How is Tofu Made?
A lot of people who eat tofu don’t know how it’s made. Don’t worry, it’s not gross.
Video
I watched all the available videos I could find on YouTube and found a favorite. It’s about 3 minutes long and worth a watch if you’re curious.
How to Make Tofu by Food Factory.
Tofu-making process
The process starts when the soybeans are harvested. They’re added to big pots of water, ground down into bits, soaked for several hours, then briefly boiled. The water becomes milky from the soybeans, and that milky water is separated out from the plant matter, which is used for another purpose.
A coagulant (a salt, acid, or enzyme) is added to the milky water to transform the liquid into curds. Those curds are pressed into block shapes. The longer and harder the tofu is pressed, the firmer the tofu will be. Some tofu is pasteurized to extend its shelf life.
For more details on how tofu is made, see this excellent post: How Tofu is Processed.
Silken tofu
Silken tofu is made by coagulating the soy milk without curdling it. In fact, the silken tofu made by Mori-Nu, the most common brand of silken tofu, is made within the individual packages sold to customers. The soy milk and a small amount of coagulant are added to the box. Then the box is hermetically sealed, and the tofu forms inside.
Recipes with tofu
Check out these recipes for what to make with tofu
Freezing tofu
If you freeze tofu, it will get tougher and chewier than it was before it was frozen. Some recipes recommend freezing precisely to achieve that texture. It’s important not to freeze unopened, sealed packages of tofu. The expansion of the water when frozen could burst the packaging and cause a mess in your freezer.