Blending Tofu

by Francine 

photo via starcraftcustombuilders.com
1950's style blender

So you have this block of tofu and a recipe calls for blending. What do you do? Mash it up with a fork until it's 'blended' and then put it in a blender? Good guess. But that's not the whole deal.

Here's what you do. . .

In your blender, it's a good idea to limit the amount you blend to 1/2 lb. at a time. Of course the variable is what kind of blender you're using as well as the softness of the tofu. Tofu Yu tofu is firm, so it would follow that you shouldn't overwhelm your blender with a big quantity. Otherwise the job just won't get done. And yes, it does absolutely help to mash or crumble the tofu before throwing it in the blender. That way you get a head start and won't have to watch big clumps spinning around.

Now, it's not just a matter of throwing in the tofu and hitting pressing a button. You're going to have to tend to the 'blending' by using a rubber spatula to scrape the sides and bring all the tofu to where the blades can catch it and keep it circulating. (No--ouch--don't touch the blades with the spatula. Not only is it rather dangerous, but the resulting smell of mangled rubber is rather nasty.)

Now you're probably thinking a food processor is an even better idea than using a blender. Not necessarily. Your results may not be as creamy as what you get with with a blender.

And btw--if your recipe calls for blending the tofu along with other ingredients, we suggest the identical process to above--break up the tofu in a bowl, add the ingredients, but still--do it in batches.

Also btw--when tofu is good, there is hardly a smell to it at all. Tofu Yu always includes a date, which you should pay attention to. That said, if you see the date is a day or two past--just smell the tofu. We play it on the safe side with our dates. It is very possible that if you forgot to use it before the expiration date, it's still perfectly fine. Just let your nose be your guide.