Soybeans

Get your protein fix here! Soybeans (or soya beans) are a staple in Asian diets and have been consumed for thousands of years. They are popular especially for people who follow vegetarian and vegan diets as they can be processed into milk and meat substitutes. Soybeans are a very rich source of plant-based protein and fat. What’s more, their high fiber content is good for your gut health. One or two daily servings of soy foods can be beneficial to our health. Dried soybeans must be soaked overnight, then simmered until tender.

The soybean is an erect branching plant and can reach more than 2 meters (6.5 feet) in height. The self-fertilizing flowers are white or a shade of purple. Seeds can be yellow, green, brown, black, or bicoloured, though most commercial varieties have brown or tan seeds, with one to four seeds per pod.

The soybean may be cultivated in most types of soil, but it thrives in warm, fertile, well-drained, sandy loam. The crop is planted after all danger of frost is past. Soybeans are usually harvested mechanically, after the leaves have fallen off the plant and the moisture content of the seed has dropped to 13 percent, permitting safe storage. Like other legumes, the plant adds nitrogen to the soil by means of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and historically has been an important soil-enriching crop, though this practice is not common in most industrial agriculture systems.

USES

The soybean is one of the richest and cheapest sources of protein and is a staple in the diets of people and animals in numerous parts of the world. The seed contains 17 percent oil and 63 percent meal, 50 percent of which is protein. Because soybeans contain no starch, they are a good source of protein for diabetics.

In East Asia and elsewhere, the bean is extensively consumed in the forms of soy milk, a whitish liquid suspension, and tofu, a curd somewhat resembling cottage cheese. Soy sauce, a salty brown liquid, is produced from crushed soybeans and wheat that undergo yeast fermentation in salt water for six months to a year or more; it is a ubiquitous ingredient in Asian cooking. Other fermented soy foods include tempeh, miso, and fermented bean paste.

Soybeans are also sprouted for use as a salad ingredient or as a vegetable and may be eaten roasted as a snack food. Young soybeans, known as edamame, are commonly steamed or boiled and eaten directly from the pod. Modern research has led to a remarkable variety of uses for the soybean. Its oil can be processed into margarine, shortening, and vegetarian and vegan cheeses. Soybean meal serves as a high-protein meat substitute in many food products, including baby foods and vegetarian foods, and can be imparted with a meat like texture for increasing the cooked yield of ground meats. Industrially, the oil is used as an ingredient in paints, adhesives, fertilizers, sizing for cloth, linoleum backing, and fire-extinguisher fluids, among other products.