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

Michio Kushi. Illust. 28 cm. [200* ref]
• Summary: This book is mistitled. It should be titled
“Rebecca Wood’s Macrobiotic Views on Natural Foods.”
The parts on quinoa, teff, amaranth, and many “macrobiotic
foods” provide good information. There is extensive
information on soyfoods, all from a macrobiotic viewpoint,
but with many errors or undocumented controversial
assertions never seen before in the literature, such as the
following: “Cold Tofu. Foods that are cooling, like tofu,
tend to reduce the fi re in the lower organs. This explains
why tofu was eaten by Buddhist monks to abate their sexual
desires. This is not a prescription against tofu. Well-cooked
tofu is less cooling. For optimum health, we need a balance
of warming as well as cooling foods. However, if you are
feeling cold, or if it is a cold day, or if you have strenuous
activities planned, then you may opt for salmon over tofu.”
Foods discussed are: Cheese (imitation soy), ice
cream and frozen desserts (soy or tofu ice cream), miso,
natto, nigari, soybeans (black, yellow, and “just harvested
green soy”), soy fl our, soy protein isolate, soy milk, soy
nut (“Those oversalted, beggarly little crunches found in
everything from trail mix to salads are soynuts,...”), soy
oil, soy sauce (“Also known as Shoyu and Tamari), and soy
yogurt, tempeh, tofu, and TVP (texturized vegetable protein
{textured soy fl our}).
Note: This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Feb. 2005) that contains the term “cooling food.”
Address: P.O. Box 30, Crestone, Colorado 81131. Phone:
303 (or 719) -256-4939.
1284. Hughes, L. 1988? Soybean food products for West
Africa. Ibadan, Nigeria: International Institute of Tropical
Agriculture. v + 10 p. Undated. *
• Summary: The preparation of the following soyfoods,
using techniques suited for rural and urban West African
households, is described: soy fl our, soybean paste, soymilk,
soybean meat, scrambled soybean meat, soy ogi, soybean
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 398
snacks, soybean candies, soy moin moin, soy gbegiri soup,
soybean vegetable soup, basic cake mix, soybean bread,
soybean biscuits, and fermented soybean iru (dawadawa).
1285. Theses on soybeans and soyfoods: Dissertation
Abstracts (Database search report). 1989. 234 p. Jan. 20. 28
cm. Unpublished manuscript. [1106 ref]
• Summary: The Dissertation Abstracts database contains
virtually every American PhD dissertation accepted at an
accredited institution since 1861. A search yielded 1,106
theses on soybeans and soyfoods not including records with
the terms pathogen*, Disease*, weeds, or insect* in the title
or abstract. * = truncated term.
It contained the following number of theses on soyfoods:
Soymilk 9-14, tofu 6, tempeh 6, miso 4, soy sauce 3, and
natto 2.
The most valuable records for us are in the subject
categories Food Science & Technology; Health Sciences,
Nutrition; and Economics, Agricultural. Other subject
categories include: Agriculture (Agronomy, Animal Culture
& Nutrition, General, Plant Culture, Plant Physiology);
Biochemistry; Botany; Chemistry (Agricultural and
Biological, Analytical); Engineering, Chemical; Entomology.
A count of the records in which we were interested
by state where the thesis was written shows the following:
Illinois 128, Iowa 68, Indiana 37, New York 30, Missouri 28,
Michigan 26, Minnesota 25, and Ohio 17.
1286. Product Name: [Natto, and Fried Tempeh].
Foreign Name: Natto, Tempeh Frit.
Manufacturer’s Name: Gaec de La Lix: United
Macrobiotic Company.
Manufacturer’s Address: 32260 Tachoires–Seissan,
France. Phone: 62.65.35.04.
Date of Introduction: 1989. January.
New Product–Documentation: Form fi lled out for Anthony
Marrese. 1989. Sept. The natto was introduced in Jan. 1989,
and 6 kg/week are produced at present. The fried tempeh was
launched in June 1989, and 7 kg/week are now produced.
Anthony visited the community in mid-Oct. 1989 and noted:
“They are a small group similar to Terre Nouvelle, but
doing more with soya. Very nice kitchen production (see
color slide), which is growing. They sell through markets
and through 10 stores, which helps them to educate people.
They are all Germans who came to France about 5 years ago
mainly because land prices were lower in France.
Label for Fried Tempeh. 1989. 4 by 3 inches. Black
photocopy on pink. “Aliment fermente de soya.” Nature
et Progres logo. 200 gm. On the back is information about
tempeh.
1287. Chowning, Larry S. 1989. Soybean marketing efforts
in Japan earn state honor for local farming operation.
Southside Sentinel (Urbanna, Virginia). Feb. 2.