AmMar°cUh"  iP9hi8rm' )    New  Vegetable  Foods  and  Fruits.  181 
tilla,  is  occasionally  seen  in  northern  markets  and  is  sometimes 
called  the  "  dilly."  It  looks  like  a  potato  and  a  russet  apple,  but  the 
flavor  is  said  to  combine  the  fragrance  of  the  jasmine  and  the  lily 
of  the  valley  with  the  sweetness  of  honey.  The  composition  of  the 
pulp,  as  given  by  the  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture,  is  as  follows: 
Water,  77.9  per  cent. ;  protein,  0.5  per  cent. ;  fat,  1.6  per  cent. ;  sugar, 
16.6  per  cent. ;  crude  fiber,  2.8  per  cent. ;  ash,  0.6  per  cent.  The  food 
value  is  very  high,  as  it  contains  425  calories  to  the  pound. 
Soy  Bean.  Soja  Bean. — This  important,  oriental  legume,  de- 
rived from  Glycine  hispida  (Dolichos  soja),  is  coming  to  be  used  as 
a  forage  crop  and  a  land  improver,  and  is  slowly  obtaining  a  place 
as  a  foodstuff  of  importance.  It  is  peculiarly  different  from  beans 
in  that  it  contains  much  more  protein  and  much  less  starch  and 
contains  a  large  amount  of  fat,  which  brings  the  calorific  value  up 
very  high.  The  composition  is  as  follows :  Water,  8.25  per  cent. ; 
protein,  36.35  per  cent. ;  fat,  17.22  per  cent. ;  starch,  14.18  per  cent. ; 
crude  fiber,  calories  per  pound,  1970. 
Its  high  fat  and  protein  content  make  it  peculiarly  adaptable  to 
the  preparation  of  foods  resembling  those  made  from  milk,  and 
we  find  described,  soy  bean  cheese  and  a  kind  of  artificial  milk,  be- 
sides various  meat  substitutes  as  croquettes,  etc.  A  preparation  of 
the  soy  bean  is  the  basis  of  the  well-known  Worcestershire  and  other 
similar  sauces.  Among  the  various  oriental  foods  and  drinks  of 
importance  prepared  from  soy  are  Tao-hu,  a  kind  of  bean  cheese, 
which  when  pressed  into  cakes  are  called  "  Tafu."  Other  cheese- 
like variants  of  prepared  soy  are  "  Natto  "  and  "  Miso."  Soy  milk 
is  known  and  the  richer,  creamy  layer  which  rises  is  known  as 
"  Yuba."  "  Shoyu "  is  a  sauce-like  preparation  made  by  partial 
fermentation  of  crooked  and  mashed  soy  mixed  with  water  and  other 
ingredients.  The  composition  of  soy  makes  it  necessary  to  supple- 
ment it  in  the  diet  with  some  carbohydrate  food  such  as  rice,  and 
the  combination  makes  a  perfectly  balanced  ration,  fulfilling  all 
nutritive  requirements.  The  protein  of  soy  is  noteworthy  in  its 
greater  digestibility  than  that  of  proteins  from  other  legumes.  Con- 
taining little  starch,  the  soy  beans  and  foods  prepared  from  them  are 
frequently  recommended  and  sold  for  diabetic  food. 
Spinach. — There  are  several  variants  of  this  well-known  vege- 
table, which  is  derived  from  Spimacia  oleracea,  which  have  appeared 
in  recent  years.  There  is  a  smooth-leaved  variety  and  one  which 
has  smaller  and  prickly  leaves.    There  is  also  a  plant  known  as 
