About Tofu

About Tofu

Tofu is made by soaking soybeans in water to absorb plenty of liquid in order to make the extraction of protein from soybeans easier. Soybeans are soaked in a tank filled with clean water, usually for 10 to 13 hours. Water is added to the expanded soybeans. The beans are then ground to make the extraction of protein easier. Now the mashed soybeans are ready to proceed to the next step.
            Mashed soybeans are heated to nearly 100 C° (212 F°), by which the soybean ingredients become easier to extract. This heating process also allows for the easier coagulation of the proteins, eliminates the soybean odor, and pasteurizes the mashed beans. The heated mashed soybeans are sifted through a fine screen to remove solid matter, which consist mainly of fiber (bean-curd refuse called Okara) to extract the soybean milk. Though the density of soybean milk varies depending on the type of Tofu to be made, it is approximately 10 to 12 percent in content.             Calcium salt and other coagulants are mixed quickly into the soybean milk to allow it to coagulate into curd form. This occurs because ions such as calcium work to combine soybean protein with one another, and as a result the soybean milk coagulates into curd form. The Tofu coagulated into curd is broken up and poured into a cloth-lined box. Excessive water is eliminated by pressing. This is how regular tofu is made. Soft tofu is made by coagulating slightly thicker soy milk without pressing. When pressing tofu, the pressure should be increased gradually to make the quality of the Tofu becomes consistent.
            After pressing is finished, a large sheet of Tofu is automatically cut up into merchandise size and is packaged in containers. Tofu is cut into small blocks and packaged in a container filled with clean water, sealed thermally with film imprinted with the product name, size, nutrition information, etc. printed on it. Each product is imprinted with an expiration date. The packaged Tofu is pasteurized in boil-cool pasteurizing machine by a continuous heating and immediate cooling process