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[Clansgian AT wmconnect.com]

> The Asians eat more *fermented* soy, that's the healthier stuff to my
> understanding. That includes tempeh, tofu, miso and tamari (like soy sauce).
> 

Miso, tamari, and the even more heavenly shoyu are fermented.  I've never 
heard of fermented tofu, certainly the stuff in the Mart isn't.  Tempeh isn't 
fermented, rather it's molded.  Cooked soybeans (or other grains or peanuts) 
are 
innoculated with the spore of a certain mold and the white rhizomes knit the 
whole mass together.  It's quite easy to make providing you have an 
incubation 
chamber you can keep at 86 degrees for three days at a time.

Tofu is made by first making soy milk which is nothing more than cooking the 
soybeans, griding them into a puree, and draining the liquid.  The various 
types of coagulant are used to precipitate out the solids, terra alba (aka 
gypsum, aka calcium sulphate) gives a soft tofu and nagari (minerals left 
when 
seawater is evaporated and the salt is removed) gives the firmest.  Epsom 
salts, 
vinegar, and various other things give different types of tofu.  You also get 
two neat byproducts, soy whey and okara (Japanese "honorable hulls").  Okara 
is 
a wonderful meat extender and soy whey adds a lot of vitamins, especially B 
vitamins, to veggies when you cook them in it.  Good soup base too.

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