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

popular fermented Japanese soy food.
“Let’s take a cue from the Japanese and start fi nding
tasty ways to prepare tofu here on home turf. After all, its the
perfect protein alternative to meat.”
1366. Jideani, I.A.O.; Okeke, C.R. 1991. Comparative study
of microorganisms and sensory attributes of condiments from
the fermentation of different seeds. Plant Foods for Human
Nutrition 41(1):27-34. Jan. [22 ref]
• Summary: With urbanization and Westernization, the
production of locally fermented seeds are decreasing, giving
way to commercial fl avorings such as Maggi cubes, which
are widely advertised. However with import restrictions
in most West African countries, the need arises to improve
traditional methods of making these seasonings.
After a 3-day fermentation that simulated traditional
processing, the seeds that gave seasonings with the best
overall acceptability were soybean (7.7), locust bean (7.7),
and castor bean (6.8). The soybeans became a type of
daddawa. Bacillus species were present on all the seeds
throughout the fermentation. Address: Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa Univ., School of Science, Bauchi, Nigeria.
1367. Pfeiffer, Jeanine M. 1991. Factors affecting adoption
of soybeans into cropping systems and diets by small
farmers, rural households and petty traders. In: Proceedings
of Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture in Africa: Socio-
Cultural, Political and Economic Considerations. 1991.
Columbus, Ohio: Center for African Studies Held 25-26 May
1990 at Ohio State Univ. [27 ref]
• Summary: The author attributes the high rate of soybean
adoption in Ayepe, Oyo State, to instruction provided in
semi-annual workshops on production, cooking methods, and
the nutritional benefi ts of the soybean. The primary uses of
the soybean in Ayepe were as substitutes for melon seed in
sauces and for locust seed in daddawa.
Talk with Jeanine Pfeiffer. 1992. Oct. 10. This paper
contains her initial rough thoughts on the subject in very
unpolished form. She is now working on polishing the work
either for publication in another journal or for part of a PhD
thesis.
The paper was later published in the conference
proceedings by the Center for African Studies, Ohio State
Univ. Address: Dep. of Agronomy and Range Science, Univ.
of California, Davis, CA.
1368. Product Name: [Natto].
Foreign Name: Natto.
Manufacturer’s Name: Food for Freedom.
Manufacturer’s Address: Nylense [Nijlense] Steenweg 72,
B-2270 Herenthout, Belgium. Phone: 014 / 51 7237.
Date of Introduction: 1991. February.
Ingredients: Organically grown soybeans, water, natto
starter.
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 422
Wt/Vol., Packaging, Price: 150 gm.
How Stored: Refrigerated.
New Product–Documentation: Letter, label, and leafl et
sent by Lucio de Berti, owner of Food For Freedom. 1992.
Jan. 4. This product, called simply “Natto,” was introduced
in Feb. 1991. The company now makes about 8-9 kg/week
of natto. “During a lecture at the Kushi Institute level II in
Florence, Italy, I got interested in natto. I liked the strange
state, and I started to produce it on a very small scale for
my shop in Como, Italy. I grew to appreciate its qualities
more and more. When we started our company Food for
Freedom in Belgium, we decided to include natto in our
products, to complete the line of our soybean products, and
(since it was largely unknown) to help people get in contact
with it. Our company is meant to be mainly a fresh tempeh
producer, since we believe that tempeh is the best way to use
soyabeans for mankind. Our second goal is to help spread
the use of soya products integrated into a more philosophical
lifestyle, based on macrobiotics.”
Label. 3 by 4 inches. Black and pink on white. In Dutch
and French. “Serve cold with soy sauce and green onions
fi nely diced or daikon radish, or in soups. Peu misoté ou à la
friture aux legumes.”
Leafl et (in French). “Fresh natto (Le natto frais).”
Contents: List of the benefi ts of natto. What is natto? The
importance of eating natto regularly. How natto is made.
How to use natto. For more information. Seven natto recipes.
1369. Okada, Noriyuki; Nikkuni, Sayuki; Manabe, Masaru.
1991. [Cell fusion between Miura strain and Takahashi strain
of Bacillus natto]: Proof of fusion by plate-count method.