I am Soybeans: Bursting with Protein

A food staple for many countries, versatile soy is consumed in many forms.

Imay be a humble legume, but I am one of the world’s most versatile crops. I was part of diets in China as early as 7000 BCE, in Japan around 5000 BCE, and Korea circa 1000 BCE. Around the 13th century, I was introduced into South East Asia, and travelled to Europe and the Americas in the 18th century, and to Africa in the 19th century. My first foray into Australia was in 1804, when I was sold in Sydney as Fine India Soy Sauce, and I then ventured to New Zealand in 1842 when my sauce was sold in Wellington. In 1879, my cultivars were gifted to Australia by Japan’s Minister of the Interior.

Today, I am enjoyed by millions right around the globe. However, my presence on tables in Europe was almost eliminated due to my exploitation during the Second World War. As basic foodstuffs became hard to come by, my flour was substituted for meat, milk, eggs and wheat flour in foods such as sausages, spaghetti and bread.

When meat became really scarce, my flour was overused to bulk out items such as sausages, which resulted in lots of a poor quality of me and practically no beef or pork being added to this dinner favourite. This left my image tarnished to such a degree that my popularity was set back two decades.

MY MANY GUISES

Originally, I was eaten whole, but around 200 BCE, some clever folk in China discovered that if they soaked me, then ground me with water, I’d make a lovely drink – enter soy milk. Some 200 years later, my milk was carefully coagulated and turned into bean curd – although you probably know me better as tofu, which literally means ‘curdled bean’. Around this time salt had become expensive so to make it stretch further, I was pickled into a dark liquid that was added to cooking to make it tastier. This guise of me was called soy sauce.

Today, ancient recipes that transformed me into curd, milk and sauce varieties are still enjoyed, as are fermented variants, such as miso, natto and tempeh, as well as dairy alternatives such as soy ice cream, yoghurt and cheese.

I can also be eaten whole. However, to be easily digested, my beans should be harvested before they ripen and turn hard. You may know me in my immature form as edamame. Coloured a fresh-looking green, I prefer this hue to the boring beige of my more mature self. My young self is usually sold still sheathed in my pod (which, by the way, you are not supposed to eat), but can also be bought pre-shelled frozen or in cans. My immature self has a mild, buttery flavour and is traditionally added to soups, stews, salads and noodle dishes. I can also be boiled and served in place of green peas, or steamed and sprinkled with salt and eaten straight from the pod.

Low in kilojoules and naturally gluten and cholesterol free, as edamame I am an excellent source of protein, iron and calcium, and am becoming a popular healthy alternative to snack foods in many countries.

A GOOD CHOICE

Talking of healthy, I haven’t told you the half of it about the whole of me. Fat-free, I am the dieter’s BFF, as I contain significant amounts of healthy dietary minerals and B vitamins, am high in fibre, and am among the best plant-based whole protein source there is. So naturally, I am also the principal ingredient in many vegan and vegetarian diets. A recent study in the British Medical Journal has even linked eating my fermented self with living longer. Looking at the diets of nearly 100,000 men and women in Japan between the ages of 45 and 74 over a period of 15 years, researchers found that those who ate me regularly in the form of miso, tempeh, soy sauce and

natto, benefited from lower risks of mortality. Although the authors couldn’t pinpoint why I helped prolong life, they suggested it could be because of my high fibre content and my rich abundance of potassium.

Unlike other plant-based proteins, I provide you humans with all the essential amino acids your body needs – although (dare I admit it?) my quality of essential amino acids isn’t as high as animal protein. Just so you are clear, essential amino acids can’t be made by your bodies and have to be sourced from your diet.

While you’re on a health kick, why not boot the caffeine habit by turning to a coffee-alternative made, you guessed it, from me! Once roasted and ground, I can be filtered or used like instant coffee. Highly nourishing and easy to make – although a little more time consuming than opening a jar – my coffee alternative has a nutty aroma and a taste that will surprise many staunch coffee addicts.