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Beans & pulses

Soy bean

Glycine maxAlso called soya bean, soybean and soyabean

Soy beans are legumes sold dried and whole. Cooks bake, boil, simmer, or roast them.

  • Plant-based
  • Gluten-free
  • Allergen: soy

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Family
Fabaceae
Cooked most in
Asia
Top country
Indonesia
Soy bean, whole

Photo: Tris T7 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use soy bean

Typical ways to cook or use it

  • Bake
  • Boil simmer
  • Roast

Preparing it

Rehydrate dried whole beans by soaking them in water.

Shopping

Choosing and storing soy bean

Sold as
Dried, Whole
Availability
Supermarkets (01M6Z352W8V1HK473NQVP9RZ33)

Nutrition

What 100 g of soy bean holds

Per 100 g, raw. Averages from USDA; real values vary by variety, season and growing conditions.

Protein 42%Fat 23%Carbohydrate 35%of the macronutrients by weight

Nutrition per 100 g of soy bean, raw
Energy446 kcal · 1,866 kJ
Protein36 g
Fat20 g
of which saturated2.9 g
Carbohydrate30 g
of which sugars7.3 g
Fibre9.3 g
Sodium2 mg
Cholesterol0 mg
Nutrition per 100 g of soy bean, raw: minerals and vitamins
Potassium1,797 mg
Calcium277 mg
Iron16 mg
Magnesium280 mg
Zinc4.9 mg
Vitamin C6 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)1 µg
Folate375 µg

Source: USDA FoodData Central (food 174270), public domain. Minerals and vitamins are listed only where USDA measured a non-zero amount.

Around the world

Where soy bean is cooked

3 dishes in the catalogue use soy bean. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list soy bean among their ingredients.

Origins

Native to
Eastern Asia

  1. The 1200s · Indonesia

    Soybeans were cultivated in Indonesia by the 13th century, and may have arrived earlier.

  2. 1760 · Italy

    Soybeans were cultivated in Turin by 1760.

  3. 1765 · Northern America

    Soybeans reached North America from China in 1765.

  4. 1779 · France

    Soybeans were cultivated in France by 1779, possibly earlier.

  5. 1857 · Egypt

    Soybeans entered Africa through Egypt in 1857.

  6. 1879 · Australia

    Domesticated soybeans arrived in Australia from Japan in 1879.

  7. 1882 · Argentina

    Soybeans first reached South America in Argentina in 1882.

On the table

Dishes made with soy bean

2 of the 3 catalogued dishes that use it, spread across the countries they come from.

  • Geonjin noodles

  • Tahu sumedang

    Indonesia

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include soy bean.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: soy bean in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.
Allergens
Contains: soyChecked and not found: eggs, fish, milk, lupin, wheat, celery, sesame, mustard, peanuts, molluscs, sulphites, tree nuts, crustaceans, gluten cereals.
Animal origin
No animal ingredients foundChecked and not found: egg, fish, meat, dairy, honey, insect, gelatin, poultry, bone char, shellfish, other animal, animal fining, animal rennet.
Gluten
None
Alcohol
None
Caffeine
None
Pork
None

Family

Related forms

A kind of
legume
Made from it
kinako (roasted), soya lecithin, soybean oil (extracted), soy milk (extracted, ground), Tempeh (cultured, fermented)

Around the world

What soy bean is called

Names in 27 languages, from Wikidata.

  • Spanish

    semilla de soja · grano de soya

  • Italian

    seme di soia · fagiolo di soia · fava di soia · fagiolo cinese

  • Portuguese

    grão de soja

  • German

    Sojabohne

  • Dutch

    sojaboon

  • Russian

    соевые бобы · боб сои · бобы сои · соевый боб

  • Arabic

    فول الصويا

  • Hebrew

    פול סויה

  • Chinese

    黄豆

  • Japanese

    大豆

  • Indonesian

    Kedelai · Soya

  • Malay

    kacang soya · soya

Show all 27 languages

  • Basque

    soja ale · soja alea · soja · soja baba

  • Belarusian (Taraskievica orthography)

    соевыя бабы

  • Burmese

    ပုပုပ်

  • Catalan

    gra de soia · llegum de soia · fesol de soia · fava de soia

  • Czech

    sójový bob · sójové boby · sojový bob

  • dag

    salin'tuya

  • Esperanto

    sojfabo

  • Galician

    soia

  • Hungarian

    szójabab

  • Irish

    pónaire shoighe

  • Shan

    ထူဝ်ႇၼဝ်ႈ

  • Simplified Chinese

    黄豆

  • Simplified Chinese (China)

    黄豆

  • Slovenian

    sojino zrno

  • Swedish

    sojaböna

  • Ukrainian

    соєві боби

  • Welsh

    ffa soia

Sources and credits

Data

Wikidata item: Q61503220

Photos

Photo: Tris T7 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons