User:Valereee/William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi

William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi are writers and researchers in soy foods and operate the Soy Information Center.

Early life edit

Shurtleff was born in California in 1941[1] and graduated from Stanford University in 1963 with degrees in humanities and industrial engineering.[2]: 213  He spent two years in the Peace Corps, then earned a Master's in education at Stanford.[2]: 213 

Aoyagi was born in Tokyo in 1950[1] and worked in illustration and fashion design.[2]: 214 

In 1971 Shurtleff travelled to Japan to study Zen and Japanese, and the two met.[2]: 214 [3]

Early Career edit

After reading Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet Shurtleff and Aoyagi focussed on tofu and other soy foods as a solution to world hunger;[3] Lappe had argued that per acre of soybean vs. beef grazing land, twenty times as much protein usable for human consumption could be produced.[2]

The two decided to self-publish a booklet about using soy foods.[3] In 1973 they travelled through Japan to watch and learn from traditional tofu makers in remote villages.[2]: 215  Shurtleff apprenticed with a local tofu maker to learn the process.[3] Aoyagi accompanied Shurtleff to his apprenticeship to record the process and make sketches, attempting to adapt the process to a home kitchen, as most Japanese did not make their own tofu.[3] She recreated dishes served in tofu shops, adapting them also to the home kitchen, and selected recipes from The Joy of Cooking to remake with tofu[3] and developed recipes for tofu burgers, barbecued tofu, dips, dressings, and casseroles.[2]: 216  Her recipes used not only tofu but the intermediate products such as okara, , curds, and the soybeans themselves.[2]: 216 

Aoyagi illustrated the book with detailed black-and-white line drawings of tools and processes.[2]: 216 

Books edit

In 1972, a small publisher of Zen and macrobiotic books,[2]: 216  Autumn Press, offered them a publishing contract.[3] The Book of Tofu was published in 1975[4]: 22  and followed by The Book of Miso in 1976.[2]: 216 [3]: 161 

Multi-issue features about The Book of Tofu appeared in Mother Earth News and East West Journal.[3]: 161 

In September of 1976 Shurtleff and Aoyagi did a 4-month 64-stop[3]: 163  book tour.[3]: 162  Audiences were "almost overwhelmingly young and counterculture," and tofu was unfamiliar to them.[3]: 163  Midway through the tour they stopped at The Farm commune and stayed for two weeks[3]: 163  while Shurtleff studied tempeh-making with Cynthia Bates.[3]: 164  The Book of Tempeh was released in 1979.[3]: 217 

The Book of Tofu sold thirty thousand copies in its first year of publication.[3]: 164  Ballantine Books released it as a mass-market paperback.[2]: 216 

Soy Information Center edit

Shurtleff and Aoyagi operate the Soy Information Center in Lafayette, California.[5]

Impact edit

The Book of Tofu included a directory of US tofu shops, all owned by Chinese- or Japanese-Americans, in its 1975 edition.[3]: 164  By 1982 there were 170 shops, according to Shurtleff.[3]: 164 

According to Karen Iacobbo and Michael Iacobbo, food historians and authors of Vegetarian America, The Book of Tofu helped "creat(e) a surge in demand for tofu cuisine."[6]

Mother Earth News said The Book of Tofu in 1977 was "already starting to revolutionize the eating habits of the Western world."[1]

Paste said Shurtleff and Aoyagi's The Book of Tempeh helped tempeh become a "major vegetarian protein player in the US."[7]

Bibliography edit

  • The Book of Tofu (1975)[8][4]: 22 
  • The Book of Miso (1976)[4]: 22 [9]
  • The Book of Tempeh (1979)[4]: 22 [10]
  • Tofu and Soymilk Production (1979)[11]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "The Plowboy Interview: Bill Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi". Mother Earth News. 1977. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Matthew David Roth (2018). Magic Bean: The Rise of Soy in America. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-2634-2.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Jonathan Kauffman (23 January 2018). Hippie Food: How Back-to-the-Landers, Longhairs, and Revolutionaries Changed the Way We Eat. William Morrow. ISBN 978-0-06-243732-7.
  4. ^ a b c d Page, Karen (2014-10-14). The Vegetarian Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity with Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Legumes, Nuts, Seeds, and More, Based on the Wisdom of Leading American Chefs. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-24417-6.
  5. ^ "About Us - About the Authors". www.soyinfocenter.com. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  6. ^ Karen Iacobbo; Andrew Linzey; Michael Iacobbo (2004). Vegetarian America: A History. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-275-97519-7.
  7. ^ Kennedy, Alicia (March 16, 2018). "In 2018, Tempeh's Temptations Are More Than a Trend". www.villagevoice.com. Retrieved 2019-05-31.
  8. ^ William Shurtleff; Akiko Aoyagi (1975). The Book of Tofu: Food for Mankind. Soyinfo Center. pp. 250–. ISBN 978-0-394-73431-6.
  9. ^ William Shurtleff; Akiko Aoyagi. The Book of Miso: The book of miso. Ballantine Books.
  10. ^ William Shurtleff; Akiko Aoyagi (1980). The Book of Tempeh. Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0-933332-04-1.
  11. ^ William Shurtleff; Akiko Aoyagi (2000). Tofu & Soymilk Production: A Craft and Technical Manual. Soyinfo Center. ISBN 978-1-928914-04-4.