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

of cases, viz., of marasmus and malnutrition, as a substitute
for milk in diarrhea, and in intestinal and stomach disorders,
and in diabetes mellitus.”
Note 2. This is the earliest document seen (July 2008)
that suggests the use of a soybean preparation as a milk
substitute for infants.”
Note 3. This is the earliest document seen (Aug. 2003)
concerning the actual feeding of soymilk to infants or
children, or concerning a soy-based infant formula. The
author was the world’s fi rst pediatrician to use soybeans in
infant feeding, and did the fi rst U.S. studies with soyfoods
and human nutrition.
Note 4. This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Oct. 2003) that uses the term “substitute for milk” to
refer to soymilk. Note 5. This is the earliest English-language
document seen (Nov. 2002) that uses the word “malnutrition”
in connection with soyfoods.
The writer had hoped to conduct experiments and make
a more complete clinical report but several misfortunes
attended his efforts to secure the beans. “My fi rst crop was
eaten by rats, my second moulded in the pods owing to some
unusually damp weather, and insects ate about two-thirds of
my last crop. Fortunately, the beans may now be obtained
from Messrs. T.W. Wood & Son, Richmond, Virginia.
“So far the gruel has been prepared by soaking the beans
over night, stirring to remove the envelope surrounding
the bean. Three times the amount of water is added to the
beans and they are boiled until a smooth gruel results. This
is strained if necessary [to make real soymilk]. This has the
odor and taste of malt, but with the addition of a little salt is
well taken, especially after the fi rst bottle or two. The gruel
is retained unusually well and seems to be easily digested.
The stools are not more frequent than with other foods. The
stools are light brown in color like those from malted milk.
This soy bean gruel has nearly the same food value as milk
and for certain children may need further dilution. About
the same size feedings should be used as if milk were being
given. Five percent sugar may be added to increase the fuel
value.
“I have not used the beans in a suffi ciently large number
of cases nor over suffi cient periods of time to justify any
further statements at this time, but I do feel that properly
used they will be a most valuable addition to the dietary of
the sick infant. Grinding them to a bean meal would simplify
matters very much, and, if success attends their use, a soy
bean meal could easily be prepared.
“I hope to be able to make a second report at the next
meeting and have called your attention to the bean in hope
that other members may try them and report at the same
time.”
Note 6. Pediatrician Herman F. Meyer (1960, p. x)
published a long poem by Dr. John Ruhräh titled “A Simple
Saga of Infant Feeding,” which described the history and
present status of infant feeding. Meyer described Ruhräh as a
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HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 57
“philosopher, teacher, poet, pediatrist [pediatrician] and able
historian.”
Note 7. This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Oct. 2001) that uses the term “soy bean fl our.”
The following photo of Dr. John Ruhräh (1872-1935)
was taken in about 1914. Born in Chillicothe, Ohio, he
was a graduate of the College of Physicians and Surgeons
(Baltimore, 1894), did post-graduate work at Johns Hopkins,
the Pasteur Institute, Paris (1897), and in other European
schools (1900-1901), and was quarantine physician of the
port of Baltimore (1898-1900), where he became Professor
of pediatrics in the University of Maryland Medical School
and in the College of Physicians and Surgeons.
His autograph is shown below. Address: M.D.,
Baltimore, Maryland.
82. Carson, John M. 1909. Soya bean and products. Special
Consular Report (U.S. Bureau of Manufactures, Department
of Commerce and Labor) No. 41. Part 5. 35 p. Erroneously
numbered Special Consular Reports, Vol. XL.
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. I. Countries of
production. China: Newchang (Varieties of beans and
amount produced {in centals [hundredweights; 1 cental
= 112 pounds]}, methods of cultivating and harvesting,
prices and exports, shipments to Europe–use by natives),
Dalny (Manufacture of bean cake and oil, preparing the
cake, expressing the oil and wages paid, freight charges to
Dalny, exports, stock on hand, and prices), Chefoo (Beans
imported for cake manufacture, quantity and value of output,
bean vermicelli made by a peculiar process [from the small
green bean lü tou {mung bean}], preparation of beans,
drying of product and prices [for vermicelli]), Shanghai
(Extent of export trade in beans), Shantung (manufacture
of bean oil and cake, harvesting and pressing, shipping and
prices), Swatow, Tientsin (Exports of raw beans, shipments
of bean cake, extent of trade at Tientsin). Tables (p. 5)
show prices and exports of soya beans, bean cake and bean
oil at Newchang for the years 1905-1908. Japan: Cost of
production and prices (of soya beans, quite detailed), imports
of beans and cakes, use of the bean as food (shoyu, miso,
tofu, koya-tofu, natto, fl our), Kobe (Beans as human food
{eaten boiled with a little soy [sauce], “made into bean curd,
and a kind of sauce made of wheat, beans, and salt”}–small
exports {“The total exports of beans, pease, and pulse [incl.
soy] in 1908 were valued at $25,971, of which about $24,000
worth went to Hawaii, the United States, and Canada for
use by the Japanese residents in those countries as an article
of food”}, manufacture of cake), Nagasaki (Production
of beans, imports of beans–market prices). Shipments
from Vladivostok * [Russia, of soybeans probably grown
in Manchuria] (Fluctuations in prices, shipments during
present season, immense shipments planned next season (by
Mitsui)).
“It is the intention of Mitsui Bussan Kaisha, the largest