Tofu is basically made from Soy Beans. There are several recipes out there that further cook the Tofu in terms of grilling it, or pureeing it and then baking it as pizza topping etc., How does all this overcooking/overprocessing affect its nutrition content etc., ?



Thanks.

Tofu is already very processed. I think worrying about cooking it in a recipe being the act that makes it "over processed" is redundant.



I like tofu - but honestly by the time it is tofu it's already a highly processed food.

really? I don't consider tofu 'overprocessed'--it's been made for ages by simply coagulating fresh warm soymilk... texturized vegetable protein or soy protein isolate I can see as being overprocessed, but something that could be done as early as 900 AD I don't see in the same light, you know? I consider foods that only recently have been able to spring up due to our new, vamped up intense chemistry and the wierd, totally unnatural states we can take things to with our machines (extreme temperatures, pressures, chemicals we could not previously handle, etc.) the 'processed' foods...



Cooking tofu is supposed to be necessary--I know I can eat a little bit of cooked tofu and be ok for the most part. Raw I'll end up in the washroom feeling horrible and likely having my tofu come up for a visit... I don't know what that says exactly, but I do know it's a very good idea to cook your tofu even if its just a light steam.

I see what you're saying. I think I'm looking at it a bit differently. Hopefully I can explain why I said that it is a highly processed food without sounding like a pedantic b*tch. LOL



I think if the OP is worried about cooking tofu (for the very brief time that tofu needs to be cooked) affecting or destroying the nutrients in soy, then the process of turning a soybean into soy milk and then the soy milk into tofu is at least as worrisome process as cooking the tofu for a few minutes.



Since I took the heating the food to be the common factor that he was worried about having affect the nutrient value of the food - and heat is used in the process of turning the soy beans into tofu ... the damage that the OP is concerned about has already been done.



It may not be as chemically processed as soy protein isolates - but it is pretty processed. There is no resemblance whatever between a soybean and tofu. To some people if you're significantly changing a food from it's natural form you're over processing it.



Not unlike turning wheat into white flour. Again something that has been done for a long time - but definitely counts as a processed food.



I'm not saying that tofu is bad - in fact, I really like tofu. And certainly the process of making tofu is much less chemical and artificial than the process of making soy protein isolate. But soaking dried beans, grinding them, squeezing out the liquid, boiling the liquid, adding a coagulant ... these all significantly change the humble soy bean into tofu. For me while it is perhaps a less harmful process it is still a highly processed food.



75g of edamame has 9 grams of fiber.

75g of tofu has less than .5 gram of fiber



If you're removing that much of the natural material you're processing the food. No matter how old the method.

Thanks for the explanation.