---
title: "What is a Tofu made of?"
description: "Soy milk curdled with a mineral salt and pressed — cheese-making, with soybeans instead of milk. Every component, the material it uses, and the constraint that made "
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tofu/
site: "At One Place"
---

# 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

*Every material is a choice, and the third column is the constraint that drove it.*

| 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](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/marshmallow/) — Sugar syrup whipped full of air and held there by gelatin, which comes from animal collagen.
- [Chewing gum](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chewing-gum/) — A base of synthetic rubber, wax and resin that you never swallow, carrying sweetener and flavour that you do.
- [Chocolate](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chocolate/) — Ground cocoa solids and cocoa butter with sugar, plus a trace of lecithin — the fat does the rest.
- [Gelatin](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/gelatin/) — Collagen from animal skin and bone, broken down with acid or alkali and dried. There is no plant version.
- [Cheese](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cheese/) — Milk protein clotted by an enzyme, drained of whey and salted — four ingredients and a lot of time.
- [Bread](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/bread/) — Flour, water, yeast and salt — plus, in most factory loaves, enzymes, emulsifiers and a mould inhibitor.
- [Potato chips (crisps)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/potato-chips/) — 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](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/marshmallow/)
- [Chewing gum](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chewing-gum/)
- [Chocolate](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/chocolate/)
- [Gelatin](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/gelatin/)
- [Cheese](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/cheese/)
- [Bread](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/bread/)
- [Potato chips (crisps)](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/potato-chips/)
- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/)
- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/)
- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/)
- [Golf ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/)
- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/)

## Sources

- Official vendor product documentation — At One Place (/about/)