To Virginia, and anyone else who is interested - processing soybeans to get
hold of the whitish, protein-rich substance from which one makes tofu is
very simple, requiring only a watertight vessel to hold the beans, water, a
heat source, and a way to grind the soaked beans.  If tofu is your goal you
will need a curdling agent too, normally calcium carbonate.  Both Laurel's
Kitchen and the Joy of Cooking have clear, easily followed recipes for how
to do this; Laurel's Kitchen presents the Cornell University recipe which
makes a liquid without the usual bitter taste.  I had to learn how when I
moved to Norway about 15 years before it was possible to buy fresh tofu
here.  I was surprised at how easy it was, and how much of the process was
carried out manually.  Caveat: the cookbooks call the recipes 'soy milk'.
This is nothing like how commercial soy-based breastmilk substitutes are
made, nor the sweetened soy-based beverages and confections that have become
widespread in the last two or three decades.  These recipes satisfy my rule
of thumb for whether something is edible - if my grandmother wouldn't have
recognized it, I try to avoid it.  Frequently I have to imagine that I had a
grandmother from India, or in this case Japan - but the point is the same,
namely avoiding foods which represent the triumph of technology over
conscience (which I think I read in Joy of Cooking but can't find again,
where it was quoting a remark supposedly made about pasteurized process
cheese food product).
Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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