Soy cookbook developed to help
Americans eat more soy
Jim Barlow, Life Sciences Editor
(217) 333-5802; b-james3@illinois.edu
5/9/02
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."
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.