history of soy yogurt, soy acidophilus milk and other ... - SoyInfo Center

Note: This is the earliest English-language document
seen (May 2012) that uses the term “freeze-dried
tofu” to refer to dried-frozen tofu. Address: Brookline,
Massachusetts.
250. Wang, Hwa L.; Kraidej, Lavanya; Hesseltine, C.W.
1974. Lactic acid fermentation of soybean milk. J. of Milk
and Food Technology 37(2):71-73. Feb. [8 ref]
• Summary: “Growth rates of 8 Lactobacillus acidophilus
strains and four Lactobacillus bulgaricus strains were
compared in soybean milk and soybean milk enriched with
glucose, lactose, and sucrose. Four L. acidophilus strains
grew well in soybean milk; the remainder grew better in
soybean milk supplemented with glucose or lactose. In
general, soybean milk was not an adequate media for strains
of L. bulgaricus. Almost all these cultures, however, could
adapt themselves to the environments of the media tested.
A soybean milk drink fermented by L. acidophilus NRRL
B-1910 was prepared and evaluated by a taste panel. The
drink had a refreshing sweet-sour taste, and the beany fl avor
of soybeans was masked by the fermentation process.”
In making a yogurt-like product from soybean milk,
Lactobacillus acidophilus consistently produced a better
product than the other strains. This soy yogurt was “eggshell
(white) in color, had a sour but not harsh fl avor, and had a
smooth custardlike texture. When it was spooned out of its
container, the appearance of free whey indicated the need
for a stabilizer.” When 4% sucrose was added to the soymilk
prior to fermentation, the yogurt-like product had a pleasant
sweetish-sour taste. The sucrose was added to give a balance
between the acidity and sweetness of the product. Address:
NRRL, Peoria, Illinois.
251. Steinkraus, Keith H. 1974. Research on traditional
Oriental and Indian fermented foods. Current Science and
Technology, Special Report No. 16. p. 10-13. April. (Cornell
University). [13 ref]
• Summary: Discusses tempeh, ontjom, idli, Ecuadorian
“yellow” rice, Indonesian tape (tapeh, tapé), fermented
soy milks, and fi sh paste, including their nutritive value,
digestibility (apparent digestion coeffi cient), vitamins,
and acceptability, plus thoughts on the wholesomeness of
fermented foods. Address: Prof. of Microbiology, Dep. of
Food Science & Technology, New York State Agric. Exp.
Station, Geneva, New York.
252. Nelson, A.I.; Ferrier, L.K. 1974. Foods from whole
soybeans. INTSOY Series No. 2. p. 173-78. Proceedings of
the Workshop on Soybeans for Tropical and Subtropical
Conditions (College of Agric., Univ. of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign). [8 ref]
• Summary: Properly hydrated and blanched soybeans offer
great potential for processing into a wide variety of food
products. The following are some of the foods made at the
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 117
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
University of Illinois: 1. Drum dried fl akes: 100% whole
soybean, soy-rice (50:50), soy-corn (50:50), soy-brown
sugar-peanut (50:35:15), soy-banana (50:50) weaning food.
2. Canned and homecooked soybeans: Vegetarian soybean,
three bean salad, soy with chicken, soy with pork, soy with
lamb, pork with soybeans. 3. Soy beverages and beverage
products: Plain beverage, chocolate beverage, blend of
soy beverage and cottage cheese whey, ice cream (mocha
fl avor), yogurt. 4. Spreads: Diet spread (margarine fl avor),
dip, peanut butter analog [soynut butter]. 5. Snacks: Roasted
soybean cotyledons [soynuts], extruded puffed rice and
corn fortifi ed with full fat soy fl our. Address: 1. Prof.; 2.
Asst. Prof. Both: Dep. of Food Science, Univ. of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign.
253. Brody, Jane E. 1974. Soybean has become the focus
of drive to give more protein to world’s hungry. New York
Times. Oct. 12. p. 62.
• Summary: “This is the second of two articles on the drive
to increase the amount of protein in the human diet.” These
are part of a series of articles examining the world food
situation.
Americans are already familiar with at least two
products made from soybeans: bacon-fl avored bits and
hamburger extender (also known as “textured vegetable
protein”). Scientists believe that Americans will be among
the hardest to please with new protein sources. General
Mills, Inc. is presently test-marketing two soy protein meat
analogues named “Country Cuts”–frozen, ready to eat
cubes with the texture or fl avor of chicken or ham. They
are 25-40% less expensive than the meats they imitate.
These products contain meat-like fi bers made from defatted
soybean fl our and pumped through a “spinnerette,” which
resembles a showerhead. The chewiness of the “Cuts” can
be changed by adjusting the stretch on the fi brils as they pass
through the spinnerette.
University of Illinois food scientists Steinberg, Wei,
and Nelson are taking a different approach. Starting with
the whole soybean (oil and all), they have developed a
wide range of foods from soy “milk” and “yogurt” to an ice
cream-like dessert, custard, and fl akes–and gotten rid of the
normal “beany” or “painty” fl avor by heating the beans to
inactivate the enzyme that causes it.
Another approach is fortifi cation of foods with soy fl our
or the missing amino acids. Some are working to extract
protein from green leaves or from waste, others to grow
single-cell protein.
Some of these approaches are little more than ideas, on
which a great deal of research needs to be done. However
for others, such as “various soy foods” and fi sh protein
concentrate, the technology has been nearly or completely
worked out, at least on a pilot scale, and “could theoretically
be incorporated soon into the diets of protein-starved people.
But the obstacles to such incorporation are substantial.”