Tofu has been a staple in Asian kitchens for centuries, and more and more people are now choosing it as a meat alternative. But how is tofu actually made?
The main ingredient of tofu is soy milk — so it’s 100% plant-based!
This is how it’s made:
First, dried soybeans are washed and soaked, then ground into a paste. The amount of water added at this stage determines how creamy the final soy milk will be.
The soybean paste is gently cooked for 15–30 minutes and then strained (much like thick yogurt) through a cloth-lined sieve. The thick mixture left in the cloth is squeezed well to extract all the nutrients into the final soy milk.
This soy milk is then gently heated and mixed with a coagulant dissolved in water — such as vinegar, lemon juice, or nigari (concentrated seawater, used in Japan). This causes the soy milk to curdle.
The name tofu comes from this process: “to” = bean and “fu” = curdle.
The curdled mass separates into white clumps and yellowish whey. The white tofu curds are scooped into molds lined with cheesecloth and pressed with a weight to remove moisture. The type of tofu (from silken to extra firm) depends on how much pressure is applied and for how long it’s pressed.
Source: tofupedia.com – How Tofu Is Made