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

1369. SoyaScan Notes. 2012. Commercial soyfoods products
wish list (Overview). Compiled by William Shurtleff of
Soyinfo Center.
• Summary: 1. Organic, non-GE soy protein isolates
(2002/03). 2. A very low calorie soy beverage for weight
loss in hospitals. Must be able to be used as a sole source of
nutrition. 3. More smoked tofu in America.
4. Meatless pepperoni, sausage shaped, for use atop a
meatless pizza. 5. Natural shoyu brewed in America, ideally
as part of a joint venture with a Japanese shoyu company.
6. A vegetarian Worcestershire sauce, with no anchovies
(John Troy developed “The Wizard’s Worcestershire Sauce”
for Joel Dee’s Premier Japan line in about 1995; it was
vegetarian).
7. A low-calorie, low-fat tofu. Fat and calorie content
should be at least 30% lower than that made from whole
soybeans. The easiest way to make this product would be to
run soymilk made from whole soybeans through a decanting
centrifuge (like a cream separator) to remove the desired
amount of fat, just like the dairy industry does to make lowfat
or non-fat milk. There is a big potential market for such a
product since 1% fat milk has now passed low-fat milk (2%)
as the best-seller in American supermarkets (11 Sept. 1991).
8. Bland soymilk base (11 July 1997). Presently no company
(including International ProSoya Corp. of Canada, Pacifi c
Foods of Oregon, and Ted Nordquist dba TAN Industries,
Inc. etc.) offers this product.
9. A soy-based kefi r made from authentic kefi r grains/
cultures plus FOS (fructooligosaccharides), a dietary fi ber
derived from chicory roots. FOS feeds and increases the
level of “good guy bifi dobacteria by up to fi ve times in the
gastrointestinal tract, and boosts the body’s absorption of
calcium and other minerals by up to 50 percent.” See article
in Ag Innovation News (April 1999, p. 3, 14).
1370. SoyaScan Notes. 2012. The kosher dietary laws,
kashruth, and pareve/parve (Overview). Compiled by
William Shurtleff of Soyinfo Center.
• Summary: Historically there has been a strong interest
in soyfoods (especially soy ice creams, yogurts, cheeses,
soymilk, and tofu) from Jews who follow the laws of kosher.
Webster’s Dictionary defi nes kosher (a Yiddish word derived
from the Hebrew kasher meaning fi t or proper, and fi rst used
in 1851) as “1: sanctioned by Jewish law; esp. ritually fi t
for use (kosher meat). b: selling or serving food ritually fi t
according to Jewish law (a kosher restaurant). The verb “to
kosher” (fi rst used in 1871) means “to make kosher.”
“The kosher laws are derived from the ‘Book of
Leviticus’ in the Torah, and are expounded upon in the
volume of the Talmud (Oral Law) titled Chulin. Yet the
teaching of kosher is touched upon in all 60 volumes of the
Talmud.
“Kashruth, the Hebrew term meaning ‘fi tness,’ itself
derives from the term ‘kosher.’ Kashruth refers to the Jewish
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 532
© Copyright Soyinfo Center 2012
dietary laws; most Orthodox Jews observe kashruth.
“The kosher dietary laws divide all foods into three
types: from the fl esh (fl eshig), from milk (milchig), and
neither fl esh/meat nor milk (parev). From this latter Yiddish
term ‘parev’ derive the terms pareve and parve, both
pronounced ‘parv,’ and used interchangeably. They are
Jewish cookery or dietary terms meaning (1) ‘neutral’ or (2)
made without milk or meat or their derivatives. Eggs and
seafood are both pareve. A pareve food can be eaten with
either milk or meat. Many soy ice creams are labeled ‘kosher
and parve’ or ‘kosher parve.’
“The laws of kosher state, among other things, that
one cannot consume meat and milk products at the same
meal. Hence, orthodox Jews do not consume ice cream
after a meal that contains meat.” Perhaps the most widely
observed kosher law is not to eat pig/pork. After eating meat,
according to Jewish dietary laws, one should wait for 6 hours
before consuming dairy (milchig) products. But one can
consume dairy products and then have meat products after
30 minutes. The difference is based on the fact that meat
takes longer to digest. For this reason, at least in Israel, more
emphasis is placed on developing meatlike products than on
dairylike, to bypass the 6-hour restriction. Meat substitutes
are much more popular in Israel than dairylike products.
The government has encouraged development of meatlike
products. Yet there seem to be many opportunities for
production of dairylike products on kibbutzim or moshavim.
In the USA, major kosher certifi ers include: (1) Union
of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, Kashruth
Div., 45 West 36th St., New York, NY 10018. Tel. 212-564-
8330. Rabbi Reese and Rabbi Menach. Members: 3100.
Publications: Keeping Posted: Bimonthly, Kosher Directory
of Products and Services. Highly respected. O-U mark. (2)
Kosher Supervision Services, 354 Fifth St., Hackensack,
New Jersey 07601. Tel. 201-342-7400. Chuff K mark. (3)
OK Laboratories, P.O. Box 218, Brooklyn, NY 11204. Tel.
718-851-6428. Rabbi Bernard Levy. Circle K mark.
Several important Hebrew or Yiddish words related to
kosher: A “heksher” (pronounced HEK-shur) is the kosher
mark. “OU is the most highly respected kosher heksher.” A
“mashghiach” (pronounced mush-JEE-ak) is the person who
inspects a food facility before giving approval.
1371. SoyaScan Notes. 2012. Chronology of Cuba, 1960 to
present. Compiled by William Shurtleff of Soyinfo Center.
• Summary: 1961 April 17–The Bay of Pigs incident; some
1,400 Cubans, trained and backed by the U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency (CIA) try unsuccessfully to invade and
overthrow the Castro regime. During this invasion, Cuba fi rst
declares itself a socialist country and establishes ties with
the Soviet Union. Also in 1961, most of Cuba’s priests and
nuns are expelled from the Island. Castro also closes Cuba’s
Catholic schools and hospitals, and forbids the celebration of
Christmas. Cuban soldiers remove and destroy the crucifi xes