Tofu, made from the essence of beans, is tender and nutritious and is a delicacy on the table.

The land is divided into north and south, and tofu is also divided into north and south.

Southern tofu is made with gypsum, which is porcelain white and tender, with a soft texture and is not easy to cook; northern tofu uses salt brine as a condensate, which takes a long time to press and has high hardness. The finished product has a slightly yellow skin and can be fried, stir-fried, stewed, etc., and has its own "thousands of things".

As the saying goes, "the tofu is as good as the fish", only northern tofu can withstand thousands of stews.

Speaking of northern tofu, I want to start with - "Heshun tofu".

"Heshun Tofu" is good because of Heshun's landscape, the honest and simple people of Heshun, and the unique tofu craftsmanship.

Heshun is located on the eastern border of Shanxi Province, at the top of the middle section of the Taihang Mountains, with an average altitude of 1,300 meters and an average annual temperature of 6.5°C, which is suitable for the growth of short-day crops such as soybeans.

Although Heshun soybeans are not as round and plump as Northeastern soybeans, they have a high pulping rate and unique tofu quality, making them top-notch among Northern tofu.

There are two tofu masters in the assisted village where I live, both of whom have been "old craftsmen" for more than 10 years. I have had an in-depth understanding of Heshun tofu from them.

They said that there are more than a hundred Heshun companies like them that make tofu all year round. They have made an indelible contribution to the inheritance and development of Heshun tofu and the creation of this local regional brand.

?1. Main processes and procedures: selection, soaking, grinding, filtering, boiling, burning, and pressing.

One is to choose water, and the other is to choose beans.

Good water and good beans directly determine the color and taste of tofu.

For the screening of soybeans, the main purpose is to remove impurities and small stones in the beans, and then enter the soaking process after washing to remove the ash.

People often say that water tofu, water tofu, to make a good pot of tofu, water quality and water hardness are crucial (water quality refers to the sum of various indicators and parameters of the water body. Including pH, hardness, salinity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen,

Ammonia nitrogen concentration and other indicators; hardness refers to the total content of calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate in water) The quality of tofu made with different water quality and hardness is significantly different. The order of hardness is: weakly acidic water > tap water > weakly alkaline water surface water.

Heshun has always been known as "eight mountains, one water and one farm".

From the perspective of water alone, Heshun is not considered a water-rich county. This is related to the topography of Heshun.

Heshun has a higher terrain and fewer controlled water conservancy projects. Most of the surface water within the territory flows to other places. Objectively speaking, it is an engineering water shortage rather than a resource water shortage.

The rivers in Heshun County are divided into two major drainage basins (Yellow River Basin and Haihe River Basin), three major water systems (Fen River System, Ziya River System, and Nanyun River System), and four main streams (Qingzhang East Source, Qingzhang West Source, and Songxi

River, Papaya River) and thirteen tributaries.

The Yellow River Basin includes the Papaya River of the Fen River System and its tributaries; the Hai River Basin includes the Songxi River of the Ziya River System and the Qingzhang East Source and Qingzhang West Source of the Nanyun River System and their tributaries.

The four main streams are all rivers with clear water base flow all year round, and are the main surface runoff sources in Heshun County.

Groundwater resources are mainly distributed in the valley cover and karst fissure water in the eastern limestone area. The eastern area is richer than the western area. Compared with groundwater, surface water has lower hardness because soybean protein likes weakly alkaline water quality and is smooth and rich in surface water.

This is an important reason why Heshun produces good tofu.

Although the masters of Heshun Tofu Factory may not fully understand the indicators of water, generations of people have figured out from practice which water is good and which water can cook a good pot of tofu.

For example, Mafang Township, Weima Township, and Yixing Town (part) in the Heshun Papaya River Basin; Qingcheng Town, Songyan Town, and Pingsong Township along the Zhangyi River, Liangyu River, Sanquan River, Qinghe River and other tributaries in the east source of the Qingzhang River; Qingcheng Town, Songyan Town, and Pingsong Township;

The Hengling River and Shayu River, which are the tributaries of the west source of the Zhang River, and Hengling Town and Yangguangzhan Township in the Yiling River Basin are all places where you can make a good pot of tofu.

Tofu masters in these places regard making tofu as their industry, their main business, and their family business.

Because they have to rely on the tofu business for their lamp oil and fire consumption, vegetables, rice, oil and salt, food, drink, and food to support their families.

The white and tender tofu concentrates the essence of the bean, and also contains the persistent pursuit and dreams of generations of tofu makers. Especially during the critical period of poverty alleviation, many tofu masters gradually got rid of poverty through hard work, and some became rich.

The leader on the road, Heshun Tofu is passed down from generation to generation just like Heshun culture.

Gentle people are honest and don't let anything be adulterated or fake, so the tofu they make will naturally be conscience tofu.

Heshun Tofu is solid, and a pound of soybeans only requires a pound of three or four ounces of tofu. This is why Heshun Tofu is famous and travels far.

Bubble.

The selected soybeans should be fully soaked after washing.

Under dry conditions, soybean cotyledons are hard and it is difficult to separate their protein and cellulose. Therefore, when processing tofu, the whole soybean must be soaked to fully absorb water, so that the shell and watercress become soft and the structure is loose, making it easier to grind and process. After soaking

The protein in soybean cells is easily soluble in water, which is conducive to protein extraction.

The water absorption rate of soybeans is related to its type, water temperature and water quality. Generally speaking, the mass of soybeans after fully absorbing water is 2.0-2.2 times the dry mass before absorbing water. That is, the water absorption rate of soybeans reaches 100%-120% at this time. Insufficient water absorption or

Excessive water absorption will have a negative impact on the quality of tofu.

Different soaking conditions will cause changes in the internal substances and processing characteristics of soybeans, thus affecting product quality.

It takes 2 days to soak beans in winter, 1 day in spring and autumn, and only 6-8 hours in summer. A layer of foam and bubbles will appear on the water surface of soybeans during soaking. This is the precipitate of protein and saponin in soybeans, which is normal.

Phenomenon.