Tofu Press Kit - Hand-Crafted Tofu Making Press Kit - Sustainable US Wood, Large Box with Press Handle, Muslin Cloth and Nigari

This is the best tofu press. You can make perfect blocks of tofu with this. It took me a while to learn how to coagulate the soymilk, I wasn't adding enough nigari.

This will be the one and only press you will ever have to buy in a lifetime (provided you take care of it). I purchased this directly from Earth First. The owner was very nice with his e-mails, comments and shipping.The Press is a bit intimidating at first glance but you will become very familiar with its operation quickly. It is well made and certainly large enough to do more than the piddly one pound loaves most Tofu presses turn out, which is a good thing. If you eat a lot of Tofu then you are not going to want to go through the prep time every time you turn around so make larger batches and freeze some of it (changes the texture to be more like ground round which can be a good thing in some dishes). This Press will press up to four pounds of soy milk curd at once turning out a perfect loaf after just 15 minutes in the press. Of course you have to do all the preliminary work before you get to pressing but this Press is very easy to use and extremely efficient. I will admit it took me two batches of Tofu to get it right. The first go at making the Tofu using soy milk made by my soy milk maker, cooked, used lemon juice rather than the Nigari and pressed the living life out of it - ouch! I wound up with a sheet of Tofu about the size of a crepe pancake! What a disaster! Old beans, not enough soy milk that was rich with protein and of course I way over pressed!My second batch I used 2 cups fresh organic beans, rather than ones I had sitting around for several years in sealed jars. Went through all the necessary steps of grinding soaked beans in my Vitamix, cooking mash on the stove, pouring cooked mash through an old clean t-shirt (worked just great) and then milk added back to the pot to cook lightly again, adding Nigari this time and viola - soy milk curds! What a great feeling to see this happen. Took me a while and a number of pots and pans, cookbooks and web searches to get the Nigari amount worked out correctly (2-1/2 tsp diluted in approx. 1 cup water) for the larger batch of soy beans I had decided to soak but it worked beautifully. After ladling the curds into the press it was about 15 minutes before I had a beautiful, approx. 1-1/2 lb) Tofu loaf. I have also decided a couple of methods that might short circuit some of the steps. Since I have a Vitamix, I plan to try grinding and heating/cooking, a necessary step to make the soy digestible, right in the blender in batches for the first step rather than the cooking twice in a big pot. Then I will pour through muslin/t-shirt/butter cloth to extract all the soy milk from the beans and when all is drained I will cook the required amount of time on the stove, adding the Nigari as directed and see how that works - no more double cooking and heating.Here are a couple of suggestions about the press. It says in the literature, which btw is detailed, to wash well with soap and water your Press. Did that, but I did not oil the press afterwards since I went directly to using it to press my first batch. DON'T DO THAT! Wash it well, dry it completely for at least a day and then oil thoroughly with a food safe oil like mineral oil. If you don't do this you will get a woody pine taste in your soy (first batch I made). After the first batch I washed well again, let dry and then soaked all surfaces with the mineral oil and let sit in a 9" x 13" casserole for several days before I wiped it down. Absolutely NO woody pine taste in my second batch of Tofu - hooray!Read and follow all instructions that come with the Press. You can decide about the use of lemon, vinegar or Nigari in your Tofu at a later date but I would recommend that you use the freshest beans, Nigari (which comes in the kit), good quality water and PATIENCE for your first batch. After your first batch of soy curds/pressing then you'll know what to expect and can move on to doing other exotic things with your Tofu if you so choose.I love the Press and would recommend it highly. Support a small business owner and help him to survive and thrive. Pass on the word. Buy once and use for a lifetime!

This is a great item and very easy to use. It takes a little effort at first to see how to use it, but the instructions are comprehensive and it's better the second time around. I've made multiple blocks of tofu since I've bought it and all have been great, much better than store-bought. I'd recommend leaving the tofu in the press for at least a few hours to get the maximum water drainage.I'd definitely recommend this press to anyone who likes tofu and likes to have more of the food-making processes controlled in their home. In the long-run, it's cost effective too. The only reason I'm not giving it 5 stars is that I wish there was a way to exert more pressure. I like tofu to be firm or extra firm and the set-up doesn't seem to achieve that without modification. I've been able to put a small piece of wood on top of the lid to change the pressure angle/exertion to get more of the water out, as well as tie the bands tighter. However, once the tofu block gets to the point where the lever handle is hitting the main frame, it won't be able to be squeezed anymore without additions to raise the level of the lever again. Not really a big deal if you like your tofu less firm and not a big hassle to work around, but something that you should keep in mind if you're trying to achieve a very firm block.

its hard to understate just how well constructed this press is. the weight is perfect, the armature is very well designed, and the wood a much better quality than those cheap bamboo or plastic boxes sold all over the internet. The only negative part of this review is the hubris of the buyer. Be wary, this machine will make all the tofu youve ever dreamed of. this tofu maker is easily capable of making a 2 pound (or greater) block of some of the firmest, most delicious tofu ever conceived but its probably the most tofu you would ever want to make at home without some sort of workshop setup to be honest. the raw materials get cumbersome quickly. This machine can easily process 6 litres or more of coagulated soymilk (thats 3 trips to the vitamix blender for anyone taking score), so get ready to strain a ton of Okara. So much in fact that my first attempt to manage all of it in a single recipe landed me with 3 pounds of granola. The machine may also be too wide, with handle, to fit in a standard kitchen sink, so youll need to improvise and place a bowl underneath it that gets drained regularly.You dont need to make the maximum amount every time, but from time to time you will be tempted to test the limits of what this extremely well made press can do.

If you take the time to treat the wood as it should be treated this press will last you a lifetime! It will need to oiled occasionally with some food grade oil but it is worth it! You can adjust the pressure so if you want a really dense tofu for steaks you can do it, or a little less pressure for a tofu for sauces or creams! We LOVE this thing and it looks nice enough to leave out (a GREAT conversation starter!)