27/01/2024
As it’s still we thought we’d put together a post all about TOFU (plus it’s a great intro post for tomorrow’s reel).
Tofu is such a big staple for many vegans around the world; the first recorded use of tofu was over 2,000 years ago. There’s even rumours it was found by a Chinese prince whereas others say it was created accidentally. Whatever the real story is Tofu is pretty universal.
🤔So how’s it made?!
The journey off Tofu is actually pretty mind blowing tbH. These guys are made from dried soybeans that are soaked in water, ground to a pulp. Which is then cooked and filtered out, what you’re left with is soy milk.
✨ some magic happens to soy milk. It then goes through the same process of how any animal milk is curdled to make cheese, soy milk must be curdled to make tofu. Curds are made by separating the solid parts (curds) from the liquid parts (whey).
Coagulation (the fancy word to describe turning liquids into solid) is done by an adding a coagulant. Like a salt coagulant (calcium sulphate (gypsum)). The coagulant changes the pH of the liquid and curds the milk.
Next, the curds are pressed into blocks- The pressing drains off the whey and the blocks are then cut.
The tofu is then cleaned and stored to become firmer and waits until it’s ready to be packaged.
It’s then heated to a temperature of around 80°C which gives it a longer shelf-life – a process known as pasteurisation.
you’ll see in the post, there’s a few different tofu types depending on the amount of water.
🍽️ Silken- used as a thick cream, fresh cream cheese or ricotta in cheesecakes, smoothies, dips or even ravioli fillings.
🍽️ regular- soaks up the flavours of sauces and broths and so is often used in noodle soups, stews & scramble.
🍽️ firm- can be pan-fried, stir-fried, deep-fried, put in a stew, used as a filling or to make spreads.
🍽️ extra-firm can’t really absorb marinades as much. But it’s easy to pan, stir or deep fry.
🍽️ super firm is the closest thing to meat. mix with a hot marinade and pan-fry, stir-fry or deep-fry
🤔 Have you ever had tofu? What’s your fave way of having tofu?
Comment below ⬇️
