Understanding the Process of Making Tofu, from Beginning to Ready to Eat

Tofu Making Process – Tofu is one of the main ingredients of food. This tofu can be processed into various types of preparations that are very delicious to eat, for example stir-fried dishes, tofu vegetables, and so on. With a delicious and delicious taste, tofu has many fans. Similar to tempeh, tofu is also known as people’s food.

Foods whose processing comes from these raw materials have a distinctive taste and of course delicious. Tofu has a price that can be said to be economical or affordable by the community. However, do you know how to make tofu? What are the benefits contained in it?

The following is a discussion related to tofu. Starting from the definition of tofu, how to make tofu, to the benefits contained in tofu. Let’s look at the discussion below.

A. Definition of Tofu

Tofu is a traditional food made from soybeans. It is rich in protein, calcium, iron, low in sodium, cholesterol and calories. In addition, tofu also has advantages, namely low saturated fat content.

 

 

B. How to make tofu

Tofu is basically made from coagulated soy bean seed sediment, then its juice is extracted. Similar to tempeh, but the difference is that there is no fermentation process in making tofu. So, here are the materials, tools, and the process or method of making tofu that you need to understand, including:

1. Ingredients for Making Tofu

There are several ingredients needed in the process of making tofu, including the following:

a. Soybeans

b. 1 gram of tofu stone or calcium sulfate or CaSO4 or 3 ml of vinegar plus lemon juice

c. Enough water

2.Tofu Making Tools

In the process of making tofu, several tools are needed to support the success of making tofu, including the following:

a. Tub or large barrel or basin

b. Knife

c. Thin cloth

d. Filter

e. Baking sheet for printing tofu

f. Tampah or mimic

g. Furnace or stove

h. Crusher or milling machine or blender

i. Stirring cloth

j. Mold tofu

k. Basket

l. Wok

3. How to make tofu

Broadly speaking, the method of making tofu begins with selecting soybean raw materials, soaking, grinding, cooking, filtering, clumping, and printing. In order to find out the complete discussion, let’s pay attention to the discussion below.

a. Immersion

The first method of making tofu is soaking the tofu. This soaking process is done to soften the soybean cell structure. So as to reduce the energy required during the milling process. In addition, the soft cell structure also makes it easier to extract juice from the dregs.

Soaking is done with a time of about 3 to 4 hours for imported soybeans. Meanwhile, for local soybeans it takes 4 to 5 hours.

b. Milling

The second method of making tofu is grinding. At this stage the soybean seeds will be ground with the aim of reducing the soybean particles so that later it can be easily extracted protein into soy milk. During this milling process, it is necessary to add water with a debit of 1.8 liters per minute.

c. Cooking

The next method of making tofu is cooking the soy gruel obtained from the milling process. Then, put it in the cooking tub by adding water so that the soybean porridge becomes runny.

The process of cooking soybean porridge will affect the quality of the tofu that will be produced. If the temperature of the pan is too high, the slurry sediment will crust over. The crust will leave a strong smell and this smell will carry over to the printing process. Therefore, this cooking process needs to pay attention to the temperature of the pan and not to cause a crust and a pungent odor.

d. Filtering

The next way to make tofu is filtering. At this stage, the cooked soy slurry will be filtered to get the soy juice. This filtering process can be done by placing the soybean pulp on calico or chiffon cloth that has been placed over the reservoir. Then, the soybean pulp is squeezed to get the soy juice.

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e. clumping

The next method of making tofu is clumping. The clumping process is the process of coagulating soymilk. A number of tofu producers agglomerate the soymilk by adding an acidic substance implanted by the seeds. Where the seeds are the remaining acidic material from the clumping process the day before.

f. Packaging and Printing

The last method of making tofu, namely packaging and printing. At this stage, the coagulated soybean slurry will later be molded into tofu. At this stage it can be done using a wrap printing technique with the help of a press that has a mold. The tofu that will be printed is first wrapped using calico cloth which is cut into small rectangular shapes.

C. Nutritional Content in Tofu

Tofu has a high content of protein and essential amino acids needed by the human body. Not only that, tofu also contains fat, carbohydrates, and various types of vitamins and minerals in it. In 100 grams of tofu, there are as many nutrients as:

1. Protein content as much as 8 grams.

2. Carbohydrate content of 2 grams.

3. Fiber content of 1 gram.

4. Fat content as much as 4 grams.

5. Manganese content is as much as 31% of the daily needs of the human body.

6. Calcium content is as much as 20% of the daily needs of the human body.

7. Selenium content is as much as 14% of the daily needs of the human body.

8. Phosphorus content is as much as 11% of the daily needs of the human body.

9. The copper content is as much as 11% of the daily needs of the human body.

10. The iron content is as much as 9% of the daily needs of the human body.

11. The magnesium content is as much as 9% of the daily needs of the human body.

12. Zinc content is as much as 6% of the daily requirement of the human body.

13. Tofu has a total of 70 calories. No wonder, if tofu is a food that is very rich in nutrients.

D. History Created Know

Apart from tempeh, a food that is also rich in health benefits and has a very good taste is tofu. This year’s food is a source of vegetable protein which can be processed into various other very delicious and appetizing dishes.

Talking about tofu, this time we will discuss the origin of tofu. Although tofu is very easy to find in a number of cities and areas that have spread across Indonesia. Reporting from the unicurd.com page, tofu is a food originating from the Chinese region, China.

Some opinions say that Bila Tofu was invented in North China in 164 BC by a prince named Liu An who came from Huainan Island during the Han Dynasty. The Huainan region itself is a soybean-producing region with an abundance of soy beans.

Meanwhile, another opinion says that tofu was created accidentally when the soy pulp mixed with pure sea salt water to form tofu. In addition, there are other opinions that say that tofu was made by the ancient Chinese by coagulating soy milk.

This technique of curdling milk itself is a technique that is often imitated from the technique of storing milk by Indians and Mongolians by curdling milk. As well as other opinions that are reinforced by the existence of the Chinese term tofu, namely doufu or tofu which is the same as the typical Mongolian fermented milk called rufu.

This tofu food itself began to come out of China during the Tang dynasty. Tofu entered Japan, known as tofu. Then, tofu began to spread widely to various countries in the world, for example Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Meanwhile, in western countries, tofu food was first produced in 1880 by a French national named Pailieux. Since then, various tofu companies have started to appear in the San Francisco, California, and other countries.

E. Kinds of Tofu

In Indonesia, tofu food has various types. Usually known as the place where it is made, such as Sumedang tofu and Kediri tofu. However, here are the types of tofu that you generally encounter in everyday life, including:

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1. Yellow Tofu.

2. White Tofu.

3. Tofu Pong.

4. Silk Tofu

5. Tofu Skin.

6. Round Tofu

Apart from these kinds of tofu, tofu can also be processed into various other types of food, for example such as tofu cakes, marinated tofu, mixed tofu, tofu meatballs, tofu crackers, stuffed tofu, and so on.

F. Benefits of Tofu for Health

Tofu has very many benefits for health. What are the benefits? Let’s find out together in the following discussion.

1. Cardiovascular Disease

The isoflavones in soy have been shown to help reduce bad LDL cholesterol levels. Although it does not appear to increase HDL or good cholesterol levels.

A study shows that consuming soy every day can reduce cardiovascular disease risk markers, such as body weight, body mass index, and total cholesterol. The FDA has determined that 25 grams of soy protein a day is the minimum intake needed to affect cholesterol levels.

Consuming tofu is an alternative to animal protein that can help lower LDL cholesterol levels. It can reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and high blood pressure.

2. Type 2 Diabetes

People with type 2 diabetes often have kidney disease. This causes the body to excrete large amounts of protein through the urine.

A study also proves that someone who only consumes soy protein in their diet will excrete less protein than those who only consume animal protein. So the researchers argue that tofu which contains soy is very beneficial for type 2 diabetes patients.

3. Kidney Function

The protein content in soybeans can improve human kidney function and is also very beneficial for people who are undergoing dialysis or kidney transplants.

A meta-analysis of nine trials proved the positive effect of soy on several biologic markers of chronic kidney disease.

4. Osteoporosis

The isoflavones contained in soybeans can actually help reduce bone loss and increase bone mineral density, especially after menopause. In addition, the soybeans in this tofu are also able to reduce a number of other menopausal symptoms.

G. The difference between Tofu and Tofu

 

Even though they look the same at first glance, both are foods that actually have differences that are rarely known by many people. To find out the differences, let’s pay attention to the discussion below.

1. Texture

The first difference between tofu and tofu lies in the texture. Tofu has a softer texture and crumbles easily because the manufacturing process does not go through pressing. Tofu has a taste that tends to be more savory than tofu.

Meanwhile, tofu has a denser and harder texture. Because the manufacturing process is by pressing which makes the texture of tofu not easily crushed and more chewy. So that the tofu quickly seeps into the sauce and broth.

2. Manufacturing Process

Tofu and tofu are both made from soybeans, but both go through different manufacturing processes. The process of making tofu itself does not require pressing soybeans and the coagulant ingredient is only Glucono Delta Lactone (GDL), which is usually used at 0.2 to 0.3 percent of the amount of soy milk.

Meanwhile, tofu undergoes a manufacturing process in the form of agglomerating ingredients which include acetic acid, GDL or calcium sulfate or liquid left over from making tofu beforehand. GDL itself is used in the process of making tofu more than tofu.

3. How to Cook

The next difference between tofu and tofu is how to cook it. Having a soft and crumbly texture makes tofu often used as a soup filling. Meanwhile, this tofu is processed as the main ingredient of the Sapo Tahu menu. Apart from that, tofu can also be processed into anything from stir-fry, gravy, fried dishes, and so on.

4. Water content

The last difference between tofu and tofu is the water content. The process of making tofu without going through this pressing process makes tofu have a very high water content compared to tofu. Meanwhile, tofu has a fairly low water content because the process of making tofu goes through the pressing stage.

This is information regarding how to make tofu and its good health benefits. Hopefully the discussion above can be helpful and useful for readers.