October, 1908.] 



333 



Edible Products, 



The cellar is then closed for twenty-four 

 hours and the cooked beans allowed to 

 ferment in the warm, moist atmosphere. 

 The fermented product is a thick, viscid 

 mass, and has a peculiar but not putrid 

 odour. 



Tofu, or bean cheese, is prepared as 

 follows :— The beans are soaked in water 

 for about twelve hours, and crushed 

 between millstones until of a uniform 

 consistency. The ground material is 

 then boiled with about three times its 

 bulk of water for about an hour, and 

 filtered through cloth. The filtrate is 

 white and oqaque, having somewhat the 

 appearance of milk. It has, however, 

 the taste and smell of malt. This milky 

 liquid, to some extent, resembles cow's 

 milk in composition, as is shown by the 

 following table : — 



Comparison of the Composition of 

 Soy Bean Milk and Cow's Milk. 



Constituents. 



Soy Bean 

 milk. 



Per cent. 

 92-53 

 3-02 

 2-13 

 0-03 

 0-41 



Cow's 

 milk. 



Per cent. 

 80-08 

 4-00 

 3-05 



Water ... 

 Albuminoids 

 Fat ... 

 Fibre ... 

 Ash ... 



Nitrogen-free extract,in- 

 cluding carbohydrates 1-88 

 Milk Sugar 



The protein in soy bean is preceipi- 

 tated by adding the mother liquor 



0-70 



5-09 



obtained in the manufacture of salt from 

 sea water, which contains considerable 

 magnesium chloride. The precipitate is 

 filteied off and formed into cakes with 

 the hands. It is eaten in the fresh state 

 or frozen. In the latter case it loses 

 part of its water. 



Miso is prepared from cooked beans 

 which are rubbed to a thick paste and 

 fermented with rice wine ferment. 

 Miso is of two kinds, white and red, and 

 to some extent resembles tofu. 



A sort of film forms on the surface of 

 soy bean milk which in appearance 

 suggests cream. This material is some- 

 times prepared in quantity by evapor- 

 ating the milk, and when dried it is used 

 as an article of food under the name 

 of yuba. 



Shoyu is a sauce prepared from a 

 frozen mixture of cooked and pulverized 

 soy beans, roasted and pulverized wheat, 

 wheat flout , salt, and water. The mass 

 is fermented with rice wine ferment in 

 casks for from one and a half to five 

 years, being very frequently stirred. 

 The resulting product is a moderately 

 thick brown liquid. In odour aud taste it 

 is not unlike a good quality of meat ex- 

 tract, though perhaps a trifle more 

 pungent. Under the name of soy sauce 

 it has been known in India, and to some 

 extent in Europe, for many years. 



The composition of each of the above- 

 described foods is given in the following 

 table :— 



Composition of Food Products made from Soy Beans. 



Soy Bean food 

 products. 



Water. 



Protein. 



Fat. 



Nitrogen 

 free ex- 

 tract. 



Fibre. 



Ash. 





Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Per cent. 



Fresh tofu 



89-00 



5-00 



3-40 



2-10 





0-50 



Fresh tofu 



89-29 



4-87 





4-35 





0-48 



Frozen tofu ... 



18-70 



48-50 



28 : 50 



2-60 





1-70 



Natto 



15-32 



41-42 



23-65 



15-05 



1 : 48 



3-08 



Yuba 



21-85 



42-60 



24-62 



7-65 





2-82 



White miso ... 



5070 



5-70 



24' 



40 



12-60 



6-60 



lied miso 



50-40 



10-08 



18- 



77 



8-25 



12-50 



Swiss miso ... 



12-53 



26-43 



13-91 



19-54 



1-41 



26-18 



Shoyu 



63-29 



8-31 





5-10 





19-45 



Shoyu 



67-42 



7-37 





4-06 





17-47 



It will be noticed that most of these 

 soy bean products are fermented ; that 

 is, they are prepared with the aid of 

 micro organisms. The cell walls and 

 other carbohydrate material are broken 

 down and the cell contents rendered 

 more accessible to the digestive juices, 

 and at the same time peculiar and 



pleasant flavours are developed. The 

 special micro organisms used in the 

 preparation of these foods have been 

 studied in recent years. The manu- 

 facture of these products is of very 

 ancient origin, and affords an interest- 

 ing practical illustration of the use of 

 bacteria for economic purposes. 



