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

Address: Yamanashi Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry
High School, Nishiyahata Ryuo-cho, Nakakoma-gun,
Yamanashi-ken.
421. Stechmeyer, Betty. 1981. Re: Just a brief note to
accompany the “viilia” starter. Letter to William Shurtleff at
Soyfoods Center, Jan. 28. 1 p. Typed, with signature.
• Summary: “Most of my references are 80 year old Finns
from here in Ft. Bragg.” Gordon McBride’s mother is
Finnish and age 82.
“She says that traditionally viilia starter was spread in
a soup bowl to which was added ‘fresh’ (straight from the
cow) milk ‘at blood temperature.’ Cover with a paper or
cloth to keep it clean and leave it at room temperature for a
day or two. The creamy top layer is called viilia which was
thicker and the portion of choice. The lower, less rich, piima
was often whipped for a refreshing drink.
“My experience with making soy viilia has resulted
with good consistency, and a slightly ‘beany’ fl avor that is
easily masked by fruits, etc. if one wishes. I have had little
to no luck keeping a soymilk starter for more than a few
generations with each succeeding batch being weaker in
consistency” [than the one before it].
“Homogenized milk will not give the layering because
of the mixing of the butterfat but gives a fi ne viilia starter for
soy.”
Note: The next day Akiko made out fi rst soy viilia
and we liked it very much. Address: GEM Cultures, 30301
Sherwood Rd., Ft. Bragg, California 95437.
422. Leviton, Richard. 1981. Putting tofu in the lunch
boxes of America: A report on serious soyfoods marketing.
Soyfoods 1(4):54-61. Winter.
• Summary: About New England Soy Dairy, Timothy
Metzger and Dannon Yogurt, Larry Needleman and Bean
Machines, Thelma Dalman (Food Service Director for Santa
Cruz city school system), Al Jacobson (The Wizard of Foods,
“a tidy, bustling, elfi n, walking idea man”) and his Garden
of Eatin’, Paul Duchesne and Wildwood Natural Foods,
Steve Demos and White Wave. A photo shows Victor Food
Products on sale in Canada: VFP Tofu, and VFP Nutrisoya
soymilk.
A sidebar by Timothy Metzger, gives an interesting
history of marketing dairy yogurt in America. Dannon
introduced its yogurt to the U.S. some 38 years ago (i.e.
about 1943). Concerning Wildwood (p. 61): “In Fairfax,
just over the hills from the Golden Gate Bridge and San
Francisco, Paul Duchesne’s Wildwood Natural Foods
appears to fulfi ll the dreams of many soyfoods proprietors by
combining both light tofu manufacture with light sandwich
production in a clean, effi cient, and industrious little shop.
Mr. Duchesne designed his shop as a tofu showcase with
broad wall-to-wall front windows so that passers-by may
glimpse tofu production during the days. Wildwood produces
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 169
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
a line of eight packaged vegetarian sandwiches including
Brown Rice and Tofu Sandwich (with vegetables in a whole
wheat bun), Tofu Vegetable Salad, Two Beans in a Bun,
Carrot-Raisin Salad, Marinated Bean Salad, and Beet
Salad. While they enjoy the luxury of a delivery van for San
Francisco accounts, Mr. Duchesne impressed upon me the
fun of using a bicycle that pulls a small fl at trailer for on-thestreet
sales in Fairfax on those endless California summer
days when folks are out relaxing on their skateboards
and zipping down the street on roller skates and sailboats
crisscross Sausalito Bay.” Address: Colrain, Massachusetts.
423. Shurtleff, William. 1981. Dr. Harry Miller: Taking
soymilk around the world. Soyfoods 1(4):28-36. Winter.
• Summary: Contents: Introduction. Growing up (1879-
1902): Birth, early contact with Dr. J.H. Kellogg, marriage.
Early years in China (1903-1911). Washington, DC
(1912-1925). Pioneering soymilk in China (1925-1939):
Research, development of plant, destruction of plant 13 Aug.
1937, U.S. patent, No. 2,078,962 for soymilk process and
equipment, work before return to U.S. Introducing soyfoods
to America (1939-1949): In Mt. Vernon, new products,
work with AMA, American Soybean Assoc. speaker and
lifetime member 1958, contact with K.S. Lo and Vitasoy.
Research and work around the world (1949-1977): Quick
visit to Shanghai, death of second wife, sale of International
Nutrition Foundation, Taiwan work, Indonesian plant,
Trinidad, Libya, Japan, old age and relationship with William
Shurtleff, the “Great Man.” Contains 5 photos, and a sidebar
titled “Early History of Soymilk.”
Among the many people who pioneered in bringing
soyfoods to America and to the West, two men of great
vision, dedication, and perseverance deserve special
mention: Dr. Harry W. Miller and William J. Morse. Dr.
Miller, the well-known ‘China Doctor’(after his biography
by that title), was a world-famous missionary doctor and
surgeon, and founder of more than 15 Seventh-day Adventist
hospitals around the world. He was one of those unique
individuals who was both a dreamer and a doer, and who
inspired almost everyone who knew him.
“Like W.J. Morse, he considered it his personal
‘responsibility to awaken the West to the wonders of the
soybean and to promote its use as food. (But where Morse
was interested in soybean agronomy, livestock feeding, and
food, Miller was interested only in food uses.) Dr. Miller
can also be considered the founder of the modern soymilk
renaissance in Asia. The development and popularization of
soyfoods, and especially soymilk, was his lifelong hobby and
despite his other numerous and demanding careers, he never
lacked the time, over a span of almost 75 years, to continue
his ongoing research and work in this new fi eld that he loved
so well.
“Growing Up (1879-1902): The fi rst of fi ve children
of Amanda Ehlers and John Oliver Miller, Harry was born