from 15 to 22 percent). Yet, we hardly ever eat them. Even though they are an impressive source

of protein, they have flunked the palatability test in every country anyone every tried to introduce

soybeans as a staple. But all those soybeans are not wasted. We use its oil either directly or

indirectly in all kinds of consumables goods. The soybean protein is a prime animal feed, but it

also provides a significant protein source in its many permutations for vegetarians.

Interestingly enough, soybeans are a very recent introduction to U.S. agriculture, yet in a

few decades they have become her single largest cash crop. Although we don't eat them either

fresh or in dry form as we do other legumes, we consume plenty of them in other ways. Most of

us have never had a bag of soybeans in our kitchen cupboards, yet we recognize the coagulated

or fermented products derived from them.

Foods from the soybean

There are five soybean-derived foods (excluding oil) that you come across on many

supermarket shelves. They were virtually unknown in North America in the 1940s and 1950s.

Two of these became fairly common: soy sauce (and its cousin tamari sauce) now in nearly every

kitchen and tofu. The other three are not so well known: soy milk, tempeh and miso. Tofu and

soy milk are unfermented, soy sauce, tempeh and miso are fermented products. The Chinese

have been using fermented soybean products for at least 2200 years.

Tofu is soybean curd, very similar to unripened cheese curd both in flavor (they both

have none) and the way they make them. First they soak the dry soybeans overnight. Then they

crush and cook these lightly hydrated but still hard beans until they turn into a mush. After

filtering off the liquid, which is the soy milk, they add calcium or magnesium salt to coagulate

the curd. They put this semisoft solid into wooden forms and press it for several hours to squeeze

more of the liquid whey out.

Starting with 4 pounds (4 kg) of dry soybeans they end up with about 6 pounds (6 kg) of

tofu (the increased weight is water) plus the whey that they discard. Tofu is an ideal medium for

bacterial growth and spoils very quickly at room temperature. That is no problem in the Orient

where they eat tofu the same day they make it. The American food distribution system requires

far longer shelflife than one day, so processors pasteurize tofu and seal it in a package for weeks

of shelflife like they do cheeses.

Tofu comes in different textures from very soft, smooth, fragile, silken cakes to hard,

solid, almost cheese-like bricks. The difference is in the amount of whey left in it. Soft tofu is

about 85 percent, while the hard stuff is only 50 or 60 percent water. Hard tofu, often flavored

with sugar, tea and spices, is the preferred form in many parts of China. Elsewhere, soft tofu or

an in-between consistency is more popular.

By itself, tofu is bland and flavorless, virtually unpalatable. But it adds great texture to

foods. It acts like a sponge for flavor compounds, so it takes on flavors from all other

ingredients. It is good in soups, salads and stir-fries. It is suitable to marinate, to bake, to braise

or to sauté just like meat. My recommendation to you is to try it at least once, no matter how

reluctant you feel about tofu. For instance, why not marinate tiny tofu squares in an intense

Oriental sauce for a few hours, then add them to your salads. Wow!

Tofu is now available commercially in different flavors and forms that replicate meat

(called value-added products)—tofu burgers, baked teriyaki and barbecued tofu, cutlets of tofu in

marinade, tofu blocks marinated in Italian, Thai or Oriental flavors, or whatever the trend of the

moment happens to be. Although plain tofu is inexpensive, these value-added products are not

Serious Kitchen Play