To be or not to be is a famous question once posed by Hamlet in the annuals of English literature (I can definitely recommened being!).

A cheeselover could somewhat rephrase the question and ask themselves to cheese or not to cheese. A slightly odd sounding sentence in English, but we could put it another way and ask, when is a cheese not actually cheese.

The answer to these conundrums is in any case, Tofu.

Tofu is a product very like cheese, but it is actually made from soya milk, which in turn is obtained from soya beans. Tofu is thus bean cheese if you will!

A Vegetable Beginning

Soya beans (or soybeans if you prefer!) are a crop that originated in East Asia. Interestingly, the beans themselves are not edible in their natural form, but can be processed in a number of ways to produce a plethora of different food products.

One such product is Soymilk. This is made by soaking and then grinding soybeans in water. The mixture is then heated and the pulp residue from the beans is filtered out leaving a milk like liquid hence Soymilk!

This Soymilk can then be treated and used just like animals’ milk thus ‚cheese’ can be produced.

Bean Cheese

Cheese is formed when milk is treated in such a way as to extract the solid protein from the liquid part of the milk. In much the same way, Soymilk can also be processed in order to extract the solid protein from the liquid part thus producing something analogous to cheese.

There are three ways to get the solid protein to come out of the Soymilk solution. One is by adding certain enzymes. Secondly, some edible acids will do the trick and thirdly, salts can be used (we’re talking magnseium or calcium chloride or calcium sulphate here, not your standard table salt, sodium chloride!).

Traditionally at least, salt is used (in particularly calcium sulphate) and it’s not hard to imagine that an accidental or experimental mix of Soymilk and one such salt was what gave rise to the discovery of bean cheese in the first place!

Acids are less popular as they tend to leave an aftertaste and the discovery of different enzymes that can coagulate Soymilk is a much more recent thing.

Once one of the above mentioned coagulates has been added to the Soymilk a gel is formed which consists of solidified protein from the Soymilk suspended in the liquid part of the Soymilk.

This gel is then drain and pressed in order to extract moisture and leave the remaining solid. In cheesemaking, this solid that results from extracting protein from milk is called ‚curd’ so that’s why the product here is often known as Bean Curd.

Otherwise Known as Tofu

This Bean Curd is better known as Tofu.

The English name Tofu comes from the equivalent Japanese name for this Bean delight, which in turn comes from the original Chinese name ‚Doufu’, literally meaning curdled bean (a spot on name then!).

Soybeans are a very popular crop, especially in Asia as they are highly nutritious. In particularly, they are full of protein which makes them an ideal food for a vegetarian diet, which comes in handy as many of the Eastern religions promote such a thing!

Much of this nutrititive value is passed on to Tofu. This makes Tofu a good cheese substitute as it contains plenty of protein. It is also low in calories (fat) and in salt (compared to many cheeses which are full of salt as this is an important preservative which stops them going off) not to mention containing other nutrients such as calcium or magnesium depending on how it has been made.

A Cheese of Many Uses

So the most basic questions is what can Tofu be used for? Well, you’d be surprised!

Obviously, the most simple answer is that it can just be enjoyed as it is! There are many different types of Tofu. Ranging from super fresh, which can be simply the curded Soy milk without even having the whey seperated out, to soft, firm and very firm versions. It can be flavoured by adding different ingredients (I can recommened Avocado powder!) There even exist dried, frozen, dried- frozen versions, not to mention the fact that the skin formed when heating Soy milk (Tofu skin or Yuba) can also be extracted, and in and of itself has many uses!

In the west, Tofu is often seen as a meat substitute because of its high protein content. It is indeed true that firmer Tofu’s can be used as an alternative to meat in, for example, Kebabs. However, this is a classic example of Westerner’s giving their own spin to something foreign. In Asia, Tofu is rarely seen as a meat substitute.

That being said, Tofu can be fried, boiled, stewed, added to soup or different sauces or even served stuffed. In this respect, it certainly is a great meat substitute and should be the delight of most vegetarians. Indeed, it is understandable why it was so popular amonst Buddhist monks!

In Asia, where Tofu is a big deal, there are endless ways that it is used, often depending on the country.

It can be flavoured in many different ways. Boiled peanuts or almond syrup are two that I would like to give ago!

It can also be combined with Tuna in Tahu Tuna, an Indonesian dish that also features fried Tofu. Again, one that I would like to give a try.

As you might realise with the Almond syrup, it can also be used both in savoury and sweet dishes.

Tofu Total

We could in conclusion say that Tofu is a total food. It is realtively easy to produce; It is healthy as foods go, with a high protein content, but low salt and fat; and has very many different uses.

It’s no wonder that it has been popular for so long in Asia, and is well worth being given ago by those of us in other parts of the world!