How are soy chunks made?

Answer 1

Soy chunks are made from soy flour after the soybeans have been processed to extract the soy oil.

The remaining crushed beans are then milled into flour that now contains mostly proteins, some carbs and fiber.

This flour is mixed with water in a vacuum, and goes through an extruder which has holes of different forms and diameters depending on the kind of chunk you want to make.

As the soy paste goes through these holes in a continuous flow, blades cut them into chunks so they have a regular size.

The outer side of the extruder hole is exposed to normal atmospheric pressure, and air is forced in during the extrusion, so the chunks that come out immediately expand in size and get the aerated texture that gave them their name of "textured soy protein" (TSP.) They are then dried and packaged.

It is this aerated texture that make them great for cooking, because the broth in which they are cooking can penetrate deep inside like a sponge, making them absorb all the flavors you put in. Otherwise it is pretty much tasteless, although it still has that great meat-like chew quality.

I personally prefer the large chunks, the granulated ones that are used to simulate ground meat are shock full of chemicals I don't really want to eat when I am looking for a healthy source of proteins. Unfortunately, this large size does not exist with an organic label, only the smaller and less tasty (to me) sizes can be found with an organic label.

If not organic, most of the soy used in TSP comes from genetically modified plants. The oil extraction process itself is very damaging to the quality of the bean, as it basically cooks the beans to make oil as fluid as possible, which destroys the vitamins present in the beans, and furthermore, solvents are used to extract the last few drops of oil that may remain after pressing or centrifuging the oil from the beans. And no doubt there are other chemical processes involved. I have yet to find a good TSP that fits my requirements...

Answer 2

Assuming you mean tofu. Soy milk is fermented and coagulated much the same way cheese is made from milk. It is compacted into different hardnesses as well.

Then it is cut to usable sizes.