Tofu in America

In the produce department of a Washington, D.C. supermarket are two brands of tofu, a soft soybean curd.  One was imported from Japan; the other was produced in Massachusetts. Both brands owe a considerable debt to ARS researchers in Peoria, who became involved after Japan complained of technical difficulties in making traditional Asian foods, like tofu and miso paste, from U.S. soybeans.

U.S. and Japanese technologists, working together in Peoria, improved soybeans for export in several ways. One action was as simple as removing the beans' seedcoat, which greatly improved their appearance in miso. They also increased the protein content and uniformity of soybeans. In time, varieties more acceptable to the Japanese were selected, and exports began to climb.

Meanwhile, American consumers' introduction to such delicacies as hot and sour soup and a growing number of Asians in the U.S. expanded the domestic market for tofu. As a result of its work on exports, scientists at the ARS lab in Peoria became the major source of technical information for this new American business.

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Leavened Bread from Rice

Bread made with a high-protein rice flour has been developed by ARS researchers in San Francisco for people allergic to wheat protein. A natural gum added to the rice flour dough forms a film that makes the dough almost as elastic as wheat gluten, a characteristic that allows the bread to rise. Taste panels report that the rice-flour bread is almost indistinguishable from bread made with wheat flour.

Rice researchers also came up with a better process for making quick-cooking rice and, a few years later, developed a brown rice that could be prepared in one-fourth the time as raw brown rice.

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Soybean Oil is No.1

Fifty years ago soybean oil tasted like paint. Today it is tasteless and odor-free and accounts for 75 percent of the vegetable oil sold in the United States. It is used in salad dressings and granola bars, to fry potato chips and french fries, and in 101 other products. It is in many non-food products, from printer's ink to caulking compound to lipstick. Further, after soybean oil is pressed from the bean, the remaining soybean meal is a valuable animal feed.

Most of the research that made soy oil palatable was carried out at the ARS lab in Peoria. A number of reasons were found for its unpleasant taste and smell, including trace metals from iron processing equipment and linolenic acid, a fatty acid naturally present in soybean oil. Equipment was replaced with stainless steel and processes were discovered to remove or inhibit oxidation of the linolenic acid, which occurred when the oil was exposed to air. Better storage improved shelf life. Each discovery made soybean oil better.

The noses and tongues of many ARS employees have been enlisted over the years to evaluate soy oil, both heated and unheated. Some testers chalked up more than 20-years of experience in oil-sniffing.

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Remaking Poinsettias

Since ARS plant breeders took a hand in developing the poinsettia its popularity has rocketed, with its wholesale value rising 400 percent during the last 20 years and 2000 percent in the last 40. The annual value of the holiday crop has topped $170 million.

The first goal of ARS geneticists in Beltsville, Maryland, was to increase 'keeping quality' of poinsettias. In the 1950's, leaves fell off the plant after only a few days. One USDA geneticist found ways to breed several different varieties--including Rudolph and Stoplight--that combined vivid color and enough staying power to last through the holidays. Researchers then found ways to delay flowering of plants until growers were ready to ship them to market.

The flower of a poinsettia is small and yellow. Each flower is surrounded, not by petals, but by modified leaves, or bracts. Bracts may be red, pink, or white. It has been no small achievement by ARS scientists to synchronize the appearance of bracts with holiday demand. But it is done today as a matter of course.

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Updated 7/25/03