean Assoc., Room 603, Kwang-Wu Building, No. 386,
Tun Hua South Road, Taipei, Taiwan.
1042. Dirar, Hamid A. 1984. Kalwal, meat substitute from
fermented Cassia obtusifolia leaves. Economic Botany
38(3):342-49. Sept. [10 ref]
• Summary: In recent years there has been an increased
interest in leaf protein as a potential source to “help alleviate
the world shortage in protein.” The leaves of certain plants
have been clearly shown to contain signifi cant levels of
protein.
In the Sudan, the green leaves of Cassia obtusifolia
are fermented to produce a food product, kalwal, used by
certain ethnic groups as a meat substitute. The fermentation
takes about 2 weeks, then the product is sundried and used
when needed. Kalwal contains about 20% protein on a dry
weight basis. The two main microorganisms active in the
fermentation are Bacillus subtilis and a species of Rhizopus
fungus.
Note: Letter (e-mail) from Lorenz Schaller of Ojai,
California, who sent this article to Soyinfo Center. 2012. Jan.
30. “Cassia obtusifolia has the common name ‘sickle-pod
senna.’ I have grown the plant and have color transparencies
of it.
“The seeds are roasted to make a medicinal tea
(habucha) sold in packages in every Japanese grocery store.
I once had a package on my exhibit table at a conference and
Aveline Kushi walked by, stopped, pointed to the habu and
said, ‘That’s my favorite tea. I have it every day.’
“The seeds (raw, unroasted) are used in place of yarrow
stalks for casting the ancient oracle–I Ching. I keep a
bottle of them in the cupboard for that use.” Address: Dep.
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 336
of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Univ. of
Khartoum, Khartoum, Sudan.
1043. Hara, Toshio; Shiraishi, A.; Fujii, H.; Ueda, S. 1984.
Specifi c host range of Bacillus subtilis (natto) phages
associated with polyglutamate production: Note. Agricultural
and Biological Chemistry 48(9):2373-74. Sept. [17 ref. Eng]
• Summary: On the surface of natto is a “viscous material
consisting of polysaccharide (a levan-form of fructan) and
polyglutamate (PGA).” PGA consists of L- and D-glutamate
in varying proportions.
“The host range of bacteriophages isolated from an
abnormal fermented ‘natto’ completely coincides with the
5.7-kb [kilobase molecular weight] plasmid-harboring strains
of Bacillus subtilis (natto). These fi ndings have led to the
suggestion that the infective bacteriophages for Bacillus
species which can produce PGA as a capsular or extracellular
mucilaginous material might recognize PGA as a receptor
on phage adsorption.” Address: Dep. of Food Science &
Technology, Kyushu Univ., Hakozaki, Fukuoka 812, Japan;
2-3. Faculty of Home Life Science, Fukuoka Women’s Univ.,
Kasumigaoka, Fukuoka 813.
1044. Hayashi, Nobu. 1984. Users’ requirements [of
soybean varieties] for natto and tofu. In: Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food, Market Development Branch. 1984.
Workshop on Export Markets for Ontario Soybeans: Edited
Proceedings. 45 p. See p. 12-14. Held 5 Sept. 1984 at Wheels
Motor Inn, Chatham, ONT, Canada. 28 cm.
• Summary: From January to June 1984 soybeans imported
to Japan from the USA had the lowest CIF price (US$331.31
per tonne), followed by soybeans from China ($350.16), with
Canadian soybeans being the most expensive ($408.62).
The preferred characteristics of soybeans for natto are:
Small in size, round in shape, and clear hilum. Beans should
have a fi rm skin (seed coat) free of cracks. High sugar and
amino acid contents. High carbohydrate and low calcium
contents. “However the real suitability of the soybeans is
determined by the taste of the natto.”
The preferred characteristics of soybeans for tofu are:
High protein and low oil contents, especially a high nitrogen
solubility index (NSI) which affects the yield of tofu. The
larger the seed size the better. Hilum color is not a big
problem but a light-colored hilum is preferred since it may
give a whiter tofu. A thin and fi rm skin (seed coat) which
reduces the soaking time required. “Like natto, the real
suitability is known only when the tofu is tasted.” For all
soybeans, it is very important that the price be competitive.
Address: Gomei Shoji Co., Tokyo, Japan.
1045. Kanno, Akishige; Takamatsu, H.; Takano, N.
1984. Nattô ni kansuru kenkyû. II. [Studies on natto. II.
Determination of several volatile components produced by
Bacillus natto in commercial natto]. Nippon Shokuhin Kogyo