It originated in China 5,000 years ago and is the favoured food in Japan today. There is no disputing the goodness of tofu (a paneer-like food made out of soybean milk). Given its high protein content and no fat, no cholesterol bonus, tofu is turning the tables on millions of despairing diet watchers round the world.

Health freaks in the city, though, had little choice till recently but to go for imported brands like Silken Tofu manufactured in USA priced at Rs 280 for a 250 gm pack.

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To plug the supply gap in the sector, industrial design consultant Rathindra Das set up a tofu manufacturing plant in the garage of his Jadavpur residence that churns out 50 to 60 kg of tofu per day. Priced at Rs 30 for a 200 gm consumer pack and Rs 145 for a 1 kg industrial pack, the product is supplied to select health food centres and hotels in the city under the brand name of Lily Tofu, marketed by the parent company Lily Foods. Nice & Fresh, Bakers World, Health Food Centre and star hotels are some of the places selling the stuff.

“We are the first company in eastern India to manufacture tofu indigenously,” claims Das, who set up the plant in association with American Soybean Association after a brief training from All India Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal. “The urban population today is fraught with numerous health problems due to their changing lifestyle and there is a great need for alternative food stuff to counter this trend,” says Das, certain of the success of his pilot project.

Nutri fresh

Apart from being a treasure of protein that makes it ideal for vegetarians, soymilk is also recommended for those suffering from lactose intolerance, as it is free of any lactose content. Tofu is believed to be rich in calcium, phosphorous and various other minerals and vitamins. Being low in fat and carbohydrate content, regular consumption of tofu is said to reduce cholesterol and the risk of cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis, menopausal discomfort and cancer in general.

Milk made

Unlike most health food, tofu doesn’t necessarily score low on taste and lends itself well to tofu salad and a host of other paneer preparations. “We impart a neutral taste to tofu by removing all the soy toxins during the manufacturing stage,” says Das.

The manufacturing process, he explains, involves the maturing and bleaching of soybean and then digesting it into a paste under high pressure.

Thereafter, the milk is passed through a vacuum chamber where the inherent smell of soy is removed. It is now ready to be filtered and coagulated with calcium derivatives to turn it into tofu. “We avoid the use of citric agents to coagulate tofu as it gives the product a sour taste. The use of calcium reduces the shelf life but we are more concerned with the flavour,” adds Das.

Tofu treats

The average shelf life of vacuum-packed tofu is 10 days and once the seal is broken, it should be consumed within one or two days advises Das.

Lily Foods also has a research and development wing that is developing newer uses of soybean. Next on the anvil is a breakfast cereal made of soybean residue left after taking out the milk, quite like corn flakes. Das is also toying with the idea of selling soymilk curd and bottled soymilk.