EZ Tofu Press- Best Tofu Press for Firm and Extra Firm Tofu | Easily Remove Water for Flavorful and Dense Tofu | Made in The USA

EZ Tofu Press - Removes Water from Tofu for Better Flavor and Texture.First of all, a caveat... my purchases and choice of tofu may not be the norm, and the other tofu presses might do a better job for me were I to buy the kind of tofu sold in those water-packed plastic containers of softer tofu. However, no tofu results in denser, chewier bites, even after marinating, than Trader Joe's Super Firm 1 lb. blocks of tofu! Even meat-eaters who normally would shun tofu because of the mushy consistency love my tofu! :-)About three years ago I got tired of the usual methods of wrapping tofu in paper towels or towels and weighting it down with various objects. The last time everything tipped over I had had enough, and searched on my beloved Amazon for a tofu press. I chose the EZ Tofu Press that served me well for about three years, but over time and lots and lots of tofu pressing, the top plate had a noticeable bend that didn't bounce back as before. I contacted the seller and found out that there was a newer model with thicker plates, and he offered to ship it to me as a replacement. I thought that as nice a gesture as it was, I had had a lot of good use out of it, and would just spend another twenty bucks on another. This year I spent a lot more on the other tofu presses I purchased (Amazon can verify my shopping habits!) because I was looking for the easiest to use that could do the job well. Unfortunately, the spring-loaded ones didn't work for me, and that's why I went back to the EZ Tofu Press where I would simply go back and tighten the wingnuts on the press sitting over a colander in the sink -- until it was as compressed as possible -- and better able to absorb the marinade "bath" for the next step.The other presses I purchased in the past year (see attached photo) did NOT work well for me -- and it's possible that my TJ's tofu is just too firm. Btw, everyone really should freeze their tofu (and letting it then thaw out) before pressing and marinading. Fantastic result! :-) First of all, it turns out that the tofu blocks I get here (in the Pacific Northwest) are different from the ones on at least one area of the East Coast I found out about. BIGGER. Thicker! Different TJ's suppliers. I would have to press down the blocks in my old EZ Tofu Press (with the slightly curved top plate) in order to fit the blocks into the spring-loaded ones. But then they wouldn't compress down far enough. After buying other presses in trying to solve the problem I realized that the best one was my first, the EZ tofu press, but I wanted a new top plate. In my contact with the seller, telling him that I had purchased the new model but that the tofu now would not fit inbetween the plates, we found out that my TJ tofu is much thicker than what he gets at his Trader Joe's. However, he offered to send me a replacement (again) that wouldn't have the top locking mechanism holding in the wing nuts. I again declined the replacement, and put DH to work to take those off. Now I have the PERFECT tofu press -- it fits my big blocks of super firm tofu AND allows me to press it down as far as I like. It costs much less than the others I have, which I will still test out with the "normal" water-packed tofu when I get desperate such as during a TJ's super firm tofu shortage (perish the thought!) -- but I can honestly say that I couldn't be happier with the EZ Tofu Press AND the customer service. Ben's willingness to send a replacement at the slightest hint of an issue said volumes about this company -- and with the thicker plates in the new model, I anticipate years and years of trouble-free tofu pressing! :-)

I was recently told by my doctor that I should adopt a vegan diet to make things easier for my heart. Tough news for a guy who likes to smoke a beef brisket for 16 hours. It looked like tofu would be an important part of my diet, so I had to learn how to make it taste good. Up to now, tofu played a very minor role due to its bland and slightly funky taste. I started looking at recipes and finally found a comment on pressing tofu to improve it's ability to absorb a marinade. The article also said removing excess water would also make it taste better. I searched Amazon for a tofu press to read the reviews. The EZ Tofu Press looked like the best tool out there, and it also had a cool industrial vibe that I liked.The press was delivered quickly, with no postage, thanks to Amazon Prime. I always like sellers who use this feature. It makes them seem more friendly to me. They care about their customers.When I unwrapped it, I immediately liked the quality of the components. Two hefty slabs of food safe plastic, with good quality stainless steel hardware. Plastic. It was not as fancy as some of the other options, but I liked the simplicity of the design. I'm a designer myself, and we call this an elegant design, with "good bones". It does what it's designed to do, and nothing else. It works simply with no fuss. The EZ Tofu Press is easy to use and clean, and there are no parts to wear out.I put a block of firm tofu between the plastic slabs and tightened the wing-nuts until water started to drain out into the sink. I waited a few minutes and tightened it up a bit more while I made a sugar free sweet and sour marinade. After about 30 minutes, the tofu was about half its original thickness. I unscrewed the screws and sliced the tofu into strips, and put them in a ziplock bag with the marinade for an overnight soak in the fridge.The next day I put the tofu strips on a Silpat silicone baking sheet in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes, turning them over half way through. The marinade made a shiny glaze on the tofu, and the inside was creamy!! It was like a hot custard, nicely infused with the flavors of the marinade. This was a big surprise for me. I didn't know tofu could do this. I do recommend eating them while they are hot. The texture changes a bit when cooled. Still nice, but not as good as fresh-out-of-the-oven.I am still experimenting with techniques, and the EZ Tofu Press is now my favorite tool. Highly Recommended!

Let me start off my saying that you don't need a tofu press to make delicious tofu. Patting it as dry as much as you can is sufficient, as most of the water content is cooked off anyway. A tofu press is great if you're pressed for time (pun intended) and want your tofu to cook faster, or if a specific recipe calls for it and swears by it.That being said, this makes the process of pressing tofu so much easier, cleaner and hassle free. No more occupying a large pot filled with water, or a stack of pots, or books, or whatever your go to pressing method is. No more using ridiculous amounts of paper towels or dish towels. You just shove your block of tofu in here, tighten the screws, lay it in a plate, tray or directly in the sink on its side, and boom, you have pressed tofu. Since you gradually tighten the screws every few minutes, it's way more gentle or the tofu than a stack of heavy things piled on it, and much easier to drain. It's easy to use, easy to clean and doesn't take up that much room in the kitchen cabinet.If you must press your tofu, this is a great choice and I would recommend using this.