SCIENCE INDEX 2000 2001 2002 Agriculture

Soy cookbook developed to help Americans eat more soy

Jim Barlow, Life Sciences Editor
(217) 333-5802; b-james3@uiuc.edu

5/9/02

Photo by David Riecks Lasagna

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Food is not medicine, Barbara Klein says, but soy is nutritious and, by taking a whole-food approach, it can enhance the American diet. Helping food producers create quality soy products, developing marketing programs and educating the public about the benefits of soy make up the mission of the Illinois Center for Soy Foods.

"It’s all about taste," says Klein, co-director of the 2-year-old center, primarily housed in the National Soybean Research Center at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "Soy products have to taste good."

Photo by David Riecks Mustardy Vegetable Casserole

The center has published its first cookbook, "Tofu in the American Kitchen," featuring 28 recipes with color illustrations for appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts. More books are planned, including one in December with recipes using textured soy protein.

The center also has a soy milk processing machine and other equipment to help producers test ingredients and monitor taste and texture. A new consumer test center, to open next year, will be combined with an existing test kitchen. A retail soy foods store will open in Bevier Hall on campus in September, a week after the fall semester begins.

"The University of Illinois has a longstanding reputation in the soy area – everything from seed production to processing to nutrition," said Klein, a professor of food science. "The Illinois Center for Soy Foods was conceived as a way to bring together these separated areas into one institute. Animal nutritionists have known for a long time that soy is useful in animal diets, but in this country the amount going into human foods is tiny."

Worldwide, livestock feed is the end product for 98 percent of soybean meal produced each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. The remaining 2 percent goes into human food products.

To get people to put soy in their diets, it has to be convenient, Klein said.

The 42-page, spiral bound tofu cookbook, which Klein edited, is built around a soy product and other ingredients readily available at grocery stores. Most of the recipes call for mixing tofu with the regular ingredients in popular Midwest meals. Recipes of some favorite dishes were provided by staff members of the Illinois Center for Soy Foods and the National Soybean Research Laboratory. Food technologists helped test each recipe for ease of preparation, taste and nutritional value. Each recipe has nutritional information.

"The cookbook is about ideas," Klein said. "People often won't know tofu is in a dish. Tofu takes on the flavors of what you cook it with. The recipes are specific about which types of tofu to use. We describe them. We explain what tofu is and how to use it."

Tofu – the protein of soy in a semi-solid form – comes in soft, medium, firm, extra-firm and silken types. It has been consumed in Asia for hundreds of years, but only in the last five years has it become widely available in many U.S. supermarkets. Soy protein is a complete food; like animal protein, it contains all the essential amino acids in sufficient quantities to support life.

In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave approval for health claims on labels of products with at least 6.25 grams of soy protein. The American Heart Association, in November 2000, said that consuming 25 to 50 grams a day of soy protein is safe and effective in reducing low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol by up to 8 percent.

Illinois researchers agree that soy should be part of a low-fat diet of a variety of whole foods, not supplements. Soy has been found to offer protection against prostate, colon and breast cancers, as well as reducing symptoms of osteoporosis and menopause.

The Center for Soy Foods opened in January 2000 with funding from the Illinois Council for Food and Agricultural Research. "The first two years were devoted to getting an infrastructure in place that allows us to work with food companies, provide training programs, and conduct research – all pertaining to soy," Klein said.

Keith Cadwallader, a professor of food chemistry, is co-director of the center. More information is available at www.soyfoodsillinois.uiuc.edu or by calling (217) 244-1706.