Comparison of bench and production scale methods for making soymilk and tofu from 13 soybean varieties

Experiments were conducted to compare and correlate small and large processing methods for making soymilk and tofu from 13 soybean varieties. Soymilk and tofu were made using a bench scale (139g bean, manual method) and a production scale (6500 g bean, automated machine method). Tofu yield, moisture content, hardness and elasticity varied with soybean varieties. The bench scale resulted in greater varietal effects on tofu yield, moisture content, hardness and elasticity than the production scale. The hardness of production-scale tofu was greater. The bench scale gave soymilk with higher yield and solid recovery. The two scale methods correlated significantly (p less than or equal to 0.05) in tofu yield, color, texture, and chemical composition (moisture, protein, lipid, ash, calcium and magnesium). The bench scale may be used for screening tofu soybean cultivars in early breeding stages when available bean quantities are small whereas the production scale is more appropriate for evaluating soybeans for commercial tofu production. (C) 1998 Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.