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

hospitals, feeding primary school children. General
observations. The fl avour of pure soya milk. Supply of soya
bean–the bottleneck in extended production. The cost of
soya milk. Equipment for large-scale production of soya
milk. Various uses of soya milk and related products (sour
{lactic fermented} curd, or buttermilk). Some outstanding
problems: Further improvement in the fl avour of the milk
(adding barley malt helps), enhancement of the nutritive
value (supplement with a small amount of cereal protein,
plus calcium, other minerals, and fat-soluble vitamins),
improvement of manufacturing methods, organised
production of the right varieties of beans.
The paper begins: “Our studies on the above subject
were started, about two years ago, with the background of
the earlier work done under the auspices of the Soya-bean
Sub-Committee of the Indian Research Fund Association.
That committee conducted its researches, mostly, on the
nutritive value of the whole bean. The committee concluded
that the bean, used in that form, is not superior to the
average Indian pulses. We also came to the same conclusion
regarding the whole bean as we found that the biological
value of the protein in the dhal was only about 55.”
“There is remarkable improvement when the bean
is suitably processed and converted into the milk. It is in
this form that the bean is largely utilised in China, Japan
and other countries. After extensive trials, we found the
following to be important steps for improving the taste,
fl avour and nutritive value. (1) steeping and incipient
germination; (2) extraction of the kernel with dilute sodium
bicarbonate to remove the colouring matter and bitter
principle; (3) pasting to very fi ne condition; (4) adjustment
of reaction and vigorous boiling; (5) incorporation of
calcium in some suitable form; and (6) addition of salt and a
small percentage of cane-sugar or invert sugar.”
Supply and bottleneck: “There is already a good deal
of public interest in the production of soya milk and related
products. Many cities and commercial organisations have
already expressed a desire to start large-scale feeding trials.
The chief ‘bottleneck’ at the present time is the availability
of the bean at a reasonable price. Every province in India
can grow soya bean, but at the present time, there is very
little production. Some area is now being brought under the
crop and it is hoped that, at least during the present season,
suffi cient quantity of beans will be grown so as to facilitate
trials at a larger number of centres. The co-operation of the
Government Agricultural Departments is badly needed.”
This far-sighted paper ends with these observations:
“Organised production of the right varieties of beans.–
Among the oil-bearing seeds that we have so far tried, soyabean
yields, by itself, the milk of the highest nutritive value.
The pulse is unique in many respects. In composition and
properties it comes half way between a typical legume and
an oil-seed. It has considerable potential possibilities not
only as a food but also in the plastic and other industries.
HISTORY OF SOY YOGURT & CULTURED SOYMILK 92
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The Government should therefore take keener interest in the
cultivation of soya-ban [sic, soya-bean] in all the provinces
of the country; There is already some experience in growing
the bean, but more information is required regarding the right
variety for each area, the season for sowing, manurial and
other requirements and so forth. There is immediate need
for at least some hundreds of tons for carrying out extended
trials in different parts of the country and to popularise the
use of the milk and the related products. It is earnestly hoped,
therefore, that both the Central Agricultural Departments and
the Provincial Departments will take more active interest
in the subject and set up the necessary organisations for
ensuring a steady supply of the bean in different parts of the
country.”
An editorial on this article (p. 559-60 of this issue)
notes: The authors express the view that, when soya bean
is processed according to their method, a remarkable
improvement takes place in the quality of the soya milk.
They claim that (1) it has a higher digestibility than
cow’s milk, (2) when prepared from beans after 3 days’
germination, it has a higher biological value than cow’s milk,
and (3) when supplemented with calcium and some vitamins,
it is in no way inferior to cow’s milk. Address: Dep. of
Biochemistry, Indian Inst. of Science, Bangalore.
174. Gehrke, Charles; Weiser, Harry H. 1947. Comparative
studies on the growth and biochemical activity features of
microorganisms grown in cow’s and soybean milk. Food
Research 12(5):360-64. Oct. [3 ref]
• Summary: “The introduction of soybean milk to the
American people has occurred within the past few years.
Attempts are being made to manufacture this milk in the
form of a powder; it has been used with good results in bread
and cakes, in creaming vegetables, in custards, in chocolate
or cocoa, and in several other food products as a substitute
for cow’s milk. The high nutritive value of soybean milk
and its many potential uses indicate that this product will
continue to rise in importance in the human diet.”
A table (fi rst published in 1937 by the Battle Creek
Food Company, Battle Creek, Michigan) compares the
composition of soybean milk and cow’s milk. Soybean milk
contains more protein and 5 times more iron, as well as only
38% as much fat but only 22% as much calcium (though it is
comparable to the calcium content of human milk).
The soybean milk used was obtained from Dr. Harry
Miller, Director of the International Nutrition Laboratory,
Mt. Vernon, Ohio. The method used for the preparation of
soybean litmus milk was similar to the method employed in
the preparation of cow’s litmus milk.” Both kinds of milk
were inoculated with the following bacteria: Lactobacillus
bulgaricus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus
liquefaciens, Streptococcus lactis, Aerobacter aerogenes, and
Escherichia coli. During incubation, periodic measurements
were made (for each bacterium) of pH, and the rate and