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

in suppressing the putrefactive bacteria of the intestines is
the organism commonly known as Bacillus bulgaricus, or
the Metchnikoff bacillus” (p. 4). Address: Bacteriologist in
Charge of Research Lab., Dairy Div. [USDA].
40. Melhuish, William James. 1916. Manufacture of
vegetable milk and its derivatives. U.S. Patent 1,175,467.
March 14. 3 p. Application fi led 1 June 1914.
• Summary: “Within the last few years experiments have
been carried out with the idea of making soy milk more
palatable... It is found that the ‘nutty’ fl avor hitherto
associated with soy bean milk is to a large extent due to the
presence of a small quantity of soy bean oil which comes out
in the casein extractive process... This objectionable fl avor
is got rid of by (1) either crushing the oil from the beans in
making the meal and before using the meal for the casein
extraction, or (2) crushing the whole bean into meal without
rupturing the oil cells, and then, after the casein extraction is
complete, separating the oil from it. For this purpose a cream
separator or any well-known form of centrifugal separator or
fi lter may be used, and the oil so separated can be utilized for
other commercial purposes.”
Further, the addition of “citric acid greatly improves
the fl avor of the milk and destroys the slight nutty, beany or
mealy taste which may remain in the fi nished product.” A
culture of lactic acid bacteria must also be added to insure
proper digestion of the milk.
The fi rst claim states: “The process of making vegetable
milk from soy beans crushed into a meal for the purpose
of extracting the casein by stirring the said meal in hot
water, fi ltering the solution from the residue, extracting the
nauseous soy oil, adding... sesame oil and fatty acids to
make an imitation cow’s milk cream, emulsifying same so
that the said fats will not rise by the law of gravity, adding
dry crystallized powdered maltose with other sugars, and the
necessary alkaline salts.” In claim 4 the citric acid and lactic
culture are added.
Note 1. This is the earliest English-language document
seen (May 2005) that contains the word “beany” in
connection with fl avor problems in soybeans or soyfoods (in
this case the milk).
Note 2. This is the earliest English-language document
seen (Sept. 2002) that mentions an “imitation cow’s milk
cream” made from soymilk. Address: Lecturer in dietetics,
Upper Parkstone, Dorset County, England.
41. Laxa, Otakar. 1916. Rostlinné mléko, levna nahrazka
mleka kravskeho [Vegetable milk, an inexpensive substitute
for cow’s milk]. Zpravy Laktologickeho Ustavu (Dairy
Institute News) (Prague) No. 5. 10 p. [26 ref. Cze; ger]
• Summary: According to Horvath (1927, p. 65) this article
recommends the following procedure: “100 gms. of good
yellow or green soybeans washed in cold water until the
water is absolutely clear. After the cleaning soak for 24 hours
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 41
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
in an amount of cold water just suffi cient to cover them.
After the beans become soft, mash in an almond-mill of the
kitchen type. Pour the resulting milk mass in a bottle with a
capacity of 2 liters to which are added 900 cc. of cold water,
10-15 gms. of cane sugar, 1 gm. of sodium chloride and one
drop of essence of fresh hay, in order to cover the beany taste
and smell with an aroma similar to cow’s milk. Close the
bottle and shake the contents from time to time. Filter the
liquid through a clean linen bag after 4 hours so the residue
is pressed out. In this way about 750 cc. of soybean milk are
obtained.
Note: This is the earliest document seen (Jan. 2010) that
contains a detailed description of how to make soymilk at
home or in a typical European kitchen.
The chemical composition (without adding the values
for cane sugar and sodium chloride) is: water, 94.85%; fat,
1.00%; protein, 1.78%; reducing sugar, 0.11%; galactanes
and other soluble carbohydrates, 2.02%; ash 0.34%; dry
substance, 5.15%. The addition of 10 gms. cane sugar and
1 gm. table salt to 1 liter raises the amount of dry substance
to about 6% and also the ash content and the nutritive value.
The food value of such soybean milk is estimated by Prof.
Laxa to be equal to about one-half of the food value of whole
cow’s milk, or two-thirds the value of skimmed milk. The
cost of one liter of this soybean milk in Prague in 1916 was
estimated by Laxa to be two and a half cents (Mex.) if made
at home.” Notice that no mention is made of cooking the
soymilk!
Horvath (1927, p. 60) continues: “According to Prof.
Laxa, the fresh soybean milk shows a slight alkaline reaction.
‘At 12 degrees of acidity of Soxhlet-Henkel it coagulates on
boiling. The fresh soybean milk gives a strong peroxidase
reaction of Storch [Starch]. It is also rich in katalase
[catalase]. If hydrogen peroxide (a 10% solution) is added to
soybean milk in proportion 5 cc. to 15 cc., 15cc. of oxygen
are formed (liberated) in two hours. The reductase test, on
the contrary, goes very slowly. No change can be observed
if rennet is added to slightly warmed soybean milk. But if
one increases the content of soluble calcium salts (adding f.e.
calcium citrate), a fi nely fl occulated precipitate is formed.
The soybean milk curdles spontaneously at room temperature
if the developed acidity reaches 14.8 degrees of Soxhlet-
Henkel. In order to inhibit the putrefi cation [putrefaction] of
soybean milk it is advisable to add a few drops of a culture
of lactic acid bacteria. Soybean milk supplemented with
lactose and inoculated with a culture of yoghourt [yogurt]
bacteria, coagulates at 40ºC in 4 hours and gives a curd-like
acid mass.’
Yeu (1933, p. 14) states: “It was not until 1916 that
a study of soymilk as a substitute for cow’s milk was
undertaken. O. Laxa gives the composition of milk obtained
from soybeans cultivated near Prague. He made a soy yogurt.
He concluded that soymilk was not important except in
places totally lacking animal milks.”