Over the past 10 years, Earth Source Foods (ESF) has been creating tofu that is a fine food art – Australian food – silky, nutritious and noticeably better-tasting tofu for today’s fussy foodie. By the time you’ve taken our tofu from the shelf, know that we’ve gone above and beyond to ensure the integrity of the tofu in every step of its creation. From Certified Demeter Organic Bio-Dynamic Soybeans to strict temperature-controlled store delivery, our tofu is treated with the kind of respect that has your tastebuds singing.

Gluten and dairy-free, a naturally high protein food, and suitable for vegan and vegetarian diets, ESF tofu is as versatile an ingredient as potatoes or rice – but infinitely better. Use it for substituting or complementing animal proteins in recipes such as stirfries, stews and soups, as a moreish snack, or welcome addition to salads, sandwiches, wraps and simply enjoyed on toast.

The way we carefully create our tofu means ESF tofu is not your average tofu.

A natural plant-based food made from soybeans, tofu is a powerful culinary performer that has been celebrated in East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines for more than 2,000 years. It resembles a soft block of cheese in both consistency and appearance but has an absorbency and pleasant clean taste that allows it to come alive when coupled with sauces, seasoning, marinades and spices.

Easy to digest and a nutritious source of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, tofu is a highly sought after food for those actively pursuing a healthier lifestyle.

ESF tofu is 100% Australian food – Australian-owned, farmed, produced and created. This is paramount to the excellence of our tofu because we control and verify everything that goes into the tofu, as well as its handling, from soil to shelf.

At the heart and soul of our tofu are the very best organic soybeans (no GMOs or preservatives). Given soybeans are the hero of tofu, it all comes down to a very delicate process of hot extraction to create premium soy milk then the addition of natural firming agents to form tofu with appealing colour and texture in a variety of soft to firm styles.

Why do we use hot extraction for making ESF Tofu?

While cold extraction is the easier and more common method for producing soy milk, hot extraction results in a higher yield and far superior quality soy milk that gives more flavour, more nutrients and better texture to our tofu.

A labour-intensive process, ESF’s hot extraction sees the soybeans initially soaked in filtered water before draining and thoroughly rinsing again with more filtered water to ensure the cleanest, purest raw material. We then add another round of fresh filtered water, grind the soybeans to a pulp and gently bring them to the boil. The liquid pulp is strained a further two times to yield a high quality soy milk ready for making premium-grade tofu.

The hot extraction process is very carefully monitored and controlled to retain nutrients, and to nurture and enhance the natural flavour. Just like a delicious slow-cooked meal, the proper timing of heat during hot extraction brings out the precise flavour in the soy milk, which is imperative for perfecting our tofu.

All soy milk becomes tofu through the addition of a natural firming agent. Proper use of firming agents is essential in the creation of tofu to avoid bitterness, sour taste or dreaded rubbery taste of inferior tofu products.

ESF has drawn from thousands of years of time-honoured tofu-making to choose two traditional firming agents: CaSO4 (Calcium Sulphate, traditionally derived from natural gypsum) used to perfect our FIRM, SOFT, PRESSED and SMOKED Tofu; and MgCl (Magnesium Chloride /Nigari, traditionally derived from seawater) for our SILKEN Tofu.

Tofu is a fresh food, which means it needs hygienic, supervised handling during and after production, as well as refrigeration of the final packaged product.

Without some form of pasteurisation, tofu has a short shelf life. Pasteurisation occurs at a temperature much less than that of the hot extraction process when producing the original soy milk, which means all the intended tofu flavour, texture and colour is retained.

We only use national food distributers who maintain the cold chain, keeping our tofu stored at the right temperature for delivery to stores. By doing so, we make sure you always purchase our tofu in its optimal state – good, clean and tasty.

What do we mean by Certified Demeter Organic Biodynamic?

Every soybean that goes into ESF tofu is Certified Demeter Organic Biodynamic, 100% sourced from selected Australian growers following Biodynamic farming principals. Why?

Biodynamic agriculture is a method of organic farming employing sustainable natural processes to produce the healthiest crop of the tastiest, most nutrient-rich soybeans. We believe the excellence of our beans is where the superiority of our tofu begins.

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