“beany” flavor. And when cooked whole as
other beans are, they don’t become
appealingly creamy; since they contain a
negligible amount of starch, their texture
remains somewhat firm. The Chinese and
others developed two basic ways of making
soybeans more palatable: extracting their
protein and oil in the form of a milk and then
concentrating them in cheese-like curds; and
encouraging the growth of microbes that
consume undesirable substances and generate
an appealing flavor. The results were bean
curd and soymilk skins; and soy sauce and
miso, tempeh and natto.
Fresh Soybeans One other way to make
soybeans more palatable is to eat them before
they’re fully mature, when they’re sweeter,
contain lower levels of gassy and
antinutritional substances, and have a less
pronounced beany flavor. Fresh soybeans,
Japanese edamame or Chinese mao dou, are