Showing posts with label smoked tofu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label smoked tofu. Show all posts

Review: Cauldron Smoked / Italian Herb Tofu

Cauldron Smoked / Italian Herb Tofu

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:

Taste Test: Best Smoked Tofu

Taste Test: Best Smoked Tofu

The next time you see a recipe calling for smoked tofu, ask yourself...which sort? The British style of smoked tofu...rubbery, coarse, bitter? Or the German style, ranging from the dry and tough to the moist and ham-like. You see, there are as many types of smoked tofu as there are producers. There is no accepted norm for what you'll get when you buy some. As to the question of quality, frankly some are better than others.

Why the Germans make the best Tofu

Smoked Tofu

It's a funny thing, that a country renowned for its meaty diet should make the best tofu. German smoked tofu is a league above anything else, being moist, tasty and with a great texture too. Perhaps it's no surprise that with centuries of experience with flesh, they should excel at applying their skills to plant foods.

You can buy German tofu in the UK, under the Taifun brand sold in wholefood stores. You'll find it stocked next to lesser offerings from UK producers. Where the German tofu is tasty though, the local tofu is coarse, and with more of a rubbery texture than the smooth cutting German stuff. UK producers often cut corners too, using liquid smoke, rather than smoking the tofu blocks in the traditional way. The liquid smoke tends to make the tofu a little bitter, rather than impart that meaty deliciousness that is so desirable.

Read on for the Vorsprung-durch-Technik approach to tofu smoking...