Yeah, we're blogging about tofu again. Although it's an everyday essential...you've got to get the best. Cauldron (Quorn's sister brand) have sold tofu for 30 years, and have been through many a re-brand. The latest packs are sold in supermarkets alongside the company's (non-vegan) sausages. The range includes plain tofu, marinated (pieces), smoked and italian herb varieties:
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| Smoked tofu (left) & Italian Herb tofu (right) |
Cauldron are no match for the food smoking expertise of the Germans - see our feature on Taifun's 'reiberauch' technique. Where Taifun's smoked tofu is 'deli' quality and can be eaten cold, the Cauldron stuff needs cooking to be palatable. It's not bad tofu though, and is less coarse than other brands.
Our test recipe for the smoked tofu was pan-fried salt-and-pepper tofu. Cut the tofu into four triangles, dry off and then soak for five minutes in shoyu/tamari. Dry again with kitchen towel, then toss in well seasoned flour before shallow frying with rapeseed oil. The tofu fillets taste great like this.
For the Italian Herb tofu, we cut small pieces, tossed them in seasoned flour then fried them in a wok until crispy. It's best to take them out, stir-fry everything else, then add the tofu back at the end. This way it stays crispy. Italian herbs don't normally make their way into stir-fry, but it tasted fine and we couldn't think of an Italian way to serve tofu!
This tofu is one of the most widely available brands, so it's good to know it's decent stuff. It would be nice for Cauldron to join the vegan revolution and forget 70s vegetarianism. We'd love to be reviewing their sausages, but as long as they continue to use animal products in them, we can't. We'll stick with their tofu for now.
The Good: Pretty good tofu that's widely available
The Not-so-good: Smoked tofu isn't 'deli' quality
Veganoo Score: ★★★★☆
Cauldron - Organic Tofu - Smoked / Italian Herb
Cauldron - Organic Tofu - Smoked / Italian Herb
Footnote: Ingredients
Here are the ingredients panels from the packs we reviewed.
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Oh, the Taifun smoked tofu is lethal! I found the Cauldon smoked in Tesco a few weeks ago, but it hasn't been available since. It was nice enough and it's good to have a different kind when I can actually get it.
ReplyDeleteIt's killer tofu alright! Not sure what you mean though..
DeleteSadly they appear to be no-more. I was hooked on the smoked version. I really miss it.
ReplyDelete