George Ohsawa, Carl Ferre, and others have devised extensive food tables that compare and categorize the yin and yang qualities of food.
Here is a list of foods I've taken from Zen Macrobiotics, by George Ohsawa (see pages 115-117). I've superimposed it with Carl Ferre's overall comparison of food categories (The Yin And Yang Spectrum Of Food, Part 1) so that as you scroll down, you'll see the most yin categories first (starting with "Sweeteners").
Keep in mind that foods listed within each category although they range from yin to yang may or may not hold the overall yin or yang quality from their category. For example, although "goat milk" is listed as "2 yang," it is still in the "Dairy" category, which is very yin compared to the other categories.
In the end, it all depends on the affect that the food has on you, whether it creates an expansive effect (yin) or a contractive effect (yang).
Comparison of Foods By Category and Yin Yang Qualities:
[MOST YIN]
Sweeteners
• Honey — 3 yin
• Molasses — 3 yin
Beverages
• Drinks containing sugar substitutes — 3 yin
• Tea containing dye — 3 yin
• Coffee — 3 yin
• Fruit juice — 3 yin
• All sugared drinks — 3 yin
• Champagne — 3 yin
• Wine — 3 yin
• Beer — 2 yin
• Mineral water — 1 yin
• Soda (carbonated water) — 1 yin
• Water (deep well) — 1 yin• Thyme — 1 yin
• Menthol — 1 yin
• Armoise (mugwort, yomogi) — 1 yang
• Bancha (common, undyed Japanese tea) — 1 yang
• Chicory — 1 yang
• Yannoh (Ohsawa coffee) — 1 yang
• Kokkoh (grain milk) — 1 yang
• Mu tea — 2 yang
• Haru tea — 2 yang
• Dragon tea — 2 yang
• Yang yang tea — 2 yang
• Ginseng root — 3 yang
Dairy
• Yogurt — 3 yin
• Sour cream — 3 yin
• Sweet cream — 3 yin
• Cream cheese — 3 yin
• Butter — 3 yin
• Milk — 2 yin
• Camembert — 2 yin
• Gruyere — 2 yin
• Roquefort — 1 yang
• Edam cheese (Dutch) — 1 yang
• Goat milk — 2 yang
Oil
• Margarine — 3 yin
• Coconut oil — 2 yin
• Peanut oil — 2 yin
• Corn oil — 2 yin
• Olive oil — 2 yin
• Sunflower oil — 1 yin
• Sesame oil — 1 yin
• Corza oil — 1 yin
• Safflower oil — 1 yin
• Egoma (most yang sesame) oil — 1 yin
Fruit & Nuts
• Pineapple — 3 yin• Papaya — 3 yin
• Mango — 3 yin
• Grapefruit — 3 yin
• Orange — 3 yin
• Banana — 3 yin
• Fig — 3 yin
• Pear — 3 yin
• Peach — 2 yin
• Lime — 2 yin
• Melon — 2 yin
• Almond — 2 yin
• Peanut — 2 yin
• Cashew — 2 yin
• Hazel nut — 2 yin
• Olive — 1 yin
• Strawberry — 1 yang
• Chestnut — 1 yang
• Cherry — 1 yang
• Apple — 2 yang
Seeds
Seaweed
Vegetables & Beans
• Eggplant — 3 yin• Tomato — 3 yin
• Sweet potato — 3 yin
• Potato — 3 yin
• Shiitake mushroom — 3 yin
• Pimento — 3 yin
• Beans (except azuki beans, which are more yang) — 3 yin
• Cucumber — 3 yin
• Asparagus — 3 yin
• Spinach — 3 yin
• Artichoke — 3 yin
• Bamboo sprout — 3 yin
• Mushroom — 3 yin
• Green pea — 2 yin
• Celery — 2 yin
• Lentil — 2 yin
• Purple cabbage — 1 yin
• Beet — 1 yin
• White cabbage — 1 yin
• Dandelion leaf and stem — 1 yang
• Lettuce — 1 yang
• Endive — 1 yang
• Kale — 1 yang
• Radish — 1 yang
• Garlic — 1 yang
• Onion — 1 yang
• Parsley — 1 yang
• Hokkaido pumpkin — 2 yang
• Carrot — 2 yang
• Coltsfoot — 2 yang
• Burdock — 2 yang
• Cress — 2 yang
• Watercress — 2 yang
• Dandelion root — 2 yang
• Jinenjo potato — 3 yang
Grains/Cereals• Corn — 1 yin• Rye — 1 yin
• Barley — 1 yin
• Oats — 1 yin
• Cracked wheat — 1 yin
• Wheat — 1 yin
• Millet — 1 yin
• Rice (whole, brown rice) — 1 yang
• Buckwheat — 2 yang
Fish• Oyster — 1 yin• Clam — 1 yin
• Octopus — 1 yin
• Eel — 1 yin
• Carp — 1 yin
• Mussel — 1 yin
• Halibut — 1 yin
• Lobster — 1 yin
• Trout — 1 yin
• Sole — 1 yin
• Salmon — 1 yang
• Shrimp — 1 yang
• Herring — 1 yang
• Sardine — 1 yang
• Red snapper — 1 yang
• Caviar — 2 yang
Salted Cheese
Animal Products
• Snail — 2 yin• Frog — 2 yin
• Pork — 2 yin
• Beef — 2 yin
• Horsemeat — 2 yin
• Hare — 2 yin
• Chicken — 1 yin
• Pigeon — 1 yang
• Partridge — 1 yang
• Duck — 1 yang
• Turkey — 1 yang
• Egg — 2 yang
• Pheasant — 3 yang
Miso
Soy Sauce
Sea Salt
[MOST YANG]
See also:
The Yin And Yang Spectrum Of Food, Part 1
The Yin And Yang Spectrum Of Food, Part 3
Related Blog Articles:
Ten Macrobiotic Diets By George Ohsawa
What To Eat And Drink On A Macrobiotic Diet
What NOT To Eat (Or Drink) On A Macrobiotic Diet
