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

adicals, which correlated well with the content of total
phenols, and aglycone isofl avone.
Conclusion: This new food has the potential to become
a functional food because of its high antioxidant activity.
Address: School of Food Science and Technology, Yunnan
Agricultural University, Kunming City, Yunnan Province
650201, China.
1902. Cober, Elroy. 2010. How important have day-neutral
/ photoperiod insensitive soybean varieties been in the
movement of soybeans northward in Ontario? (Interview).
SoyaScan Notes. June 11. Conducted by William Shurtleff of
Soyinfo Center.
• Summary: Day-neutral (also called photoperiod
insensitive) varieties and their genes have played a
supporting role but not the leading role in helping
soybeans to move northward. The leading role has been
played by earliness traits and genes. Actually, the two are
interconnected.
There is a series of 8-15 maturity genes in soybean; at
each one of those maturity genes you can have a late version
or an early version. It’s like two-way switch that is switched
to either late or early. As you accumulate genes that have
early versions, you get earlier and earlier. The day-neutral
genes are a subset of the maturity genes. Some of these
genes we recognize because they provide day neutrality.
It’s different language but it refers to the same thing. Day
neutral is early. We talk about “day neutral” because it is
something that we can see, and it is dramatic. It was talked
about before we had a clear understanding of the individual
genes. We breeders still talk about it some because it’s easy
to characterize. We grow the soybean plants in a place where
they receive 20 hours a day of sunlight. If they fl ower and
mature normally, we call them “day neutral” or “photoperiod
insensitive.” Twenty hours is a recognized cut-off point
because it is so extreme. That concept of 20 hours started
to be used in the early 1980s. Harvey Voldeng and Richard
Buzzell (at the Harrow Research Station) did work on
that. There are two genes that are important for the trait of
day neutrality, and both must be switched to early. It gets
complicated. Examples of important soybean varieties that
are day neutral in Ontario are Maple Presto (the fi rst such
variety released) and Maple Ridge. Maple Presto and Maple
Ridge are now grandparents of the varieties widely grown
today. The leading soybean varieties today are recognized
for their earliness and not so much for their day neutrality.
Today “day neutrality” is sort of trick that breeders use to
get an easy handle on earliness. If a soybean variety has day
neutrality, then its offspring are going to have a better chance
of maturing early.
Most farmers have switched over to Roundup-Ready
soybeans from publicly-bred soybeans so it’s hard for Dr.
Cober to know what is going on in the genetics of these
privately bred soybeans. The Roundup Ready traits have
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 581
nothing to do with earliness. In Canada today, privately bred
Roundup Ready soybeans have about 50% of the market
and publicly bred soybeans have the other 50%. Roland is
publicly bred and adapted for Manitoba but it does not play
such an important role because Manitoba farmers grow
mostly Roundup Ready soybeans rather than “conventional
soybeans.” Two of Dr. Cober’s new natto varieties that are
very early and well adapted to Mannitoba are also daylength
insensitive. He breeds these natto soybeans to give farmers in
the north the option of participating in that premium market
in Japan.
Dr. Cober’s focus as a soybean breeder in Ottawa is
on specialty type soybeans–meaning natto, high protein,
and tofu. They have a tofu lab in Ottawa that tests their
tofu soybeans. The grain quality person at Ottawa, Judith
Frégeau-Reid, contacted Soyinfo Center recently to ask
questions about evaluating tofu quality.
Dr. Harvey Voldeng, former soybean breeder at Ottawa
adds (June 11): Of the old varieties, either Portage (from B.
Stefansson in Manitoba) or the variety Acme (from Ottawa)
were probably photoperiod insensitive. This was not known
at the time the varieties were released; but when they were
tested later, they were found to be insensitive. Address:
Soybean Breeder, Agriculture Canada, Central Experimental
Farm (CEF), Building #110, Ottawa, ONT K1A 0C6,
Canada. Phone: 613-759-1610.
1903. Yoshikawa, Yoko. 2010. Evaluation of natto soybean
seed quality attributes and sensory properties. MSc thesis,
University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. xiii + 139 leaves. 28
cm. *
Address: Fayetteville, Arkansas.
1904. Andoh, Elizabeth. 2010. Kansha: Celebrating Japan’s
vegan and vegetarian traditions. Berkeley, California: Ten
Speed Press. vii + 296 p. Illust. (color photos by Leigh
Beisch). Index. 25 x 25 cm.
• Summary: A beautiful book, and a major contribution
toward understanding Japanese cuisine, culture, and the
pervasive spirit of gratitude / appreciation. In Japanese,
kansha means appreciation or gratitude. Contents:
Acknowledgments. Introduction: A historical perspective on
kansha (shojin ryori is vegan), recent developments, putting
theory into practice, practicing kansha, meal planning,
some fi nal thoughts, a note about language. Rice. Noodles.
Stocks and soups. Fresh from the market. The well-stocked
pantry. Mostly soy. Tuskémono [pickles]. Desserts. A guide
to the kansha kitchen. A catalog of tools and techniques. A
catalog of ingredients [glossary]–with entries that include the
following: daikon, edamame, fl ours (kinako), kudzu, herbs,
spices and seasonings (ao nori, sansho, shiso, togarashi,
wasabi), kabocha, dried beans (adzuki [sic], daizu {dried
soybeans–the most important legumes in the Japanese
pantry}), dried soy foods [sic] (hoshi yuba {dried yuba},