‘Soyabean’ – the “miracle golden bean” – may be considered as king of pulses. It is a pulse having a wealth of nutrition. Nutritionally, there is no other food that compares with it. It is the only vegetable that gives complete protein. Being rich in all food essentials and containing proteins of the highest value it successfully replaces or entirely surpasses meat, fish, eggs, cheese, buttermilk and to all of which it is, in fact, superior in many ways.
It is the most perfect substitute for meat known to man. It is rich in calcium, phosphorous and lysine (amino acid) without which proteins are of little value to the human system.
The vegan vegetarians who live on the products of plant kingdom to the exclusion of flesh, fish, eggs etc. can use soyabean as their basic protein. The soyabean contains a wealth of nutrition in the form of minerals, vitamins, easily assimilable carbohydrates and above all, perfect and complete protein, all of which are packed tight into the tiny soyabean, the little storehouse of Nature’s greatest treasure.
Not only can soyabean replace meat, fish, eggs etc. but being low in starch, it is a good diabetic good. For infants and children, adults and old people, in health and sickness, the soyabean is very valuable as an all- round food.
Another outstanding advantage of the soyabean is the fact that its rich fat content comprises a considerable amount of lecithin, the best known form of nutrient essential in fat metabolism and building, of nerve tissues. Cephalin, a phosphate, another constituent of soyabean, is one of the constituent of the brain.
Soya bean is commercially available as soya chunks, soya granules, soya-paneer (Tofu) and soya-milk.
But doctor ! I don’t like the taste of soyabeans !
The overall nutritional quality of soyabean is no doubt excellent but there are certain factors by way of which many avoid taking it.
Soyabean in its raw state is some what difficult to digest unless one is familiar with the correct process of cooking.
One has to cultivate a taste for it as due to its particular flavour and rubbery feeling on eating it is not generally liked by many. Soyabean has, therefore to be suitably processed by soaking and germinating or the commercially available soya-chunks and soya-granulaes have to be properly washed under running water and soaked. Later steaming or double boiling the soya bean or chunks and granules, improves their palatability, digestibility and nutritive value.
Soyabean can be put to a number of diverse uses and in these forms are taken readily by people. The soya bean, chunks or granules can be used in various ways : khakra, chapatii made out of soya flour.