Tofu is a traditional product made primarily from soybeans that has become popular around the world due to its inclusion in vegetarian, vegan, and hypocaloric diets. Also known as bean curd, tofu has a long history of production in China. The first record of tofu making in China dates back to 2000 years ago. Tofu provides some important nutrients and physiological benefits due to its relatively high content of protein, lipids, vitamins, minerals, and isoflavones. However, with both commercial tofu production and scientific research, producing high-quality, highly nutritious, and excellent-tasting tofu remains a challenging task. This is because tofu production involves numerous complex steps, such as choosing soybeans, using suitable coagulants, and packaging tofu. To make a high-quality tofu product, it is important to systematically understand the critical factors that affect tofu quality. There are also recent advances in making high-fiber tofu using Okara (the main by-product during tofu production), which has several potential applications in the food industry. New developments and applications in production technology, such as ultrasound and high-pressure processing, are reviewed to help promote automated, environmentally friendly, and high-yield tofu production. Tofu packaging, including packaging materials and techniques, is considered to have a positive effect on extending the shelf life and improving the quality of tofu products.
Reference: Zheng, L., Regenstein, J. M., Teng, F., & Li, Y. (2020). Tofu products: A review of their raw materials, processing conditions, and packaging. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, 19(6), 3683-3714.
