Best Tofu Press – Ultimate Buying Guide

Finding the best tofu press is no small task, which is why we’ve much easier with this easy to follow buying guide. We’re tofu fanatics, and we’ve covered it in this review of what we think are the best tofu presses available in the market today.

Don’t have time to read the whole buying guide? Here’s a quick table of our best tofu press top picks… Any of these best tofu press options below will get the job done. At the same time, they each have unique features and plate-style options, thus their own set of pros and cons. Here are the tofu presses that have made it to our list.

Best Tofu Press – Quick List

1. Torfurture Press – Best Overall
2. EZ Tofu Press – Best Budget
3. TofuXPress – Best Versatility

Best Tofu Press – Reviews

1. Tofurture Press – Best Overall

The Tofurture Tofu Press has three parts with a unique plate-style that make up its overall design:

1) A BPA-free plastic container on the bottom to catch excess water.

2) A colander-type container where the food sits.

3) The lid of the press has rubber bands to adjust the tension.

Overall, this dishwasher-safe press is a well-designed and affordable compact tofu press that is easy to use. The adjustable tension on the model is great for pressing tofu to your desired dryness level in an even fashion. As a classic style tofu press made from food-grade plastic, it comes with a container to hold the water. You don’t have to worry about getting out a plate or using this tofu press in the sink: a definite plus and one of the reasons it made our list for the best tofu presses.

This tofu press model can also be used to make your tofu – making it a viable press mold kit. While it’s great that you can control the tension, we’ve seen that the rubber bands could be difficult to use. It could result in potentially slipping and dropping the unit.

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2. EZ Tofu Press – Best Budget

The EZ Tofu Press is more of a budget model with a very simple plate-style design with one thing in mind: getting the water out of your blocks. While it doesn’t have all of the bells and whistles of the TofuXpress, the EZ Tofu Press does what it’s designed to do. It gets the excess water very quickly as you have full control over the tension.

This plate-style press also allows you to press tofu blocks down really hard. You can press down on extra firm tofu before breaking apart. You can also do it lightly if you’re draining a more delicate product such as silken tofu.

It’s also pretty big. We’ve even managed to press two blocks in ours, but it’s probably better suited to press one and 3/4 blocks. A portion of the tofu collided with the metal screws, but that’s okay! One major downside to this unit might not be that obvious, but notice that it doesn’t have anywhere for the water to go! When you drain it, you need to keep it in the sink or on top of another plate.

It will make a mess if you put it directly onto your countertop. All-in-all, though, this is a really solid press. It’s also made in the USA and is made of BPA-free plastic.

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3. TofuXpress – Best Versatility

The TofuXpress Gourmet Tofu Press is great because of its versatility and ease of function. It has several qualities that make it stand out from the crowd, which earned it a spot on our list of the best tofu press.

The first quality of the TofuXpress Gourmet Tofu Press is its ability to “set it and forget it.” Unlike some other models, there’s no need to adjust the tension once you have it going, making it easy to use. While it does prevent you from getting the tension as hard as some of the double-plated models, it also means you’re not as prone to squish the block of tofu (which we’ve done before with other models). 

We chose this tofu press as the first pick because it can also be used to marinate the tofu after it has been pressed. There’s no reason to take out separate containers or waste plastic bags. This was a huge plus for us.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Why press tofu?

Box-style presses and plate-style presses let you create tofu you can use for a variety of different dishes. For example, you may use a Press Ninja tofu maker when creating stir fry and other dishes.

You can use this process to create great tofu that meets your dietary restrictions and overall health needs.

What is the Best Tofu Press?

Out of all the items on this list, the Tofurture and EZ Tofu Press are our favorite options.

Is a Tofu Press Worth It?

If you want to make restaurant-style tofu and eat tofu regularly, it’s worth investing in one. You may not use it every time you make tofu, but it’s great to have when you want to make it extra special.

Why Do You Press Tofu?

Simple! To get the water out, you can get sauces and other flavors to be absorbed.

How Long Should I Press Tofu For?

For best results, you should press tofu for around 1-4 hours. However, I’ve done it in as little as 15 minutes when I’m in a rush. Not all the water gets out, but you still get better results than not doing it.

Can You Over Press Tofu?

You can’t technically over press tofu, but the block may crumble and not maintain its shape if you press it too hard.

What is Tofu Exactly?

As a plant-based diet staple, tofu is nothing but a block of bean curd. While most commonly made with soybeans, it can also be made from other legumes such as chickpeas. Notice that word curd is short for “curdle,” which is defined as causing something to coagulate or congeal.

It is simply or congealed soy milk formed into a block of tofu using a coagulant. If you’re not familiar with these terms, a coagulant is a substance that helps transform something from a liquid to a gel. In the case of tofu, the most common coagulant is Nigari (magnesium chloride).

What Are the Historical Origins of Tofu?

Although it might seem like tofu is just starting to gain popularity, the truth is that tofu has been around for a long time. The earliest known origins of the word were from 1182 in Japan, but the product itself is said to have originated in China at around 122 BC. It was also likely discovered by accident when someone curdled a pureed soybean soup by seasoning it with Nigari and unrefined sea salt.

In many Asian countries, tofu is more highly regarded than cheese, meat, and milk. Estimates from the 1980’s state that there are nearly 250,000 manufacturers worldwide, with the bulk of them in China and Japan.

How Tofu is Made

While this article isn’t going into extreme detail about how to make tofu, it is important to understand the process. This will help you better understand the differences between each tofu presser. As you’ll see, some options are geared more towards draining excess water from store-bought tofu, while others are meant for forming blocks.

Making tofu can be broken down into three simple steps:

1) Making fresh soy milk using a soy milk maker or top-reviewed blender.

2) Separating the liquid from the finished product’s pulp (or okara).

3) Use a coagulant to curdle the liquid milk and place it in a press mold to finalize the block.

The above video breaks down, making extra firm tofu in more detail if you’re interested.

HEALTH BENEFITS OF TOFU

Tofu is a surprisingly healthy food that can provide a broad range of different benefits. Let’s look at the overall nutrient count of a typical block of tofu.

You can get these health advantages when buying or creating tofu at home. So, make sure you read through these elements carefully to get the best results.

Nutrient Count

The following nutritional information shows how healthy tofu can be when prepared properly. These values are based on a 100-gram block of tofu:

• 70 calories
• 1.7 grams of total carbs
• 0.9 grams of fiber
• 4.2 grams of fat
• 8.2 grams of protein

Vitamins and Minerals: Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, Copper, Manganese, Selenium

Other Health Benefits of Tofu

When making the best tofu at home, you are doing your body a great favor! When eaten in proper moderation, tofu is very healthy food and can provide a surprising array of different benefits. Your high-quality tofu:

• Decreases Bone Health Risks: Tofu contains a high concentration of calcium that can help fight against bone-related diseases like osteoporosis and other conditions. This option is particularly important for women going through menopause.
• Provides Healthier Kidneys: The high focus of protein in tofu may help to improve your overall kidney operation. Soy protein, in particular, helps support kidney help by decreasing blood lipids and ensuring that your body is protected.
• Reduces Heart Disease: Heart disease kills millions of people every year and can be easily prevented by eating healthier foods. For example, soybeans can help reduce blood vessel inflammation and potentially improve your overall cardiovascular health.
• Balances Cholesterol Levels: Cholesterol is a serious health problem for millions of people and is something that tofu helps by decreasing bad cholesterol levels while increasing your good cholesterol. In this way, you can keep your heart safe.
• Enhances Blood Glucose Management: If you have diabetes or other similar diseases, tofu may help you. That’s because you can use it to balance your fasting blood sugar levels and your baseline insulin. In this way, you can improve your diabetes or even prevent it from developing.
• Decreases Cancer Risk: While there are still a lot of studies to be done on this fast, cancer researchers believe that tofu may help prevent some kinds of cancers, including breast cancer and stomach cancers. Some believe it may help with prostate cancer, though that’s up for debate still.
• Controls Your Appetite: Trying to lose weight can be very hard when you have a heavy appetite. Thankfully, tofu fills you up heavily and includes a high concentration of fiber and calcium that will keep you full. And since it’s low-calorie, you can eat a lot and not worry about gaining weight.
• Prevents Anemia: Anemia is a troubling disease caused by a lack of iron. It can cause sluggishness, depression, and other issues. Tofu is such a rich source of iron that it can work well as a supplementary option for improving a person’s iron content and minimizing anemia.
• Boosts Brain Health: Tofu contains a high level of lecithin, a compound that helps produce phospholipids. These chemicals help improve the neurons in the brain and help prevent inflammation throughout the brain. This benefit is critical for overall brain health.
• Enhances Liver Function: Tofu has a high concentration of various antioxidants, critical for protecting your overall liver health. They help reduce stress on the liver and help improve the processing and metabolizing of various foods and liquids throughout the liver.

WHY BUY A TOFU PRESS?

There are two main reasons to buy a tofu presser:

1) To take pre-made blocks and drain the excess water out for texture and flavor enhancement.

2) To take coagulated curd and form it into tofu.

Here’s the Homemade tofu I tried to make at home. It’s a real pain.

There are different tofu presser options or molds for each application. The word “press” is sometimes used interchangeably to describe both functions, but the device for the second function or more like a mold.

You’d only really want to use the mold if you were making it fresh at home.

Note: a few of these tofu presser options can be used for molding and draining.

The most common presses (box-style tofu presses)will greatly enhance the texture of any piece of tofu. In our guide on how to press and drain a block of tofu where we found that pressed has a denser texture. This creates a more pleasant mouth-feel for some dishes, especially if you’re trying to replace meat or making a feta “cheese.”

Additionally, if you drain all of the water out of tofu and wipe it dry with paper towels, you can re-hydrate it with flavorful marinades. Draining the flavorless excess water from blocks of tofu is the only way to allow other seasoned liquids to make their way into the tofu. 

Finally, if you’re trying to get it crispy, pressing all the water out is a must. Your tofu will fry to a delicious crispy texture easier, especially if you use some cornstarch once the water is out. In short, you need to buy a tofu press if you want to have good tofu.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF TOFU PRESS OPTIONS

Before you decide which product you want to buy, it’s important to understand the different designs on the market today.

We’ve classified the presses into 4 categories:

Plate Style Tofu Press

Plate-style tofu press options are the most common on the market today. They’re extremely simple to use, and some are even large enough to accommodate two regular-sized blocks of tofu from the store.

Here’s how they work:

1) You unscrew the knobs on the tofu press and move the plates far enough to fit the tofu block inside.

2) You place the tofu inside the two plates.

3) Tighten the knobs gradually to press down. It can be done in 10-15 minutes or over a longer period.

We’ve seen other sites claim that the plastic on some of these tofu presses is FDA approved, but we couldn’t find anything about them being FDA approved ourselves. However, the brands say they are BPA-free, so we’re not even sure where the FDA comes in.

Spring-Loaded Boxed Tofu Presses

Boxed presses operate differently from the dual-plated models using a single pressing plate. Rather than tightening the tension on these models, the single spring-loaded plate provides enough pressure to drain the tofu.

The main brand that makes these types of modern style tofu presses are TofuXpress, and it works like this:

• Place the block of tofu in the box directly from the package after the initial water was drained out.
• Secure the pressing plate onto the top of the block of tofu by securing the lid to the top of the base of the press.
• Place the press aside and prepare the rest of your meal. There’s no need to tighten from here, you’ll start seeing results at around 15 minutes, but it can be done longer.

It’s easy to use with very little manual work involved.

Stainless Steel Tofu Presses

Stainless steel press options are also a viable option for tofu pressing. Rather than having any spring or tension mechanism, they operate using a weighted top and often have 304-grade stainless steel.

The function is similar to a press you might make at home with cans or dumbbells but is manufactured to be a lot more ergonomic and user-friendly.

The main model on the market is the Ninja Press by Raw Rutes. The way it works is extremely simple:

• Put the tofu within the body of the press.
• The weighted top will fit right on top of the tofu, and you can press it down. No adjusting is required.

There’s no work involved other than placing the weight. If you’re simple, this could be the best tofu press.

Japanese Wooden or Plastic Tofu Presses

When someone is talking about a wooden or Japanese-style tofu press, they are likely talking about a product that also functions as a tofu mold. They work similarly to a 304-grade stainless steel press with the usual box-style tofu presses design, except that they’re wood, or you may find plastic plates in them and don’t tend to come naturally weighted.

Additionally, they can come in wood or plastic. It is important to make sure that the press uses food-grade plastic to ensure the product’s safety.

You wouldn’t want to buy them to press tofu from the store as they tend to be small and wouldn’t be as efficient as some of the other models on this list. However, some of the best press options we’ve featured below can double as a tofu mold!

Check them out!

FINAL WORD ON TOFU PRESSES

Because all of these best tofu press options can get the job done, the final decision comes down to your personal preference. We’ve created a few guidelines in this buying guide to help you narrow down which one you might want.

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