Traditional and Modern Japanese Soy Foods : Manufacturing, Nutrition and Cuisine of a Variety of Soy Foods for Health and Joy of Taste

In 2009, the average life span in Japan was 83 years old (women 86.08, men 79.29), which for women was the longest in the world. This may be partly due to the low fat Asian diet of rice, soybean products, fish and vegetables. Soybeans originated from East Asia, and Japanese people eat a variety of traditional foods made from soybeans, such as nimame (boiled soybean), irimame (baked soybean), tofu (soybean curd), abura-age (deep-fried soybean curd), shoyu (soy sauce), miso (fermented soybean paste), natto (soybeans fermented by bacteria), edamame (green vegetable soybean), and moyashi (soybean sprout) etc. Also, relatively new types of soy food such as tonyu drink (soymilk), snacks, nutritional sports supplements, and dietary supplements for decreasing body weight are consumed. This book was written by professors of the Faculty of Agriculture, Niigata University, and researchers of the Food Research Center, Niigata Agricultural Research Institute, Niigata.