Introduction of soyabean to America

The first written record of the soybean appeared in “Materia Medica,” written by Emperor Shennung in 2838 BC, where it was described along with many other plants of China.

By the 16th century, soybeans were used in Burma, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The first record of soybeans in Europe was in England in 1790. The soybean was introduced into Europe in 1712 by Kaempfer and into the United States in 1804.

The first soybean uses in the USA dates back to 1765 in the present-day state of Georgia. In 1804, a Yankee clipper ship returning from China to the USA carried a cargo of soya beans as ballast. In 1829, U.S. farmers first grew soybeans.

In United States for several decades, it was regarded more as a botanical curiosity than as a plant of economic importance.

During the Civil War, soldiers used soybeans as “coffee berries” to brew “coffee” when real coffee was scarce. In the late 1800s, significant numbers of farmers began to grow soybeans as forage for cattle.

Since 1890 nearly all of the State Agricultural Experiments have experimented with soybeans and many bulletins have been published dealing wholly or partly with the crop.

Additional varieties of soybeans were brought into the United States in 1854, 1900 and 1905, but it was not until 1915 that they were grown in quantities sufficient for commercial utilization.

In 1904, George Washington Carver discovered that soybeans were an efficient source of oil and protein. His discoveries changed the way people thought about the soybean; no longer was it just a forage crop. Now its beans provided valuable protein and oil.

In 1916, 30,000 bushels were processed for oil. The general shortage of fats and oils during the first world war gave a temporary, but rather short lived, stimulus to the production of soybeans for extraction purposes.

By 1929, U.S. soybean production had grown to 9 million bushels. That year, soybean pioneer William J. “Bill” Morse left on a two-year odyssey to China during which he gathered more than 10,000 soybean varieties for U.S. researchers to study.

The United States of America expanded its production and by the 1970s supplied two-thirds of the world’s soybean needs. In the early 1970s, Latin America began to emerge as a major soybean producing area.
Introduction of soyabean to America

History of soyabean oil

The soyabean was domesticated in the eastern half of north China around the 11th century BC. In 2853 B.C., the Emperor Shen-nung named soybeans as one of five sacred plants, along with rice, wheat, barley and millet.

The first record of of soyabean being used for oil in China was in 980 BC; oil was generally used for illumination (burning in lamps) and the meal was used as a nitrogen-rich fertilizer on sugar cane fields in southern china.

By the 16th century, soybeans were used in Burma, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The first record of soybeans in Europe was in England in 1790. Their early introduction to the U.S. can be traced back to the mid-eighteenth century, with the largest official introduction occurring in the early 1900s.

In 1901, crushing of soybeans starts in Japan. Owada Seisakusho of Tsuruga, Fukui prefecture starts making commercial soy oil and soybean cake.

In 1904, George Washington Carver discovered that soybeans were an efficient source of oil and protein. Carver encouraged farmers to plant soybeans, which are a legume crop as they fix or add nitrogen in the soil.

Soybeans continued to be used in western countries for vegetable oil, primarily in the manufacturing of processed food products.
History of soyabean oil

History of soy sauce

The words ‘soy’, ‘soya’ and ‘soja’ and the term ‘soy sauce’ came to English from the Japanese word shoyu via the Dutch. The first European language document in which the words for ‘soy’ or ‘soy sauce’ appeared was Dutch.

The origin of soy sauce is considered to be China where only soy beans are used as a raw material. According to hypothesis by Kinichiro Sakaguchi, soy sauce was derived from a Chinese food called ‘chiang’.

Book of Chou-li first recorded that chiang was made during ancient dynasty of Chou (1222 BC – 249 BC). The used soybean in chiang was originated sometimes between the Chou and Han dynasties, when the cultivation of soybeans prevailed.

In the sixteenth century a vegetarian seasoning came with Buddhism from China to Japan. After that soy sauce underwent considerable development in Japan. In the second half of the 17th century, the large scale industry production of soy sauce occurred, backed by a huge consumption in a large cities such Edo (Tokyo).

In 1837, Worcestershire Sauce made by Lea and Perrins, soon becomes the best known commercial soy product made in England. The main secret ingredient is soy sauce.
History of soy sauce

History of soybean

Soybeans were first grown in China nearly 5,000 years ago and spread very gradually across China into Korea and South East Asia, eventually reaching Japan in the 8tn century.

At that time, the production of soybean in China was mainly concentrated around the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Around 2,200 years ago, in Han Dynasty, soybeans were first fermented to make douche, the predecessor of soy sauce and miso.

By the late 16th century, when European trade with China and Japan was beginning to be established, soybean protein had become a key dietary component of most of East Asia.

It is believed that the first shipment of soybeans to the West occurred in 1804 when an American clipper, returning from China to the USA carried a cargo of soya beans as ballast.

In the 1930’s the United States began to explore and develop soybean varieties through hybridization. It was not until 1940s that US farmers began to plant the first commercial crop to provide beans for soya sauce and now United States is the largest producer, growing 75% of the world’s soybean crop.

In the 1970s soybean production developed in brazil and this country is now the second largest soybean producing century.

History of soybean

 

History of Soybean

History of Soybean
The name soya has its origin in the Chinese word shu and sou. The Aryan of central Asia considered soybean along with honey as scared food to be offered to the departed.

The ancient yogis of the Indus Valley Civilization supplemented their meatless diet with this bean to ward off deficiency of good quality protein.

The first written record of the soybean appeared in “Materia Medica,” written by Emperor Shennung in 2838 BC, where it was described along with many other plants of China.

Since the pre-historical times, China has been producing soybean and there was story that during the early dynasty Han, the method of preparation for soybean curd was invented by the King Liu An of Huainan kingdom.

With the beginning of mutual trade soybean is supposed to be introduced to India sometime after the beginning of the Christian era.

As firmly as the history of the development of man in the western world is related to “bread and meat (animal protein)” the history in the eastern world is linked with millet, rice and soybeans (vegetable protein).

It is known that, though legend, that the soybean has supplied, in the form of soya milk, soya-cheese “tofu” and baked foods, the substantial part of the protein in the diet of the Chinese for at least 4000 years.

The soybean was introduced into Europe in 1712 by Kaempfer and into the United States in 1804.

In United States for several decades it was regarded more as a botanical curiosity than as a plant of economic importance.

Since 1890 nearly all of the State Agricultural Experiments have experimented with soybeans and many bulletins have been published dealing wholly or partly with the crop.

Additional varieties of soybeans were brought into the United States in 1854, 1900 and 1905, but it was not until 1915 that they were grown in quantities sufficient for commercial utilization.

In 1916, 30,000 bushels were processed for oil. The general shortage of fats and oils during the first world war gave a temporary, but rather short lived, stimulus to the production of soybeans for extraction purposes.

In 1922, however, about 27,000 bushels of soybeans were crushed for oil and the increasing demands for soybean oil have since that time given rise to the phenomenal growth of the domestic soybean industry.
History of Soybean