Sinceit’s October Unprocessed, I thought it would be a good time to look at one of my favorite foods that I think gets a bad rep: tofu. There’s a perception that tofu is a highly processed food, but is it really as bad as haters would have you believe?
Before we even get into whether tofu is a processed food, I think I’d be remiss if I didn’t address the whole question of whether soy is healthy or not. Honestly, I couldn’t do a better job with the soy question than Tanyadid in this article. She really nails it, in my opinion, so check out her article on soy, then meet me back here, OK?
OK! So maybe soy isn’t the poison that it’s made out to be, right? If you’re still on board, let’s talk a little bit about tofu and about what processed food is.
What Is Processed Food?
I like to think of processed food as having degrees. Technically, if you puree veggies or simmer them to make broth, you’re processing that food, but I don’t think that’s what we mean when we say processed food, right?
What we are talking about are those packaged snack and convenience foods that are made with morehigh fructose corn syrup, salt, and preservatives than actual food-based ingredients. They’re the things that are alarmingly shelf-stable without needing to be canned. They usually come in plastic wrappers, and there is no way that you could recreate them exactly without a lab.
Does that sound about right to you?
Is Tofu A Processed Food?
I would say yes and no. In the “it’s different from whole soybeans” sense, then yes, but it’s not processed to within an inch of its life, like a Twinkie.
事实上,在家里做豆腐完全是可能的。I’ve done it. Homemade tofu is amazing, and if you have the time to devote to making your own, I can’t recommend it enough. What I learned from making my own tofu is:
- It’s doable, but time consuming.
- There are not a whole lot of ingredients.
- It’s a lot likemaking cottage cheese.
You can read the post a linked above for more detailed instructions, but here is how you make your basic tofu, just to give you an idea:
- Find soy milk that’s made with just water and soybeans, or make your own. You don’t want one with other ingredients, because it may not curdle properly.
- 使用一种凝结剂,如nigari或硫酸钙。
- 用文火煨豆浆,在合适的时间和温度加入凝固剂。
- Press into blocks.
The only ingredients in homemade tofu (and most store-bought tofu) are: water, soybeans, and nigari or calcium sulfate.
That stands up to the Michael Pollan rule of 5 ingredients or fewer, right? And the ingredients are all things that are totally not scary. The coagulants are just salts, and you don’t need to do anything special when handling them.
I would love to hear from you guys!Did you consider tofu a processed food? Do you still, after seeing how it’s made? Let’s talk tofu in the comments!
photo by Becky Striepe
Lessays
I’m a registered dietitian and I totally agree with your assessment of tofu as only being minimally processed and totally healthy. It should also be pointed out that the estrogen in soy foods is extremely low and should not be an issue to anyone. I recommend tofu to my clients. It’s a great food that can be used in so many different ways.
andreasays
thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jaeger8383says
Thank you. I’ve recently started the whole foods plant-based diet and have been struggling a little with this one.
Megansays
Is soy milk a processed food? I have heard that processed soy is bad for you, but I know things like edamame and tofu are really good for your diet. Soy milk tastes better in my mochas, so I NEED to know!!!
Thanks!
Marksays
If I was you, I’d scrap the word “soy” from my dictionary.
Do some research on tofu and learn yourself.
Susan Mahansays
If you cooked the beans so you would not have the beany taste before making the soy milk, well that’s one process. Then you cooked it again to coagulate it, so thats a second process that was done. Definitely not in the raw category. Seems to be sitting in the processed category. Just one perspective though.
Elsays
This was really interesting and helpful! Thanks so much- a really good read
Dustin Martinsensays
我喜欢杰夫·诺维克对加工食品的定义。如果去除纤维、水和营养物质,就会进行加工,这往往会使食物的卡路里密度更高。豆腐去掉了大部分纤维,比普通大豆的热量密度更高。所以,是的,这是一种加工食品,但我发现,在使用全食品饮食时,你需要挑选你愿意吃的东西,并牢记饮食的目的。我吃豆腐,因为它富含营养和蛋白质,我相信它对你有好处。https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CdwWliv7Hg&t=489s
Vicky Woodsays
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我是一名认证营养师,以植物为主的饮食已经有一年了。我把豆腐用在各种食物中,还有两本烹饪书。有人问我豆腐是不是加工食品,我试着解释。我喜欢你的解释并同意。除了吃新鲜的冷冻水果和蔬菜,是的,所有的食物都是“加工”的。谢谢你简单明了的解释。