Calcium Fortification of Tofu

With Calcium Carbonate

J. C. Foster and J. L. Miller

Specialty Minerals Inc.
Easton, PA 18042

Institute of Food Technologists

2005 Annual Meeting – Poster Session

© Specialty Minerals Inc. 2005

 ABSTRACT
The popularity of tofu as a meat and dairy substitute is rising in the mainstream marketplace.
Dependent upon the method of manufacture, tofu does not contain nearly as high a level of
elemental calcium as milk or cheese. The addition of calcium carbonate is an efficient
means of increasing the elemental calcium content of tofu, but its effect on tofu processing
and quality is not widely understood. Our objective was to determine the impact of calcium
carbonate as an additional calcium source on curd development in tofu processing and tofu
firmness.
Curd development was visually assessed. Tofu firmness was measured using an ASTM
D2240/F1957 durometer. Tofu structure was assessed via creep viscoelastic testing.
Soymilk was processed from soybean using an automatic soymilk maker, Tofu was
prepared using magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate, calcium chloride, and glucono-delta-
lactone, separately and in combination, as coagulants. Calcium carbonate was added at a
level to achieve 30% RDI per serving. The pH of the system was measured at different
stages of the process.
A small increase in pH occurs with the addition of calcium carbonate, independent of
coagulant system, but coagulation is not inhibited. Creep compliance and durometer values
were consistent with each other. The addition of calcium carbonate improves yield and tofu
firmness in MgCl2 and MgCl2/CaSO4 coagulant systems. In CaSO4, the addition of calcium
carbonate provides some improvement in firmness dependent upon the grade. No
improvement was observed in the CaCl2 system with the addition of calcium carbonate but
does not inhibit coagulation. The MgCl2/CaSO4/GDL system is the most sensitive to calcium
carbonate addition. A decrease in GDL level results in improvements in yield and firmness
when a small size precipitated calcium carbonate is used. In summary, calcium carbonate
can be used as a supplemental source of calcium in tofu without detrimental effect on the
process and can provides improvements in tofu yield and structure.
 INTRODUCTION

The popularity of soybean curd or tofu as a meat and dairy substitute is rising in
the Western mainstream marketplace. Tofu does not have as high a level of
elemental calcium as milk or cheese. The addition of calcium carbonate is a cost
effective means of increasing the calcium content of tofu, but its effect on tofu
quality is not widely understood.
A universal concern with calcium carbonate is detrimental effect on taste
manifested as gritty mouthfeel and chalky taste. The proper selection of calcium
carbonate grade by particle size and shape will eliminate these common
concerns. Another concern is with tofu processing. As an inorganic salt will
calcium carbonate interfere with the coagulation mechanism critical to the
process? Common coagulants used in the commercial production of tofu are
magnesium chloride - in technical grade or in its more natural form known as
Nigari, calcium sulfate, and calcium chloride. The divalent cations of these salts
react with the soy proteins, destabilizing their suspension causing coagulation.
Although calcium carbonate has substantially lower aqueous solubility than these
salts, the possibility of its interaction with the common coagulants must be
understood. Of the several different grades of tofu manufactured, firm tofu is the
most preferred. Our work focuses on the impact of calcium carbonate on the firm
tofu processing and final product quality.
 OBJECTIVE

Determine the effect of calcium carbonate

added as a calcium source on curd
development in tofu processing and on tofu
firmness and taste.
♦ Calcium Carbonate - Specialty Minerals Inc.

• ViCALity ALBAFIL® PCC

• ViCALity® Extra Light PCC
• ViCALity® GF GCC

♦ Yellow Soybeans

♦ Coagulants

• Magnesium chloride hexahydrate, FCC - Spectrum Chemicals

• Calcium sulfate dihydrate - USG® TERRA ALBA F&P – United States
Gypsum Co.
• Calcium chloride anhydrous FCC – Spectrum Chemicals
• Glucono-delta-lactone – GLUCON™ GDL – Purac America, Inc.
 CALCIUM CARBONATE PROPERTIES

Median Particle Oil absorption,

Product Name TYPE MORPHOLOGY Size,μm gm/100 gm

ViCALity ALBAFIL® Precipitated Prismatic 0.7 31

ViCALity® EXTRA Clustered

Precipitated 1.9 76
LIGHT Scalenohedral

ViCALity® GF Ground Undefined 4.0 19

CALCIUM CARBONATE MORPHOLOGY

100 nm

Ground Prismatic

Rhombohedral
Scalenohedral
 SAMPLE PREPARATION

Tofu Processing
Tofu Formulation - Prepare soymilk from soybeans
• 2400 g. soymilk using a SoyaJoy™ brand
• 7.2 g. dry coagulant automatic soymilk maker.
• 3.42 g. calcium carbonate (equals Soymilk solids approx. 5% and
0.03% based on soy solids)
temperature 75-85°C.
- Slowly pour the prepared
coagulant/calcium into the
Coagulant Preparation soymilk with gentle agitation.
• Add dry coagulant and calcium - Mix for 5 minutes.
carbonate to 200 grams water. - Let stand without agitation for
• Shear for 1 minute for good 15 minutes for further
dispersion. coagulation.
- Pour coagulated soymilk into
cheese cloth in tofu box
(4x5inch) and press with 15
pound weight for 30 minutes.
 TEST PROCEDURES

Curd Size Tofu Yield

• After coagulation, measure the
curd size using a ruler.
% Yield = weight of tofu cake
weight of soymilk solids
X 100
Durometer Hardness
• Measure the tofu cake hardness
using a PTC Instruments Model
302SL Durometer. Typical yields: 400% soft tofu
• Reported value is average of 200% firm tofu
ten measurements. Calcium Content
Determined via ICP-AA
 RHEOLOGICAL TESTING

The firmness and consistency of tofu is imparted

by an internal gel structure. The resiliency of the Creep Test Conditions
tofu can be quanitified by creep compliance
testing. Creep behavior is the measure of the Equipment: TA Instrument AR1000 equipped
movement of a solid body under a small constant with 6 cm stainless steel
stress. The creep compliance is a measure of a parallel plate
material’s resistance to deformation. High creep
compliance value indicates a material with low Experimental Conditions:
resistance to deformation. A firm tofu would have
a lower creep compliance value than a soft tofu.
Sample dimensions: 15 mm diameter
CREEP COMPLIANCE CURVE 5 mm depth
1.4000E-3 Gap width (mm): 4500 μm
Retardation Retardation time: 20 min
Retardation stress: 20 Pa
Relaxation time: 5 min
Compliance (m^2/N)

Relaxation

0 1000 1200
200.0 400.0 600.0 800.0
time (s)
 MgCl2 Coagulant System

ViCALity® EXTRA
Control LIGHT ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF

pH of soymilk 5.8 6.4 6.3 6.0

Coagulation rate Immediate Immediate Immediate Immediate

CONTROL ViCALity® EXTRA

Curd size, mm 1-3 1-3 1-3 1-2 LIGHT

Yield, % 380 275 260 290

Durometer
76 75 82 72
Hardness, gf

CREEP BEHAVIOR
5.0000E-4

ViCALity® GF
ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF
4.0000E-4

•• Increase
Increasein
inpH
pHhas
hasnegligible
negligibleeffect
effecton
oncurd
curdsize
sizeand
andrate
rate
compliance (m^2/N)

ViCALity® EXTRA LIGHT

3.0000E-4 of
ofcoagulation
coagulation

CONTROL
••Lower
Lower%%yield
yieldwith
withCaCO3
CaCO3
2.0000E-4 ••Hardness
Hardnessvalues
valuesare
arehigher
higherwith
withCaCO3
CaCO3
ViCALity ALBAFIL®
••Smaller
Smallersize
sizeCaCO3
CaCO3gives
givesgreatest
greatestincrease
increasein
inhardness
hardness
1.0000E-4 ••Creep
Creepcompliance
complianceisisconsistent
consistentwith
withdurometer
durometerhardness
hardness
•• Hardness,
Hardness,% %yield,
yield,and
andcreep
creepcompliance
compliancedata
dataindicate
indicate
firmer tofu with CaCO3 addition
firmer tofu with CaCO3 addition
0
0 250.0 500.0 750.0 1000 1250 1500
time (s)
 CaSO4 Coagulant System

ViCALity® EXTRA
Control LIGHT ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF

pH of soymilk 6.0 6.3 6.3 6.1

Coagulation rate Delayed Delayed Delayed Delayed

CONTROL ViCALity® EXTRA
LIGHT
Curd size, mm 1-2 2-4 2-4 2-4

Yield, % 275 280 290 300

Durometer
82 81 79 78
Hardness, gf

CREEP BEHAVIOR
ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF
3.5000E-4
ViCALity® GF

3.0000E-4

2.5000E-4 CONTROL •• Increase

Increase in
in pH
pH with
with CaCO
CaCO33
compliance (m^2/N)

ViCALity ALBAFIL® •• Curd

Curd size
size increases
increases with
with CaCO
CaCO33 addition
addition
2.0000E-4
•• CaCO addition increases %
CaCO33 addition increases % yieldyield
1.5000E-4
ViCALity® EXTRA LIGHT •• CaCO
CaCO33 (PCC)
(PCC) hashas minimal
minimal impact
impact on
on hardness
hardness
•• Compliance
Compliance values
values suggest
suggest that
that PCC
PCC gives
gives slightly
slightly
1.0000E-4 firmer
firmer tofu
tofu cake
cake

5.0000E-5

0
0 250.0 500.0 750.0 1000 1250 1500
time (s)
 CaCl2 Coagulant System

ViCALity® EXTRA
Control LIGHT ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF

pH of soymilk 5.7 5.9 5.9 5.8

Coagulation rate Immediate Immediate Immediate Immediate

ViCALity® EXTRA
CONTROL LIGHT
Curd size, mm 1-2 1-2 1-2 2-3

Yield, % 275 280 260 270

Durometer
74 74 76 80
Hardness, gf

CREEP BEHAVIOR ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF

5.0000E-4

ViCALity ALBAFIL®
4.0000E-4
CONTROL
•• Minimal
Minimal increase
increase inin pH
pH with
with CaCO
CaCO33
compliance (m^2/N)

3.0000E-4 •• Curd
Curd size
size unaffected
unaffected by by CaCO
CaCO33 addition
addition
ViCALity® EXTRA LIGHT
•• CaCO33 addition has minimal impact on
CaCO addition has minimal impact on %% yield
yield
•• CaCO
CaCO33 does
does not
not improve
improve hardness
hardness
2.0000E-4 ViCALity® GF
•• Compliance
Compliance is is consistent
consistent with
with hardness
hardness with
with the
the
exception
exception of
of the
the small
small size
size PCC
PCC
1.0000E-4

0
0 250.0 500.0 750.0 1000 1250 1500
time (s)
 1:2 Ratio MgCl2/CaSO4 Coagulant System

ViCALity® EXTRA
Control LIGHT ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF

pH of soymilk 6.0 6.3 6.2 6.2

Coagulation rate Slight delay Slight delay Sligth delay Slight delay
ViCALity® EXTRA
CONTROL LIGHT
Curd size, mm 1-3 2-5 1-3 1-3

Yield, % 280 260 295 275

Durometer
74 74 77 70
Hardness, gf

CREEP BEHAVIOR
4.5000E-4 ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF
4.0000E-4
ViCALity® GF
3.5000E-4

3.0000E-4 CONTROL
compliance (m^2/N)

•• Trends
Trends are
are similar
similar toto MgCl
MgCl22 system
system
ViCALity® EXTRA LIGHT •• Larger
2.5000E-4 Larger curd
curd size
size with
with ViCALity®
ViCALity® EXTRAEXTRA LIGHT
LIGHT
and
and slightly
slightly lower
lower yield
yield
2.0000E-4 ViCALity ALBAFIL®
•• Tofu
Tofu cake
cake is
is slightly
slightly less
less firm
firm than
than MgCl
MgCl22 via
via
1.5000E-4 durometer
durometer readings
readings butbut compliance
compliance values
values and
and
trends are essentially the same as MgCl
trends are essentially the same as MgCl22 system system
1.0000E-4
•• Calcium
Calcium carbonate
carbonate has has less
less impact
impact on
on hardness
hardness
5.0000E-5

0
0 250.0 500.0 750.0 1000 1250 1500
time (s)
 1:2:2 Ratio MgCl2/CaSO4/GDL Coagulant System

ViCALity® EXTRA
Control LIGHT ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF

pH of soymilk 5.3 6.1 6.2 5.7

Coagulation rate Slight delay Slight delay Slight delay Slight delay
ViCALity® EXTRA
CONTROL LIGHT
Curd size, mm 1-2 2-3 1-2 1-2

Yield, % 280 280 310 310

Durometer
75 70 70 71
Hardness, gf

CREEP BEHAVIOR
5.0000E-4 ViCALity ALBAFIL® ViCALity® GF
ViCALity® EXTRA LIGHT

ViCALity ALBAFIL®
4.0000E-4

ViCALity® GF •• Large
Large change
change inin pH
pH with
with CaCO
CaCO33 addition
addition due
due to
to
compliance (m^2/N)

3.0000E-4 lower pH of control

lower pH of control
•• Large
Large pH
pH difference
difference does
does not
not impact
impact coagulation
coagulation
CONTROL
rate or curd size
rate or curd size
2.0000E-4
•• Addition
Addition of
of CaCO
CaCO33 gives
gives tofu
tofu cake
cake with
with reduced
reduced
firmness
firmness as determined by compliance and %
as determined by compliance and % yield
yield
1.0000E-4
•• CaCO
CaCO33 addition
addition does
does not
not enhance
enhance durometer
durometer
hardness or strength
hardness or strength

0
0 250.0 500.0 750.0 1000 1250 1500
time (s)
 1:2:1 Ratio MgCl2/CaSO4/GDL Coagulant System

ViCALity® EXTRA
Control LIGH T ViCALity ALBAFIL®

pH of soymilk 5.4 6.0 6.1

Coagulation rate Slight delay Slight delay Slight delay

ViCALity® EXTRA
CONTROL LIGHT
Curd size, m m 1-2 3-8 3-8

Yield, % 280 290 260

Durometer
72 74 78
Hardness, gf

CREEP BEHAVIOR
ViCALity ALBAFIL®
3.5000E-4
CONTROL
3.0000E-4

ViCALity® EXTRA LIGHT

2.5000E-4
compliance (m^2/N)

2.0000E-4 •• GDL
GDL reduced
reduced toto restore
restore and
and improve
improve properties
properties
ViCALity ALBAFIL® changed by CaCO addition
changed by CaCO33 addition
1.5000E-4
•• Curd
Curd size
size is
is much
much larger
larger with
with PCC
PCC
1.0000E-4
•• Small
Small size
size PCC
PCC gives
gives improved
improved yield,
yield, strength,
strength, and
and
firmness
firmness
5.0000E-5

0
0 250.0 500.0 750.0 1000 1250 1500
time (s)
 SENSORY EVALUATION

An informal sensory evaluation was conducted on tofu prepared using

the 1:1 MgCl2/CaSO4 coagulant system with ViCALity® EXTRA LIGHT
and ViCALity ALBAFIL® precipitated calcium carbonates.

Elemental Calcium per Additional % RDI (based Sensory Evaluation

4 oz. serving, mg calcium, mg on total Ca) Comments

Slightly crumbly,
CONTROL 102 - 10
slightly bitter

Good cohesiveness,
ViCALity® EXTRA creamy, no bitterness –
189 87 19
LIGHT good balance of basic
tastes

Creamy, bland, slightly

ViCALity ALBAFIL® 215 113 21
bitter
 CONCLUSIONS

• Calcium carbonate does not inhibit the coagulation of soymilk

• Calcium carbonate addition can affect tofu firmness - positively or negatively
dependent upon the coagulant system. The mechanism of coagulation is the
likely factor.
• Creep compliance correlates well with durometer hardness. For this reason, it
appears to be a good predictor of tofu firmness.
• In general, small particle size precipitated calcium carbonate with controlled
particle size distribution is the most effective in enhancing tofu firmness and
structure.
• MgCl2 system is the most compatible with calcium carbonate addition. The
coagulant blend of MgCl2/CaSO4/GDL is the most sensitive to calcium
carbonate addition. Calcium carbonate addition with reduced GDL levels
gives a tofu cake firmness and structure superior to tofu cake with higher GDL
level and no calcium carbonate.
• Calcium carbonate can effectively be used to increase the calcium content of
tofu while providing the benefit of greater firmness.