Making tofu, attempt #4: Fail
Okay, attempt #1 was a success but seemed a bit dry, so attempt number two I decided to try to filter the soymilk through cheese cloth to remove the sediment, attempt #2 was a failure, it never coagulated. Attempt #3 I only filtered one batch of soymilk through cheese cloth, it worked, but the tofu block was small, but tasted okay, so attempt #4 I decided not to filter through cheese cloth again. BUT, this time, I was in a bit of a hurry so I used regular tap water rather then tap water filtered through a Brita filter, and attempt number 4 never coagulated fully...so this batch was a dismal failure!
Ugh, 2 out of 4 so far, 50% success rate so far. I need to go get more soybeans, I am almost out, but I think I have enough left for one more batch of tofu.
So lessons learned so far: the sediment is okay but don't press the tofu with too much weight. And use ONLY filtered water to make the tofu or it won't coagulate fully and don't try to rush the tofu making process. It takes two FULL hours (mosly of that time is waiting, waiting for the soymilk maker to make the milk, waiting for the coagulator to coagulate the milk, pressing the tofu and waiting for that to be done) and can not be rushed.
Tofu is a very finnaky thing and takes some practice to get it right. I hope I get it right eventually!
No worries, SQ. With your drive and attitude, you'll become Tofu Queen soon!
It reminds me of the struggles I had a few years ago to make edible hummus. My problem, of course, was finding decent quality ingredients. But once I got the proportions etc, down, I took off. You will too. Gee, you could even harvest your experiences to write a book: Tofu for Dummies, or 1, 2, Tofu! or such as that.
Now, if you ever manage to make black bean tofu, I will come and sit at your feet. :)>>>
keep trying you'll get there, and i'd buy that book if you made it
Black bean tofu? Can you make tofu from black beans?
I think when I get soy tofu down pat, I will experiement with other forms of tofu from other things. I have a bunch of pecans at home in the freezer, I wonder if I can make tofu from that? If anything, just pecan milk sounds devine!
Black bean tofu? Can you make tofu from black beans?
I think when I get soy tofu down pat, I will experiement with other forms of tofu from other things. I have a bunch of pecans at home in the freezer, I wonder if I can make tofu from that? If anything, just pecan milk sounds devine!
Well there's a garbanzo tofu out there...so maybe black beans isn't such a pipe dream after all. I just love BBs is all...and I can't eat soy tofu.
Anything you can use to make a milk that curdles should, in theory, be able to make tofu. So anything other than rice milk, really - I think it's just that soybeans are easiest because they have quite a high protein content relative to their carbohydrate content. Which I guess would be why I've seen peanut tofu around - peanuts are quite high in protein compared to other 'nuts', being a legume and all.
IIRC, black beans have a higher proportion of protein than chickpeas, so I don't see why black bean tofu should be impossible at all. I'm not as sure about pecans - that'd be like making curd cheese out of cream, I imagine. Which I've never tried, but I suppose is possible. You'd just likely end up with a richer, softer texture as opposed to the slight chewiness of firm tofu.