Soybeans and Tofu

Vegan Tapioca Pudding

• 2 cups dairy-free almond milk, divided
• 1/3 cup small pearl tapioca (not "Minute" tapioca)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/ 3 cup unrefined cane sugar or white granulated sugar
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 T. corn starch mixed with 2 T. cold water
• 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1.In a medium-sized saucepan, combine 1 cup of the dairy-free almond milk and the tapioca, and let the mixture soak for 2 hours to overnight.

2. Whisk in the remaining almond milk, coconut milk, sugar, and salt, and, stirring constantly, bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat. After you've brought the mixture to a full boil (after about 12-15 minutes of stirring), turn down the heat and, continuing to stir often, let the mixture simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes.

3. Once the tapioca beads are translucent, add the corn starch mixture, stirring constantly until combined. Turn up the heat to medium, add the vanilla and cook for just a few minutes more, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and let the pudding cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. Serve warm or cold. If serving cold, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming.

Uses of soybeans:

1.Oil

Soybean seed contains about 19% oil. To extract soybean oil from seed, the soybeans are cracked, adjusted for moisture content, rolled into flakes and solvent-extracted with commercial hexane. The oil is then refined, blended for different applications, and sometimes hydrogenated. Soybean oils, both liquid and partially hydrogenated, are exported abroad, sold as "vegetable oil", or end up in a wide variety of processed foods. The remaining soybean meal is used mainly as animal feed.

2.Meal

Soybean meal is the material remaining after solvent extraction of oil from soybean flakes, with a 50% soy protein content. The meal is 'toasted' (a misnomer because the heat treatment is with moist steam) and ground in a hammer mill. Soybean meal is an essential element of the American production method of growing farm animals, such as poultry and swine, on an industrial scale that began in the 1930s; and more recently the aquaculture of catfish. Ninety-eight percent of the U.S. soybean crop is used for livestock feed. Soybean meal is also used in lower-end dog foods

3.Flour

Soy flour refers to defatted soybeans ground finely enough to pass through a 100-mesh or smaller screen where special care was taken during desolventizing (not toasted) to minimize denaturation of the protein to retain a high Protein Dispersibility Index (PDI), for uses such as extruder cooking of textured vegetable protein. It is the starting material for production of soy concentrate and soy protein isolate.

• Defatted soy flour is obtained from solvent extracted flakes, and contains less than 1% oil.
• Full-fat soy flour is made from unextracted, dehulled beans, and contains about 18% to 20% oil. Due to its high oil content, a specialized Alpine Fine Impact Mill must be used for grinding rather than the more common hammer mill.
• Low-fat soy flour is made by adding back some oil to defatted soy flour. The lipid content varies according to specifications, usually between 4.5% and 9%.
• High-fat soy flour can also be produced by adding back soybean oil to defatted flour at the level of 15%.
• Lecithinated soy flour is made by adding soybean lecithin to defatted, low-fat or high-fat soy flours to increase their dispersibility and impart emulsifying properties. The lecithin content varies up to 15%.

Reference: Soybeans: Chemistry and Technology. page 442. A.K. Smith and S.J. Circle. The AVI Publishing Company,1972.

4.Meat and dairy substitutes and extenders

Soybeans can be processed to produce a texture and appearance similar to many other foods. For example, soybeans are the primary ingredient in many dairy product substitutes (e.g., soy milk, margarine, soy ice cream, soy yogurt, soy cheese, and soy cream cheese) and meat substitutes (e.g. veggie burgers). These substitutes are readily available in most supermarkets. Soy milk does not naturally contain significant amounts of digestible calcium. Many manufacturers of soy milk sell calcium-enriched products, as well. Soy is also used in tempeh: the beans (sometimes mixed with grain) are fermented into a solid cake.

Soy products also are used as a low-cost substitute in meat and poultry products. Food service, retail and institutional (primarily school lunch and correctional) facilities regularly use such "extended" products. Extension may result in diminished flavor, but fat and cholesterol are reduced. Vitamin and mineral fortification can be used to make soy products nutritionally equivalent to animal protein; the protein quality is already roughly equivalent. The soy-based meat substitute textured vegetable protein has been used for more than 50 years as a way of inexpensively extending ground beef without reducing its nutritional value.

5.Other products

Soybeans with black hulls are the beans used in Chinese fermented black beans, douchi, not the sometimes confused black turtle beans.

Soybeans are also used in industrial products, including oils, soap, cosmetics, resins, plastics, inks, crayons, solvents, and clothing. Soybean oil is the primary source of biodiesel in the United States, accounting for 80% of domestic biodiesel production.[66] Soybeans have also been used since 2001 as fermenting stock in the manufacture of a brand of vodka. In 1936 Ford Motor Company developed a method where soybean's and fibers were rolled together producing a soup which was then pressed into various parts for their cars, from the distributor cap to nobs on the dash board. Ford also informed in public relation releases that in 1935 over 5 million acres was dedicated to growing soybeans in the United States

6.Cattle feed

Cattle are often fed soy. Spring grasses are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, whereas soy is predominantly omega-6.

• Microwaves don't remove the rich flavour of milk as some people insist. Microwaves actually cook things faster, giving the vitamins less time to leave the substance it's cooking.

Number of Carbs » Tofu - Dried-Frozen (koyadofu) - (1 piece) 2» Tofu - Extra Firm - (1/5 block) 2» Tofu - Firm - (1/4 block) 2» Tofu - Fried - (1 oz) 3» Tofu - Hard - (1/4 block) 5» Tofu - Okara - (1 cup) 15» Tofu - Raw - Firm, (1/4 block) 3

Obtained from

http://www.nutrientfacts.com/FoodPages/Carbs/Carbs_Tofu.htm

on 7/31/2008