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

“The Lepcha [the aboriginal inhabitants of today’s Sikkim]
call it satlyangser; the Tibetans and Bhutia [of Bhutan
and Sikkim] call it bari; the Khasi [of Meghalaya] call
it tungrymbai; the Meitei [of Manipur] call it hawaijar;
the Mizo [of Mizoram] call it bekang; the Sema Naga [of
Nagaland] call it aakhone; and the Apatani [of Arunachal
Pradesh] call it peruyyan.”
Soybean products closely resembling kinema outside
of the Himalaya region are natto of Japan, chungkokjang
of Korea, and thua-nao of Thailand [From Google Books
Preview].
Dr. Sasuke Nakao (1972) coined the term “natto
triangle,” but Dr. Tamang proposes that the hypothetical
triangle be renamed “Kinema–Natto–Thua-nao triangle” (or
KNT triangle).
Note: Four facts support Dr. Tamang’s elegant new
triangle:
(1) Indonesia and its mold-fermented tempeh should not
have been part of the original natto triangle.
(2) Nakano (1972) guessed that natto might have come
to Japan from Java during the Muromachi period, however
extensive research on natto and tempeh after 1972 offers no
support to his guess.
(3) Many new relatives of natto have been discovered
since 1988, many of them by Dr. Tamang and co-workers.
All of these (except the relatives of dawadawa made from
soybeans found in West Africa) fall within the KNT triangle.
(4) No mold-fermented soyfoods–such as tempeh, miso,
soy sauce, jiang, or fermented tofu–fall within the new KNT
triangle.
An illustration / map (Fig. 9.1) shows this improved
triangle with Japan (natto), Nepal-India-Bhutan (kinema),
and Thailand (thua nao) at its three vertices / corners; it
also includes chungkokjang (Korea), pepok (Myanmar),
sieng (Thailand), and [incorrectly, mold-fermented]
douche [douchi] from south China. These mildly alkaline,
sticky fermented foods are popular among the peoples of
Mongolian origin. This may be due to their typical fl avor
called umami (Kawamura and Kara 1987). This fl avor is
developed during the hydrolysis of soy protein (by protease
enzymes) into amino acids during fermentation. Have people
of Mongolian origin evolved or developed particular senses
which incline them to enjoy the umami fl avor? In the eastern
Himalayas green vegetable soybeans are also boiled and
eaten.
Section 10.3, “Commercialization through ethnic food
tourism,” suggests that just as tourists visit the vineyards of
France, tempeh shops in Indonesia, and artisans or factories
that make shoyu or sake in Japan, there are potential tourist
sites for experiencing how traditional foods are made in the
Himalayan villages. For kinema, try visiting Aho village in
Sikkim.
About the author (p. xix): A good biography and
portrait photo are given. In the “Acknowledgments” (p.
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
HISTORY OF NATTO AND ITS RELATIVES 584
xvii) he writes: “I am thankful to my wife Dr. Namrata
Thapa for constant support and technical assistance in the
preparation of this book. Over the past 16 years the team of
brilliant Ph.D. students that I have recruited from the Food
Microbiology Laboratory, Sikkim Government College,
Gangtok, has been the real driving force in researching and
identifying the scientifi c mechanisms of ethnic Himalayan
fermented foods.” He then lists their names. Address: Food
Microbiology Lab., Sikkim Government College, Gangtok,
Sikkim 737 102, India.
1911. Tamang, Jyoti Prakash; Kailasapathy, Kasipathy. eds.
2010. Fermented foods and beverages of the world. Boca
Raton, Florida: CRC Press / Taylor & Francis. xii + 448 p.
Illust. 25 cm. Series: Food science and technology.
• Summary: Includes a directory of “Contributors” (p.
xi-xii). Among the many interesting, carefully researched
and documented chapters, those that mention soy include:
Chapter 1. “Dietary culture and antiquity of fermented foods
and beverages,” by J.P. Tamang and D. Samuel (p. 1-40,
for soy see the section titled “Fermented soybeans and nonsoybean
legumes,” p. 11).
Chapter 2. “Diversity of fermented foods,” by J.P.
Tamang (p. 41-84, for soy see the section titled “Fermented
soybeans and non-soybean legumes,” p. 50-52, plus p. 71).
Chapter 6. “Fermented legumes: soybean and nonsoybean
products,” by Toshirou Nagai and J.P. Tamang (p.
191-224, cited separately).
Chapter 7, “Fermented soybean pastes miso and shoyu
with reference to aroma,” by Etsuko Sugawara (p. 225-45,
cited separately).
Chapter 15. “Health aspects of fermented foods,” by
Mariam Farhad, K. Kailasapathy, and J.P. Tamang (p. 391-
414).
On page 282 is a section about viili, the Finnish
fermented milk product, traditionally made in the summer as
a way of preserving excess milk.
Table 12.4, “Some important vegetable foods of Africa”
(p. 326) mentions dawadawa or iru, produced and consumed
throughout most of West Africa, especially in the northern
parts. It was traditionally made from the African locust
bean (the seed of the leguminous tree Parkia biglobosa)
but is now also widely made from soybeans. The bacterial
fermentation is caused mainly by Bacillus subtilis and
Bacillus licheniformis.
A fl ow sheet is given (p. 333) for the preparation
of dawadawa / iru. A bibliography of the writings of the
Nigerian microbiologist S.A. Odunfa appears on p. 348.
Address: 1. Food Microbiology Lab., Sikkim Government
College, Sikkim Univ., Gangtok, Sikkim, India; 2. School of
Natural Sciences, Univ. of Western Sydney, Sidney, NSW,
Australia.
1912. Tamang, Jyoti Prakash; Samuel, Delwen. 2010.