The cultivation and processing of the soybean has an interesting history. It is generally agreed that soybeans were first cultivated in China. They were probably consumed as a pulse crop and later developed into a variety of food products, including tofu, miso, tempeh, soymilks and, of course, soy sauces. The extraction of oil for use in direct consumption and cooking other food products is known to have occurred in China and other Asian countries for hundred of years. However, the oilseed processingindustry in the United States and Western Europe is young, dating from about 1910.
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