Making tofu

[Woody girl]

Had another " cant sleep night," and so as I had a couple of lemons that needed using up, along with some soya milk, I thought I'd have a try at making soya tofu. I had no idea if it would work with ready made soya milk , but as that was all I had, I thought I'd give it a go.
Well, I followed all the instructions ,heating the soya milk to specified temperature and adding the lemon juice. The curds did not look like the ones in the you tube videos, much smaller in fact, but eventually separated out to curds and a clear liquid, so I put them into a colander lined with a bit of muslin(no cheesecloth to hand), and the curds seem to solidify, it seems to have worked. It's not perfect tofu, but it is tofu. A much smaller amount than I envisaged,.
I'll let you know if it's at all edible and take a photo in proper daylight of the finished product.
Haven't eaten the stuff in many years, so it's going to be an education trying to cook with it, as I've forgotten all the recipes that I used to use tofu in. !
All good fun though, now, its nearly 5, 30 am, so I realy must get a few hours kip!

 

[Toddy]

Another one having a non sleep night

I haven't tried the vinegar or lemon to make tofu though. It's supposedly a very different taste, a little sour.
That sounds rather more like yoghurt, or soft cheese, somehow.
No idea, let us know how it turns out ?

I use calcium sulphate to make mine.
I'm an 'old fashioned' vegetarian, and the aim when I was learning to cook that way all those years ago was to get calcium into the diet, especially for those who can't eat dairy.
Magnesium chloride is the stuff used to make silken tofu, but that doesn't add calcium to the diet.

If your home made tofu is really soft, then you can freeze it, and it'll totally change it's texture into a kind of extra, extra firm. Generally just wrapping it in muslin and putting it under a plate with something heavy on top works though.
I use one of the steamer tiers of the saucepan and put a plate on top of the wrapped tofu and bowl of water on top, to weight mine down.
Leave it overnight, or all afternoon, and it's good to go.

 

[Woody girl]

Morning Toddy!
I'll see what it's like in a few hours, its "pressing" at the moment under some soup cans.
Many years ago I had a fill in job at dragonfly tofu. A well known brand made in Devon. We used to make burgers with the tofu. My favourite were nut burgers made with peanut butter in the mix, but I've totaly forgotten the recipe. I could eat them fresh every day! Once vacuum packed they tasted very different texturaly but still great.
I wish I could remember the recipe!
Dragonfly still exist, but have changed hands and location, and dont seem to do that particular burger anymore. Shame.
It is basically the same principles and method of making soft cheese as you say.

 

[Toddy]

I wish you could remember the recipe too
Good burger recipes are thin on the ground. Loads for beanburgers, and masses for rice or vegetable filled ones, but few that are really burger texture, iimmc ?
There's an Australian lady, Anya, who has a good one though, made from grated mushrooms, then baked.

 

[Erbswurst]

In my personal opinion Tofu and all the other crap that looks like meat but isn't should be interdicted.

Soccer too, by the way.

 

[TeeDee]

In my personal opinion Tofu and all the other crap that looks like meat but isn't should be interdicted.

Soccer too, by the way.

Does Tofu look like meat?

 

[Erbswurst]

Sometimes.

I often enough bought by accident such sandwiches and had to discover while I was eating it that I wasted my money on a veggie burger.

I have to mention that I don't look like a rabbit.

 

[Broch]

In my personal opinion Tofu and all the other crap that looks like meat but isn't should be interdicted.

Soccer too, by the way.

I am sure that all vegetarians have heard that comment hundreds of times - so I see no useful or constructive reason for making it in what was an interesting discussion (up to the point of your comment).

 

[Toddy]

No, tofu isn't meat. Tofu doesn't pretend to be meat. It's tofu.
Seitan though, which is basically gluten, that's often flavoured and coloured to be a meaty kind of thing, unami kind of flavourings work well with it, so does Marmite

Most vegetarians, or certainly the ones I know, have no interest in fake meat. Personally I find the concept rather gruesome.
They do like the convenience of burger or sausage shaped patties though. Fits neatly in a roll, goes well with dinner, good to cook on a campfire, etc.,

Tofu; good easily digested protein, and if made with calcium sulphate then it's mineral rich and good for your bones too
It's excellent marinaded and then dehydrated to make a kind of chewy jerky. Really good done with mushroom sauce, curry or the Marmite.
Nice if battered and deep fried into crispy puffs too.

 

[TeeDee]

I've seen many threads wildly diverge from what the OP initial direction or comment was intending and thread hijacking seems to be just the state of things around here of late as people are ( i guess ) vocalising due to lock down.

Don't think many on the forum are spotless when it comes to random tangent off hand comments on other peoples threads so maybe Erbwursts comments can be overlooked unless we now have a call out culture??

Just saying, Happy family's and all....

( and he who cast's the first stone. )

​

 

[TLM]

I sometimes order tofu in Asian restaurants because it is very easy to eat with sticks. On the other hand at my age the included phytoestrogens are not necessarily good so I don't eat it often.

 

[Tengu]

Whats wrong with nuts? I love nuts.

 

[TeeDee]

"Phytoestrogens are plant-based compounds that mimic estrogen in the body. They have been found to be beneficial in combatting symptoms and conditions caused by estrogen deficiency. This may be of particular benefit to premenopausal and post-menopausal women. Phytoestrogens may also play a role in fighting cancer."

Not great for Male consumption is the general theory I believe.

 

[Woody girl]

Hi all, finaly awake again! My nights and days are all amiss, but nevertheless, stuff gets done.
The tofu looks ok, and though cracked somewhat as I released it from the draining, it's ok.
It does have a slight lemony taste, not a bad thing, as sometimes it can taste rather bland, so, my first idea is to use it in a tofu pad thai.
This is all new, and experimental.
Mary.Where did you get the calcium sulphate? And what is it?
I think the lady making the tofu from scratch using the beans to make the milk used some sort of soda which I probably would have put in my bath!
Did you use it to coagulate?or for making the milk from scratch?
Any vegetarians got any good recipes for tofu?
Erbwerst, you wereLikely as not eating mushroom protein. Tofu doesn't even pretend to be meat, it's made like a soft cheese, and often called bean curd, where as cheese could be called milk curd.
A mistake that a lot of scoffing meat eaters made in the early 70's when it first became a thing.
Very out dated, and if you dont like tofu, please feel free to start a thread on the real meat you've just made from scratch from store cupboard ingredients!

 

[Toddy]

It's basically gypsum
I just buy it on eBay these days.
Like this (I haven't bought from this seller, it's just a quick link)

Gypsum Calcium Sulphate 100g Food Grade for Brewing Beer, Wine & Tofu Making 5055265729444 | eBay

Adding 1 gram per 10 litres (2 gallons) of water increases the salt level by 23 parts per million for Calcium and 56 parts per million for Sulphate and increases the hardness of the water by 58 parts per million.

www.ebay.co.uk

Heat the milk (easy made from beans if you want to do it from scratch, but it's really cheap to buy, even Lidl's sell it for well under a £ a litre) and stir through the CaSo4 that's been dissolved in a little of the hot milk. I teaspoonful per litre works fine.
Let it sit for maybe 20 minutes or so. It ought to have seperated into curds and a pale yellow liquid.
Strain and press.

I'm with Tengu on the nuts too.
I can't digest milk, my Grandmother was the same, and I have known of and used almond milk almost all my life. Now you can buy the stuff in the shops but homemade is still tastier somehow.

We eat a lot of nuts. Not just as munchies, but as ingredients in meals.
Latest good place to buy from is,

Buy Wholefoods Online | Whole foods UK | Organic Foods | Health Foods

www.buywholefoodsonline.co.uk

Over £20 in your order and the delivery is free.
More than happy with everything I've bought from them.

 

[Woody girl]

Thanks, I'll stick to buying the milk and going from there. It's a great deal easier, and cheap enough. Certainly cheaper even with the cost of a lemon included, than shop bought tofu.
Have just had a look on the toobe for recipes for tofu burgers. There are a lot! Non however using peanut butter in the ingredients.
I realy wish I could recreate that recipe! It was so delicious!
Maybe using stay sauce would make something tasty? May give that a try next batch.
It's so dark today that its impossible to get a decent photo. Sorry about that. Next time!

 

[Toddy]

I like the idea of using lemon to make it. I like lemon and it's a tangy sourness that's tasty.
Good idea with the satay sauce, it's certainly really nice over tofu.

 

[Woody girl]

I like the idea of using lemon to make it. I like lemon and it's a tangy sourness that's tasty.
Good idea with the satay sauce, it's certainly really nice over tofu.

And it's full of vitamin c too.
I'm still pressing it, as I have changed my mind about the pad thai, and I'm going for the satay burger! Needs to be quite dry to make burgers.

 

[John Fenna]

When working in an orphanage in Thailand the only protein they served us was fried plain tofu.
Disgusting rubbish.
I never want to eat tofu again!
The fruit and veg available at next to no cost was great though!

 

[Woody girl]

Plain fried tofu, I'd be in agreement with you. Its insipid and tasteless, but it's a good source of cheap protein, and can easily be used as a base for many delicious dishes.
I bet, if you had eaten a fresh dragonfly brand burger fresh from the cooking process, your opinion would be different, and if you were not told, you'd never have known.
I caught many a tofu hating mate out with them in the past.