Fear of Tofu!!

Dont like it.
Soya is to be avoided anyway as I'm on thyroid meds

Living here in deepest rural France where the hunt is a big part of the community I am have a bit of a giggle at the thought of these hunter/gatherers being presented with tofu! I don't think I have ever seen it in the local supermarkets.

Our great friend is the son and grandson of highly regarded butchers. He lives to eat, and most of that is meat! We raise pigs together and it is a big celebration when it comes to the end product. He spends hours preparing joints, pate, sausages, black and white pudding, rillettes etc etc. It's wonderful stuff. He hates curry because is disguises the flavour of the meat. I am minded to serve him a tofu meal just to see his reaction!

I was given it once or twice by a Japanese friend ages ago. It reminded me of those odd solid white sponges you can just wet and use to clean things without chemicals!! A pointless food in my opinion. Actually for me there are quite a few of those things being added to food these days. I’m not vegan and therefore don’t understand that aspect of food but there is seems a lot out there being used ‘for the sake of it’. Chia seeds spring to mind….

Tofu is a bit like haloumi, in that it has little taste, but texture, it needs marinating first to absorb other flavours, helpful addition to a veggie diet - you need to dry it, but kitchen paper is fine just to absorb the water that’s it’s saved in

I shop at an organic farm shop and they have several different flavours - unflavoured, basil, Rosso (we love) and turmeric (we found it kind of disgusting. The unflavoured and the rosso DH uses in curries. The rosso can be used in curries, Thai food or Italian. We tend to use the basil one for Italian. Neither of us are veggie we just like trying different things. I think the one with quite a bit of fluid is the silken one. It was disgusting or at least we thought it was but you can get one that's a solid block. That one's definitely the best.

It sounds like you have to cook it with loads of flavoursome ingredients to hide the taste. ?

I don’t like it, so I don’t eat it, but I did try it, cooked by my DD who loves to cook meals with tofu as an occasional change from meat.

I find the texture of tofu impossible, but I must defend my beloved quinoa when I see it being maligned

It’s a bulk option of protein if you’re not adding meat. So pack in flavours, garlic, chilli, veg, etc. It’s there to be alternative filler to meat. Not the star of the show! I quite like its weird consistency!

Despite being a farmer's daughter I haven't eaten meat for nearly 30 years and it Tofu regularly. I prefer the Tofoo brand to the Cauldron. I either stir fry cubes or, more often cook it in the oven either sliced or cubed. I simply pre heat a roasting tin with a tiny bit of oil in it. I then toss the tofu in the tin to coat it in oil and sprinkle on a bit of soya sauce. Cook until almost crisp. I add cooked cubes to stir fry or casseroles or sometimes eat slices with potatoes, veg and home made apple sauce. I also sometimes, for breakfast, fry very thin slices sprinkled with smoked paprika - a sort of vegan bacon. It's versatile stuff. Just experiment and discover how you prefer to cook it.

I am a vegetarian but rarely eat tofu. I don't particularly like the texture. However, sometimes I do order it in restaurants as they seem to be able to cook it better than I have ever managed. If you sometimes eat out why not try it in a restaurant and see how you feel about it.

Marinated tofu is worth trying. The texture is a bit like the crispy edges of an omelette. It's nice in a stir fry.

It doesn't taste of anything so you have to add things to give it some flavour. I gave up on it when I was Veggie. It's just like rubber.

A dd worked in Aceh (Indonesia) in the aftermath of the tsunami. One of her livelihoods projects was supporting local women making tofu from scratch, to sell. We visited a couple of years after the tsunami, saw the whole process in a village, using very simple equipment, and tasted the (fried) results. It was all very interesting and we enjoyed the end product.

I love tofu and eat it several times a week! It doesn't have a strong taste, which makes it very versatile. And it gives me the protein I need as a vegetarian.

I'm not keen on tofu, I don't like the texture. I don't eat meat or fish and do experiment with different proteins, my daughter has introduced me to the Paneer cheese which I prefer.