THE OF
COUNTERARCHITECTURE SOY
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Counterarchitecture of Soy
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OVERVIEW
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SOY
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PLAN DRAWING
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EDIBLE CANDLE
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INSPIRATION
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PROTOTYPES
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OVERVIEW
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WHAT IS COUNTERARCHITECTURE?
A superfood counterarchitecture is an intervention that addresses the lack of awareness for the detrimental effects the cultivation of superfoods have had on the environment (not limited to but including air, soil, water), as well as its impact on the culture around food.
PROJECT BRIEF
My initial recipe was tofu. Originally from the Chinese Han dynasty about 2000 years ago, Tofu is a dish made of coagulated soybeans that serves as base for many Southeastern and Eastern Asian cuisines. Recently, with an increased boom in veganism and vegetarianism in Western media, Tofu has risen in popularity as a versatile base for many recipes, often acting as alternates for dairy-based products, such as cream cheese, and meat. Soy is one of the more notorious superfoods that is directly linked to the “farms race” 1 due to its use in livestock and poultry feed. Although the cultivation of soy itself is not necessarily detrimental to the environment, the indirect consumption of soy through various meats and the amount of greenhouse gas produced as a result of livestock farming is 2. Referred to as Okara in Japanese and Biji in Korean, soy pulp is the byproduct of tofu-making, as bean pulps are strained out for a smooth, sometimes silky texture. Most pulps generated by industrial tofu-makers are sold to farms as animal feed. As a way to address waste and damage that can be caused by the use soy pulp as animal feed, I created edible candles made of soy pulp, sugar, and baking soda. This candle acts as counterarchitecture of soybeans, specifically in waste generated Counterarchitecture of Soy
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by soybean products, because it acts as an intervention that reroutes the traditional path to animal feed that soy takes in industrial tofu-making. Inspired by the similarities between air pockets formed within tofu as it coagulates and air pockets formed when hot sugar interacts with baking soda, the edible candle features a bulky exterior and airy interior that melts and drips onto the final course of a meal (dessert) whilst providing ambient light.
1 Produced by Matt Hickey, By Stephen J. Dubner (2019, December 11). How the supermarket helped America win the Cold War (ep. 386). Freakonomics. Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https:// freakonomics.com/ podcast/farms-race/. 2 Soy. World Wide Fund for Nature. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2021, from https://wwf.panda.org/ discover/our_focus/ food_practice/sustainable_ production/soy/.
SOY
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SEED
Soybeans are dicotyledonous (dicots), meaning they have two cotyledons (leaves in the seed). Their vascular bundles are arranged in concentric circles and their roots develop from the radicle. They also have reticulate arrangements of major leaf veins, often have secondary growth, and have more stomata on the lower epidermis of leaves. Soy is also an exalbuminous seed.
ORIGINS
Soybeans originate from Southeast Asia and were first domesticated by Chinese farmers around 1100 BC. By first century AD, soybeans were grown in Japan and many other countries.
TEMPERAMENT
Soybeans thrive in warm environment. They are usually planted in the spring, 2 weeks after the average last frost date when the soil has warmed to at least 60ºF. Soy can be platned earlier in warm-winter regions, as they grow best where daytime temperature averates in the 70ºs.
LIFE CYCLE
The system of soybean growth stages divides plant development into vegetative (V) and reproductive (R) stages. The vegetative stages are numbered according to how many fully-developed trifoliate leaves are present. The reproductive (R) stages begin at flowering and include pod development, seed development, and plant maturation.
Counterarchitecture of Soy
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RECENT HISTORY AS SUPERFOOD
Soybeans were introduced to the US through a British colonist who brought the seed from China. Benjamin Franklin sent some soybeans to a friend to plant his garden in 1770. Although soy sauce had been popular in Europe and other British colonies, soybeans were not distributed to farmers in Illinois and other corn belt states until 1851. Soybeans increased in popularity amongst farmers in the 1870’s as it became a popular option for farmers to plant them as feed for livestock. Soy was one of the most prominnet superfoods, as it was continually modified to fit the needs of farmers.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
Although the cultivation of soy itself is not necessarily detrimental to the environment, the indirect consumption of soy through various meats is, through the amount of greenhouse gas produced as a result of livestock farming. Soy farming is also a leading factor in deforestation, especially in the Amazon, as corporations push to cut down forests to make space for soy fields to feed more livestock.
PLAN DRAWING
Counterarchitecture of Soy
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EDIBLE CANDLE
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PREPARATIONS INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of any sugar 3 tbs dehydrated soy pulp 2 tbs baking soda
SUPPLIES
Small, non-stick saucepan Aluminium foil Edible wick
FOIL MOLD
Choose a vessel that will hold your dessert. Empty pasta jars, mugs, and old takeout containers work well. Cut a piece of aluminium foil that is about 12” bigger than the entrance of your vessel. Create a slight divet in the center of the cut foil. Move the foil into the center of the entrance of the vessel. Then, mold the entrance with the foil, with the divet as the center and point of reference. Once the molding is complete, remove the foil from the vessel.
DEHYDRATED SOY PULP
Dehydrated in the oven at 200° F for 45 minutes and/or until brittle.
STEP 4
After about 10 minutes, the sugar/soy mixture should have settled. Insert the wick into the mold. Then, move the mold into the vessel the mold was modeled after to ensure the candle will fit in the mold after it cools. Repeat steps 1-4 if more space needs filled.
STEP 5
Allow the mixture to completely cool (takes about an hour) before peeling off the mold. Enjoy your edible candle!
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STEP 1
Melt about 1/2 cup of any sugar of your choice over medium-low heat in a small, non-stick saucepan.
STEP 2
Once the sugar melts to have a clear consistency, remove the suacepan from heat. Add 3 tbs of dehydrated soy pulp into the mixture and stir.
STEP 3
Quickly, pour in 2 tbsp of baking soda into the mixture, and stir vigorously. Once the baking soda is melted in and the mixture inflates, pour the mixture into the mold.
STEP 4
After about 10 minutes, the sugar/soy mixture should have settled. Insert the wick into the mold. Then, move the mold into the vessel the mold was modeled after to ensure the candle will fit in the mold after it cools. Repeat steps 1-4 if more space needs filled.
STEP 5
Allow the mixture to completely cool (takes about an hour) before peeling off the mold. Enjoy your edible candle!
INSPIRATION
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PROTOTYPES
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YEJI KIM / ARCH 185-19 Counterarchitecture of Soy
