Food | °Brix control of soy milk for tofu production

The importance of the soy milk concentration

Tofu, also known as bean curd, is a traditional food made from water-soluble proteins of the soybeans. It has a balanced protein profile and good digestibility and is an inexpensive and versatile meat or cheese substitute. Although there are variations in the tofu-making process, the basic procedure has not changed significantly over the last 2000 years.
The main ingredient for the production of tofu is soy milk. The concentration (°Brix) of the soy milk is cru-cial for the final quality of the tofu. A to high °Brix level can e.g. result in a sweeter tofu, which may not be de-sirable. Therefore, monitoring the °Brix level of soy milk is an essential aspect of tofu production to guar-antee the desired taste, texture, and yield of the final product.
To maintain the desired °Brix level of soy milk, an L-Rix 5100 inline refractometer is used to measure the concentration at the end of the soy milk production (before it is pumped to the tofu production). The con-centration is available as live data 24/7 and is used to control the dosage of fresh water in a previous pro-duction step.
This application report describes how Anton Paar in-line process sensors are used to control the °Brix value of soy milk to guarantee the desired quality for the tofu production.