From: shava@hermes.oit.unc.edu (Shava Nerad Averett)
Newsgroups: rec.food.historic
Subject: Re: Tofu
Date: 30 Jul 92 23:09:59 GMT
Organization: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

A few friendly corrections to a fine article...

In article <Bs7sBG.ALp@helios.physics.utoronto.ca> dooley@helios.physics.utoronto.ca (Kevin Dooley) writes:
>In article <Bs7L9E.Fv5@acsu.buffalo.edu> v128juxa@ubvmsb.cc.buffalo.edu (SCHUYJUANNAH) writes:
>I am not sure why you put it in quotes or refer to it as "so-call'd",
>but tofu has a very long and honourable history.  Basically, it is just
>what happens when you make soy milk by pulverizing and then heating soy 
>beans in water and then curdle it by throwing in a small amount of 
>(usually) magnesium sulfate.  The curds are then pressed into a block.  
>The roughage from the soy beans, called okara, which had previously been 
>strained from the milk can be used in cooking also.  

>Most of the fat
>is removed from the milk during the heating process as it rises to the
>top and can be easily scooped off.  

No, the fat is mostly emulsified in the whey, which separates from the
curds of tofu in the curdling process, just as it does in milk-cheese.

Whey is a highly nutritious mixture of minerals, water, and fat, but it
tastes awful.  My dog loves it, and I hear that it is used in the orient
as animal food, and to wash and polish wood floors.  I've used it on 
floors and it's better than Murphy's Oil Soap, but I don't make tofu
that often...;)

> The resulting tofu is relatively
>low in fat, and high in protein which is perhaps why it is thought of
>as a health food.  It can be eaten raw, but is rather bland and is best
>marinated and then stir fried.  It is also very good deep fried then
>stir fried with veggies.
>
It is also pickled, served "raw" with sauces, deep fried and stuffed,
dried and reconstituted, and many many different ways.  Fresh tofu and
store tofu are about as different as fresh baked bread and wonder bread.
Many people who dislike tofu have never had it fresh.

>As for its historical origin, the name is Japanese, although it may have
>been independently invented in China and perhaps elsewhere.  

It was invented in China, where the name transliterates into english as
do-fu.  The japanese lifted the technology...;)

> The process
>is so simple that any agricultural society near to the ocean (magnesium 
>sulfate is extracted from seaweed I think) could easily have developed it.

The common coagulent in Japan is nigari, which is seasalt with the sodium
chloride (table salt) removed.  It's mostly magnesium salts, but has a
better flavor than plain magnesium salts.  You can also use epsom salts
(magnesium salts in other combinations), or even lemon juice or vinegar,
but each will give a different flavor to the tofu.  I really like the
complex taste that nigari gives.  And it's cheap.

People who are interested in learning more about tofu should look into the
Book_of_Tofu by Wm. Shurtleff and (damn, forgot the other name -- Ayogi?).

Other fermented and processed soyfoods include tempeh, soy sauce, and 
miso, all of which have very interesting histories.  Soy foods are to 
east asia as cheeses are to the french -- they have history and an 
arbitrary level of gourmandise associated with them.

Shurtleff et al also produced The_Book_of_Miso and The_Book_of_Tempeh,
both of which have lots of history, recipes, and how-tos.

It's my opinion that tofu is considered 'health food' in the US for
two reasons:
	
	Most americans ran into it first in health-food stores
	Most americans don't know how to cook with it or appreciate
		it, so it is denigrated as health-food.



-- 
Shava Nerad Averett				shava_averett@unc.edu
/*  all materials (c)1992, Shava Nerad Averett, and have nothing significant
    to do with the University of North Carolina, a mostly owned subsidiary 
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