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Soy Products
• What is soy flour and how can I use it?
• What are the components of soy sauce?
• What is the nurtritional value of soy foods?
• What's an easy way to incorporate soy beans into diet?
• What's the phytate content in soy foods?
• What is TVP?
• What is the nutrient content of TVP?
Answers
What is soy flour and how can I use it?
Soy flour is made from roasted soybeans that have been ground into a fine powder. There are three kinds of soy flour available. (1.) Natural or full-fat which contains the natural oils found in the soybean (2.) Defatted, which has the oils removed during processing and (3.) Lecithinated, which has lecithin added to it. Soy flour does have a "nutty" flavor to it; therefore you will not want to replace all of the flour in a recipe with soy flour. However, you can make great tasting AND healthy products using some soy flour in your recipe.
Soy flour is gluten-free. Gluten gives structure to yeast-raised breads. Therefore, if there is no gluten you will get a very flat loaf. You can use about 15% soy flour in a recipe to produce a dense bread with a nutty flavor and a wonderful moist quality.
In baked products, such as quick breads which are not yeast-raised, up to 1/4 the total amount of flour called for in the recipe can be replaced with soy flour. For each cup of regular flour, use 1/4 cup soy flour and 3/4 cup wheat flour (all-purpose or whole wheat). In quick breads or baked products you can try using as much soy flour as you find to be good-tasting.
You can also use soy flour to replace eggs in baked products. Replace one egg with 1 tablespoon soy flour and 1 tablespoon water. Soy flour adds moisture to the product when you eliminate an egg. This is healthy if you are trying to limit the amount of cholesterol in your diet.
What are the components of soy sauce?Soy sauce is a dark brown liquid made from soybeans that have undergone a fermentation process. Soy sauce has a salty taste because it contains a fair amount of sodium. There are different types of soy sauce. Shoyu is a blend of soybeans and wheat. Tamari is made only from soybeans and is a byproduct of making miso. And, lastly, teriyaki is a thick sauce and is made from soybeans plus sugar, vinegar, and/or spices.
Soy sauce in Asia is actually very different from soy sauce eaten in the United States. In the U.S. Soy sauce is a synthetic product made from defatted soybean meal and wheat mixed with chemicals. Caramel coloring and corn syrup may be added for color or flavor. Synthetic soy sauce is not fermented and is made in just a few days. Shoyu, or true soy sauce, is made by mixing the cooked soybeans and wheat with a mold which is then allowed to ferment in a salty brine for 12-18 months. This is obviously a much more labor and time-intensive process than used in the U.S.
What is the nurtritional value of soy foods?We have listed below the general nutritional values for soybeans, soymilk, and tofu.
| Soybeans (4 oz. portion cooked) | Calories Protein Carb Fat Chol Fiber Sodium |
202 18 grams 14 grams 10 grams 0 mg 4.5 grams 2 mg |
| Soymilk whole (1 cup) | Calories Protein Carb Fat Chol Fiber Sodium |
79 6.6 grams 4 grams 4.5 0 mg 1 gram 29 mg |
| Soymilk nonfat (1 cup) | Calories Protein Carb Fat Chol Fiber Sodium |
70 3 grams 14 grams 0 grams 0 mg 0 grams 75 mg |
| Tofu (7 oz) | Calories Protein Carb Fat Chol Fiber Sodium |
150 16 grams 4 grams 9 grams 0 mg 1 gram 14 mg |
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Soy nuts are an easy and tasty way to incorporate soy foods into your diet. You can eat the soy nuts by themselves or add them to a salad or snack mix. Listed below, we have outlined how to roast soy nuts.
You will first need to purchase the soybeans. Dried soybeans are usually sold in natural food stores and may also be found in some supermarkets. The beans need to be soaked. The recommended method is to soak the soybeans in 4 cups of water per cup of dried soybeans. Soak them overnight, or at least for 8 hours. Then, drain and rinse the beans.
For roasted soy nuts you can either use a microwave or an oven. You can salt the beans lightly before roasting them. Then,
Microwave: Use 1 cup of beans. Drain them well. Spread the beans into a single layer in a 9" or 10" glass pie plate. Microwave on high for 3 minutes. Stir, then cook 3 minutes more. Next, cook for 1 minute at a time, stirring after each minute to ensure even browning. The total time will vary depending on the moisture of the beans and the wattage of the oven, but will take about 9 to 12 minutes. When the beans are beginning to get hard and golden, you may want to cook for 30 second intervals to avoid burning them. They are done when they are golden brown and crunchy.
Oven Method: Use up to 2 cups of beans per baking sheet. Drain the beans, then spread into a single layer (I put a layer of aluminum foil on my baking sheet and spray the foil with a small amount of vegetable oil so that the beans won't stick). Bake at 350 degrees, stirring every 15 minutes until golden brown and crunchy. The total time will vary depending on the moisture of the beans, but should take about 25 minutes. Watch carefully when the beans are getting closer to done.
Yield: ½ cup nuts from 1 cup beans
Serving Size: 2 tbsp
Per serving: 60 calories, 3 g total fat (0.4 g saturated fat), 5 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate,
1.1 g fiber, 0 mg cholesterol
The following chart appeared in The Simple Soybean and Your Health by Mark Messina, PhD, Virginia Messina, MS, RD and Kenneth Setchell, PhD, Avery Publishing 1994.
Percentage of phytate in selected foods:
| Food | % | |
| Hulled Soybeans | 1.5 | |
| Tempeh | 1.1 | |
| Tofu | 1.5 - 2.0 | |
| Soy protein isolate | 1.6 - 1.7 | |
| Soy textured concentrate | 1.5 | |
| Soy flour | 1.8 | |
| Bran flake cereal | 1.3 | |
| White bread | 0.1 | |
| Canned kidney beans | 0.8 | |
| Wheat | 1.1 | |
| Corn | 0.9 | |
| Barley | 1.0 | |
| Oats | 0.8 | |
| Lima beans | 2.5 | |
| Peanuts | 1.9 | |
| Wild rice | 2.2 | |
| Wheat bran | 4.8 |
Textured vegetable protein, TVP, is made from soy flour that has had the fat removed. This is then compressed and processed into granules or chunks. TVP is sold as a dried, granular product that can be stored in a tightly closed container at room temperature for several months. When it is rehydrated with boiling water, TVP has a texture similar to ground beef. Rehydrated TVP should be stored in the refrigerator and used within a few days.
The United Soybean Board offers the following tips for using TVP:
1. Use TVP to replace all or part of the ground meat in almost any recipe.Replace one-fourth of the ground beef in meat loaf or burgers.
2. Try rehydrating TVP with boiling fruit juices or broths.
3. Adding a little catsup, vinegar or lemon juice helps TVP to rehydrate quickly.
What is the nutrient content of TVP?
A serving of TVP is ½ cup cooked. TVP is high in protein, isoflavones, calcium, iron, and zinc and low in fat and calories. A serving of TVP contains about 35 mg of isoflavones. The protein content of TVP will vary based on the manufacturer so read the nutrition labels carefully to find this information. However, on average ½ cup of TVP is 7-8 grams of soy protein. TVP is comparable to other soyfoods in its' protein content, but may be a little less concentrated in isoflavones. Compared to beef or chicken dishes TVP should save you calories, fat and cholesterol.
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