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

in Florida with sprouts and soyfoods. Part II (Interview).
SoyaScan Notes. Nov. 24. Conducted by William Shurtleff of
Soyfoods Center.
• Summary: “When we started talking about making tofu,
it became very evident to me that we would need a bigger
space, so in about March or April of 1977 we moved over to
100 Highline Dr., Longwood, Florida 32750. We went from
4,000 square feet of fl oor space to 50,000 square feet. We
outgrew our plant on Seminola Blvd. in about 4-5 months.”
In June 1977 Don’s fi rst child, a son, was born. On Highline
Drive, Don built rooms to grow the various sprouts and also
diversifi ed the company into chopping and packing huge
amounts of fresh vegetables; there was a separate packet of
sauce (such as teriyaki) in each bag for making stir-fries.
All that was needed was some tofu to complete the stir-fry.
Don bought his tofu equipment used from Robert and Mary
Brooks, whose company Swan Foods in Miami had gone out
of business. The purchase became a mess because Robert
had failed to inform Don about the liens that were against
his equipment due to Robert’s unpaid bills. So Don started
to make tofu in 1978. He sold it chiefl y to the chain stores–
fi rst to Albertson’s (the smallest group), then to Publix,
and then to Winn Dixie (the biggest chain). He did not
deal with restaurants or health food stores. At the height of
production, Aqua Agra was making at least 25,000 to 30,000
lb/week of tofu. He was the fi rst person to introduce tofu to
supermarkets in Florida.
In the summer of 1979 Don attended the second
annual Soycrafters Conference at Amherst College in
Massachusetts. “I will never forget that as long as I live.
Some of the major U.S. food companies, such as General
Mills and a few others, sent representatives in 3-piece suits.
I was standing in the back of the auditorium where these
guys were and I’ll never forget listening to their comments as
they talked about what a bunch of dingdongs they had been
sent to observe, and how this had absolutely no place in the
American food chain whatsoever. I can remember walking
away from that conference thinking to myself, ‘I sure am
glad these big guys think this way because all it would take
is one big corporation to get involved in this and a lot of
small businesses would soon go down the drain.’”
Aqua Agra grew rapidly. Many of his employees were
Asian-Americans and they were wonderful workers. the
copycats that tried to compete with him couldn’t. About 2
years after Aqua Agra started making tofu, the Sentinel Star
newspaper did a rather nice story on the company in 1980.
In early 1981 Don started making soymilk, which he
sold in bulk to the nearby Seventh-day Adventist Florida
Hospital–but not to any of the chain stores. He sold about
300 gallons a week.
At about the same time he started making soy yogurt
in individual unprinted cups with a pressure sensitive label.
Most of his sales were of plain yogurt, but he also sold
strawberry, peach, and blueberry fl avors. The yogurt was
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 368
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
sold to local health food stores, to Del Champs in Alabama,
and to a broker in New York named Marty Grossman, who
sold a lot.
In late 1981 Aqua Agra began to make soy tempeh. They
sold less than 100 lb/week, and only to a few health food
stores in Orlando who had asked for it.
Don and his wife had to close the company in about
mid-1982, after 6 years in business. At that time they were
making about 75 products. He and his wife were each
working 100 hours a week. “The doctor gave me a choice.
He said, ‘You can either get rid of that business and live,
or you can keep it and die! But you’re gonna do one of the
two.’” Don was so sick and tired of everything at that time
that he decided not to even sell the company–just to shut it
down and walk away.
Don feels that he was a little bit before his time. “People
found it amusing that a sergeant in the United States Marine
Corps. was involved in making hippie food.” Address: 2321
Virginia Dr., Altamonte Springs, Florida 32714.
993. Mangels, Reed. 1993. Vegetarian Journal’s guide to
cheese alternatives and non-dairy yogurt. Vegetarian Journal
(Baltimore, Maryland). Nov/Dec. p. 25-27.
• Summary: The cheeses are called cheese alternatives
because many of them contain casein or calcium caseinate.
Casein is a protein derived from cow’s milk. It is added
to most cheese alternatives to make them stretchy when
melted. Though most cheese alternatives are not acceptable
to vegans, two products on the market appear to be free of
casein: Soymage and Soymage Cheddar, made by Galaxy
Foods. One brand of cream cheese alternative (Tofutti Better
Than Cream Cheese) also contains no casein. “It is hard to
tell just whom these cheese alternatives were developed for.”
The main market seems to be consumers who want to avoid
cholesterol and lactose. A table shows the following three
types of products, each with the number of calories, and
amount of fat and sodium per serving. Those followed by an
asterisk contain no casein.
Mozzarella-style (1 ounce): Almond Rella, Lite’n’ Free,
Lite’n’ Less, Soya Kaas, Soymage*, White Wave Soya A
Melt, White Wave Fat Free, Cow’s Milk Mozzarella, Part
Skim Cow’s Milk Mozzarella.
American/Cheddar-Style (1 ounce): Lite’n’ Free
Cheddar, Lite’n’ Less American, Nu Tofu Low Sodium
Cheddar, Nu Tofu Cheddar, Soya Kaas Mild American
Cheddar, Soymage Cheddar*, White Wave Cheddar Soya
A Melt, White Wave Fat Free Cheddar, Zero-Fat Rella
California Cheddar, Cow’s Milk Cheddar, Low Fat Cow’s
Milk American.
Cream Cheese (2 tablespoons): Lite’n’ Less, Nu Tofu,
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese*, Cow’s Milk Cream
Cheese, Low Fat Cow’s Milk Cream Cheese.
The only non-dairy yogurt found in Baltimore,
Maryland, was White Wave’s Dairyless Soy Yogurt. It is