Soya Tofu vs Turnbull's Cufu

What is tofu.
Traditional tofu is made with soya beans, and is the coagulated and pressed curds of soya milk that has had the fibre/pulp removed.
The beans are soaked overnight, ground into pulp, then the milk is separated from the ground mixture using various methods.
The milk is then heated to a certain temperature and a natural mineral called Nigari is added to start the coagulation process. The protein and fats form solid curds, which are then pressed into the large blocks and cut up to size. This is very similar to the initial phases of cheese making.

How was it invented?
It has been around for over 2000 years, but no one really knows how it came about. It's likely that it was accidental, with ground beans being mixed accidentally with sea salt, which then coagulated it.

The word "Tofu" is actually from two Chinese words "Dou" - beans, and "Fu" - curds, rot, turn sour.

Problems with soya products.
As popular as traditional soya tofu is, more and more people are realising that they have soya allergies. And many with thyroid problems are being told by doctors to stop eating soya products due to the phytoestrogens present, which have been shown to affect thyroid function.

Protein requirements.
It is now being proven that we need more protein than previously thought, with our requirements increasing with age to stave off age related sarcopenia (muscle loss), general health, and our ability to heal.
With the advent of all these new highly processed meat replacements to cater for the fast growing meat and animal product free diet, it has become increasingly hard for vegans and vegetarians to find good quality protein sources. For instance, most vegan cheese alternatives are highly processed and have minimal protein. So you may be still having cheese on toast, or cheese and jacket potato, but you'll just be eating carbs and fat and severely lacking in protein. Dairy cheese is very high in protein.
Other meat replacements may have a decent amount of protein, but they are highly processed....which defeats the whole point of becoming vegan/vegetarian for many people - for health reasons. Highly processed foods are now known to be the cause of many illnesses and diseases, from diabetes to cancer, Alzheimer's to heart disease.

Cufu.
This is where Turnbull’s Cufu ( Pressed pumpkin seed curds) comes in.
Cufu is made in the same way as traditional soya tofu, but with pumpkin seeds instead. And there's no need to add Nigari to coagulate, it does so just with heat alone.
Made with organic pumpkin seeds, Turnbull's Cufu has none of the allergen and phytoestrogen issues of soya, so this is the perfect replacement.
High in protein and healthy essential fats, it has a firmer, meatier texture than traditional tofu with a hint of pumpkin seed flavour. Since I discovered how to make this, CuFu has become a part of my meal rotation, and one that I look forward to with anticipation.

​

Our Ethos

After getting extremely frustrated at trying to find healthy protein sources when I was a vegetarian, my aim is to give vegans and vegetarians a healthy, minimally processed, high quality protein source. One that is a replacement for the increasingly criticised soya based version and the increasing number of highly processed fake meats that are coming out.