TofuXPress

Please see the update at the bottom of the post.

I don’t do a lot of reviews on this site but every once in a while something comes along that demands mention. TofuXPress is just such a product.

I’m guessing everyone here knows you need to get the water out of tofu before you cook with it. Otherwise you just end up with a slimy, soggy mass. Not good eats!

In the past, the way I’ve accomplished this is with a stack of plates, paper towels and canned goods. As you can probably imagine, that tower of Babel has a number of problems. Falling over, leaking water and not wanting to be moved are just a few of them.

So when I saw an ad for the TofuXpress, I was certainly interested. It’s basically a plastic tub in which the block of tofu sets, a flat plate that presses down on the tofu, the top piece that snaps under the tabs to lock everything in place and a spring. The tub is a solid piece so there’s no chance of any leaks and you can pick up the whole unit and put it in the refrigerator or a back spot on the counter no problem. There’s also a lid that fits over the tub so you can use it for marinating your tofu.

A couple of points that have come up as I’ve used the press. The water that’s extracted from the tofu just sits on top of it. I’ve been pouring it off as I walked by and noticed it. It would be nice if it weren’t still in contact with the tofu but it hasn’t been a big problem in practice and it probably wouldn’t be a simple design change to fix. The other issue is with the spring. It’s quite strong. By which I mean it takes a bit of force to get everything snapped together. And if the tofu isn’t pretty firm or the plate isn’t setting evenly, the tofu can get squashed up around the edges and mangled a bit. There’s a lighter spring available as an accessory and I would definitely recommend getting it. That will also let the press work with homemade or silken tofu.

All in all, I have to give the TofuXpress a big thumbs up. It solves a real problem in the vegan kitchen and does it well.

Disclaimer – I have no relationship with the company and paid full price for my press. The link is directly to the company’s site and is not an affiliate link.

UPDATE: As you can probably gather from the the picture at the left, I’ve run in a small snag with my TofuXpress. The top plate has completely cracked through.

Broken TofuXpress

I’ve had the press for a little less than a month and have used it a couple of times a week so it doesn’t seem like it should have worn out yet. I was only pressing about three cups of vegetables (shredded broccoli, carrot and cauliflower) so I don’t think I overloaded the press. I may have just gotten a top plate with a hidden flaw.

I contacted the manufacturers to find out how they wanted to handle this. I got what appears to be a form letter inviting me to send the press back at my expense via their preferred carrier. I think if I’m paying for the shipping I should get to choose the shipper but that’s not the annoying part. The letter also requires me to submit a letter detailing exactly what I doing when the product failed. Then they’ll decide what they’re willing to do about the problem and let me know. I feel I am being accused of abusing the press without evidence of that being present.

So I’ll find some place to box the press up and we’ll see what happens. I’m not ready to withdraw my recommendation just yet (manufacturing flaws do happen) but I’m definitely losing my warm fuzzy feeling.

I’ll post here when I hear back from the company.

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There’s a lot of options for a cutting surface out there but you really don’t want to use anything glass, ceramic or stone. And your counter top probably isn’t a good idea either. I won’t get into the debate over plastic, wood, bamboo and so on. My choice is a wooden cutting board. I like the way it looks and the whole tradition of it.

Wood does require some care though. Probably the biggest item is oiling the board. I’m a little over zealous about it but it’s not that big a deal once you’re past the first few days. I follow the rule I learned for applying an oil finish on wood. “Once a day for a week, once a week for a month and once a month forever” That saying probably dates back hundreds of years but it’s still valid today. The oil you want to use is mineral oil. Any sort of plant based oil, like olive, will go rancid. Not what you want to be cutting on. If you like you can pay a small fortune for a little bottle in the cooking store or just head down to the local drug store. Mineral oil is sold as a laxative, so you won’t want to chug it but it’s fine on a board not to mention a whole lot cheaper. You can also use it on your wooden spoons.

To apply the oil to your board, pour a small amount on the surface and using a paper towel or a rag, spread it evenly over the top. You can also put a film on the sides to help protect them. Let the oil soak in for a few minutes and then spread the oil out again. Repeat that process a few times and then wipe off the excess oil. That’s it!

If you spill something on the board, a little soap and water will take care of it. Your board, like your knives, is not suitable for the dishwasher. Don’t let moisture set on your board, just wipe it off with a towel. Use a trivet if you need to set something hot on your board.

If you follow these suggestions, your board should last you a long, long time. I’m looking forward to mine aging right along with me.

If you live in an omni household, there are probably some concerns related to cutting meat. I’ve never cut meat on mine (if you don’t count the occasional finger) so I’m not all that up on meat handling safety. Probably safest to just not handle it, but I’m a vegan and you knew I was going to say that.

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Kitchen Knives

The first being a 8 inch (or longer) chefs knife. If you really like the santoku knives, you could use one but I find their blades too short. The longest ones I’ve seen are seven inches. In the picture above, the chefs knife with the black handle has an eight inch blade and the larger one with the white handle is twelve inches. I think a longer blade allows you a bit more efficiency when chopping.

A chefs knife is the most used knife in the kitchen. Chopping, slicing, dicing are all in the realm of this blade. It’s designed to do a number of tasks rather than be specialized in one.

The second must have piece of cutlery is a paring knife. There are times when the large blade of the chefs knife just gets in the way of a job. Things like separating cauliflower florets, stemming tomatoes and trimming a piece of fruit. Generally blade length is around three and a half inches and I prefer an edge with a pretty straight profile.

The knife that’s nice to have would be a serrated blade knife, sometimes called a bread knife. The edge on these knives are kind of notched, like a little saw. These are normally about eight to ten inches in length and don’t come to a sharp point. If you’ve ever tried to cut through a soft roll with a regular bladed knife, you’ll be able to appreciate what this knife can do. It also works really well for cutting tomatoes, which also tend to squish instead of cutting cleanly.

So there you have it, the two you really need and one that’s awfully nice to have. And I’m sure some of my sharper-eyed readers will have noticed I say you only need three knives but my knife bar, shown above, has five. Am I lying? No, not really. The large chefs knife I picked up at a local restaurant supply place as an experiment. First, to find out if I really prefer a longer bladed knife without having to spend a bunch of money. Secondly, just to see how nice the restaurant supply company’s knives are. I haven’t reached a firm conclusion yet but I’m certainly not going to hide my Shun knife away. So that’s why I have two chef’s knives. And the two paring knives? Well, I have a bad habit of using paring knives for things they aren’t really intended for. So the second paring knife is the one I reach for when I’m going to do something stupid. Kind of a sacrificial blade.