UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1152 
Washington, D. C. 
May 12, 1923 
SOY AND RELATED FERMENTATIONS. 
By Makgaret B. Church, Microanalyst, 
Microbiological Laboratory, Bureau of Chemistry. 1 
CONTENTS. 
.fage. 
Introduction 1 
Work of previous investigators 2 
Experimental work 3 
Apparatus 3 
Material _ 6 
Preparation of ingredients 6 
Shoyu-koji 9 
Peanut press cake koji 13 
Shoyu-moromi 14 
Proportions of ingredients 17 
Page. 
Yields — - 18 
Chinese soy sauce . 18 
Peanut sauce 19 
Relation of enzymic activity to soy 
processes 20 
Manufacture in the United States.. 21 
Related fermentations 23 
Summary 25 
Bibliography 25 
INTRODUCTION. 
Soy sauce is a dark-brown salty liquid made by the fermentation 
of soy beans with, as a rule, some additional starchy component. It is 
widely used as a seasoning throughout Japan, China, and Java, and 
has been introduced into the Philippines (i) 2 and Hawaii (18). * 
Where the occidental would use a vegetable or meat extract and 
salt, the oriental daily uses soy sauce. Americans are familiar with 
soy sauce as it is used in the Chinese-American restaurants and 
as the ingredient which produces the characteristic flavor of the 
Worcestershire type of sauce. The increasing popularity of highly 
seasoned foods in the United States may reasonably be expected to 
develop the use of soy sauce and of table sauces having a flavor more 
positively that of the ingredient, soy sauce. 
The so} 7 bean (^), an annual leguminous plant, native to south- 
eastern Asia, has been cultivated in the East for more than 5,000 
years. Kich in protein and oil, though deficient in starch, it has been 
used as a food and for technical purposes. It is iioav an important 
crop in commerce, large shipments being made to America and Eu- 
rope. Although introduced into the United States in 1804, it has 
only recently been cultivated to any great extent in the South. 
1 The experimental work here reported was conducted under the direction of Charles 
Thorn, mycologist in charge, Microbiological Laboratory, Bureau of Chemistry. 
2 The italic numbers in parentheses throughout this bulletin refer to the bibliography 
on page 25. 
3 From a letter from C W. Carpenter, September 23, 1918. 
30835—23 1 
