What is a Tofu made of?
What is a Tofu made of?
Soy milk curdled with a mineral salt and pressed — cheese-making, with soybeans instead of milk.
Tofu made with calcium sulfate can supply a genuinely useful amount of calcium, sometimes comparable per serving to dairy milk, while nigari tofu made with magnesium chloride supplies almost none — so the coagulant on the label changes the nutrition, not just the texture. Freezing tofu ruptures the protein network into a sponge that soaks up marinade and takes on a chewy texture, which is a deliberate technique rather than an accident. Pressing bought tofu before cooking is worth the trouble for the same reason it is worth salting an aubergine: the water it releases would otherwise steam the surface instead of letting it brown.
Component by component
| Part | Material | Why that material |
|---|---|---|
| base | soy milk from soaked, ground and strained soybeans | Soy protein is one of the few plant proteins that coagulates into a curd that can be pressed and sliced. |
| coagulant | calcium sulfate (gypsum), magnesium chloride (nigari) or glucono delta-lactone | Gypsum gives a soft, slightly sweet curd and adds real dietary calcium; nigari gives a firmer, more savoury tofu; GDL gives the smooth silken texture. |
| pressing | cloth-lined moulds under weight | Pressing time alone separates silken from firm from extra-firm — the recipe is otherwise identical. |
| packing liquid | water, sometimes acidified | Fresh tofu is a wet, high-protein food and spoils fast; the water keeps the surface from drying and cracking. |
Other food and drink objects
- Marshmallow Sugar syrup whipped full of air and held there by gelatin, which comes from animal collagen.
- Chewing gum A base of synthetic rubber, wax and resin that you never swallow, carrying sweetener and flavour that you do.
- Chocolate Ground cocoa solids and cocoa butter with sugar, plus a trace of lecithin — the fat does the rest.
- Gelatin Collagen from animal skin and bone, broken down with acid or alkali and dried. There is no plant version.
- Cheese Milk protein clotted by an enzyme, drained of whey and salted — four ingredients and a lot of time.
- Bread Flour, water, yeast and salt — plus, in most factory loaves, enzymes, emulsifiers and a mould inhibitor.
- Potato chips (crisps) Thin potato slices fried in vegetable oil, seasoned with a maltodextrin-carried flavour powder, packed in nitrogen.
Common questions
- What is a Tofu made of?
- Soy milk curdled with a mineral salt and pressed — cheese-making, with soybeans instead of milk.
- What is the base of a Tofu made of?
- Soy milk from soaked, ground and strained soybeans. Soy protein is one of the few plant proteins that coagulates into a curd that can be pressed and sliced.
- What is the coagulant of a Tofu made of?
- Calcium sulfate (gypsum), magnesium chloride (nigari) or glucono delta-lactone. Gypsum gives a soft, slightly sweet curd and adds real dietary calcium; nigari gives a firmer, more savoury tofu; GDL gives the smooth silken texture.
Related pages
- Marshmallow Sugar syrup whipped full of air and held there by gelatin, which comes from animal collagen.
- Chewing gum A base of synthetic rubber, wax and resin that you never swallow, carrying sweetener and flavour that you do.
- Chocolate Ground cocoa solids and cocoa butter with sugar, plus a trace of lecithin — the fat does the rest.
- Gelatin Collagen from animal skin and bone, broken down with acid or alkali and dried. There is no plant version.
- Cheese Milk protein clotted by an enzyme, drained of whey and salted — four ingredients and a lot of time.
- Bread Flour, water, yeast and salt — plus, in most factory loaves, enzymes, emulsifiers and a mould inhibitor.
- Potato chips (crisps) Thin potato slices fried in vegetable oil, seasoned with a maltodextrin-carried flavour powder, packed in nitrogen.
- Pencil Stationery and paper
- Tennis ball Sport and games
- Banknote Around the house
- Golf ball Sport and games
- Paper Stationery and paper
- Glass Building materials
Sources
- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place