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User:Valereee/William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi

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

Early life

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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

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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

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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

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

Impact

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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

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  • 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

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  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.