pages

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Tofu Cheese!

Greetings, snackers!

Well, little brother will be arriving at the Kushi Institute this weekend for his kitchen residency, and I couldn't be more surprised. If you had asked me two months ago the likelihood of my brother coming to KI, I would have said that it was DEFINITELY possible. In fact, I think he's volunteering with Dick Cheney, Paula Deen, and all four of the Beatles!

I'm really excited that he's willing to give macrobiotics a try and abandon the Standard American Diet, and I'll be excited to see what happens as his tastebuds adjust and he begins to detox.

On the topic of delicious foods that omnivores don't eat, TOFU CHEESE!

Tofu cheese is not soy cheese. Soy cheese comes in a little vacuum-sealed brick, contains appetizing effusions like "Now with non-dairy lactic acid!" and doesn't melt at any temperature lower than Chernobyl.

Tofu cheese is made from real, whole foods, so unlike soy cheese, it will actually go south pretty fast. This isn't going to be a problem, because (also unlike soy cheese), you'll probably eat it really quickly.

It's minimally processed, relying instead on natural fermentation to get that cheesy flavor. I have it filed under pickles because the fermentation method it undergoes is nearly identical to the pickling process. It isn't stringy. It has a consistency more like ricotta. Observe:

Step 1: The cold, cold smushing of the tofu.
Step 2: The tofu warms up, and what used to feel like a punishment actually feels kind of cool.

Tofu cheese is incredibly delicious, and the bacteria that form from the fermentation process have all kinds of goodies to offer a deficient digestive tract. I hear it's also really high in B12. This would be a fun one to make with the kids, because there's no cutting and no cooking involved, plus it's GREAT on pizza with a little basil, some onions, and some olives!

Tofu Cheese

2 blocks firm tofu, pressed and squeezed until most of the water has drained.
1-2 tbsp. umeboshi plum paste
3 tbsp. light miso (we used South River Miso's Chickpea)
3 tbsp. dark miso (we used South River Miso's Dandelion Leek)

Kneed ingredients together until they form a soft, squishy paste. I kneeded my tofu mixture for about ten minutes. I'm trying to work on infusing positive energy into my food, so I played some Usher/Ludacris collaboration for the benefit of my cheese. I'm anticipating a block of cheese with some serious mojo. That's not just any energy. Those are some pretty serious jams.

Press the tofu cheese in a glass/pyrex container, and allow to ferment (sealed) 6-12 days. On the far end of 12 days, I would definitely only keep for another day or two, and days 12-14, I would definitely cook it.

Enjoy, and I'll post pictures of our finished product!!


3 comments:

  1. This sounds delicious! What's the best way to drain tofu? Does the Kushi Institute have a special system/device?

    ReplyDelete
  2. hey eddie! we just pressed the block between our two flat palms, but may devised an ingenious way to drain tofu last year that involved putting the bricks between two cookie sheets and placing textbooks on the top cookie sheet. We left the bricks like that for an hour or two, and the result was GREAT spongy tofu!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sweet! So none of this paper towel swap out business? I'll give May's method a try tonight.

    ReplyDelete