THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 22, 1994 TAG: 9409210039
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARY FLACHSENHAAR, SPECIAL TO FLAVOR
LENGTH: Long : 124 lines
HEALTH-FOOD writer Jane Brody has called tofu ``a nutritional wonder.''
One Westerner living in China in the 1920s called tofu ``meat without bones.''
Another Westerner living in Hampton Roads in the 1990s - when told he'd be taste-testing tofu dishes - called it something else.
``Tofu is food without taste, color or meaning, little white cubes of nothing,'' said the tofu critic as he plucked the vegetables from the stir-fry, leaving behind the dull white blocks.
``The nutritional wonder is that anyone goes back for a second bite.''
Although they may be similarly unimpressed with tofu's taste, texture and appearance, many Americans are going back for a second bite and more as they learn about the food that has been a dietary staple in the Orient for thousands of years.
Tofu has wiggled its way onto the dinner tables of mainstream America.
Back in the '70s, people of Asian descent and long-haired vegetarians were the chief consumers of this soybean byproduct, which looks like a block of soft cheese.
Today, a middle-aged man in a business suit, a young mother, a truck driver - just about anyone, with the exception of the emotional critic heard from earlier - is likely to request a block of tofu at Health Food Etc., the Norfolk store owned by Debbie Dickerson's husband, Curtis Dickerson.
``There is no one type of person who buys tofu,'' said Dickerson, who occasionally helps out at the store by sharing advice and recipes with customers.
Nor was there just one type of student in the tofu cookery classes she taught through the Norfolk Department of Parks and Recreation in the mid-'80s. She encountered young professionals who wanted to vary their diet, and cooking enthusiasts eager to master the newest ``in'' food.
``I taught lots of older women whose reason for finding out about tofu was that their husbands had been advised to cut back on meat because of heart conditions,'' she said.
Dickerson herself had many reasons for finding out about tofu, which she did about 20 years ago.
A voracious reader, she had explored the concept of vegetarianism when she was in college in the '60s. After studying the philosophies of health writers Adelle Davis, Frances Moore Lappe and Dick Gregory, she gave up meat and poultry in the late '70s, most dairy products in the early '80s.
``I really liked the economic sense of vegetarianism in terms of world population,'' said Dickerson, a recreation supervisor with the parks and recreation department. ``I believe that there would be no starvation if we all ate lower on the food chain.''
After taking courses in nutrition and human anatomy, she became convinced that the human system was never intended to digest meat. Tofu, a vegetable protein, puts little burden on the digestive tract.
To Dickerson, tofu as a meat substitute made excellent nutritional sense. At home, she prepares it once or twice a week for her husband, sister and 4-year-old son, who, she says, has thrived as a vegetarian.
``Tofu has been an important part of my food journey,'' said Dickerson, who is eager to help others on their way - from those who still confuse it with sushi to those who want to make it their main source of protein in a vegetarian way of life.
She says she will teach tofu and vegetarian cooking again through the parks and recreation department when enough folks have expressed interest in taking the classes.
Even zealots like Dickerson are quick to admit that tofu's image problem has slowed its acceptance by mainstream Americans hooked on crunchy, salty, greasy foods.
Although it is pale, soft and tasteless, tofu has an awesome nutritional profile.
Dickerson likes to cite this endorsement from Marilyn Diamond, author of ``The American Vegetarian Cookbook From the Fit for Life Kitchen'' (Warner Books, 1990), one of Dickerson's oft-used sources for tofu recipes:
``Tofu . . . is made much as cheese is. Nutritionally, however, tofu is superior to cheese, and all other animal products for that matter. No other protein food exists so inexpensively . . . in such a wide availability, and contains as much complete protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals while being so low in calories, fat and sodium and completely free of cholesterol and lactose.''
As if that were not impressive enough, some studies have shown that the soy protein in tofu will actually lower blood cholesterol.
A 3-ounce serving of tofu provides approximately 4 grams of fat, about the same amount as an equal portion of fish or chicken breast. Most of the fat in tofu is polyunsaturated, which means it is not harmful to the blood vessels like the saturated fat in animal protein is.
Popeye's spinach begins to look like a junk food by comparison.
The blandness that so many detractors object to is another of tofu's virtues, according to Dickerson. Sometimes called a culinary chameleon, the spongelike tofu easily takes on the flavor of marinades, spices and whatever food it's sitting next to in the cooking pot.
Without a strong character of its own, tofu can cleverly disguise itself as meat, fish, eggs, cheese, cream or milk, and is often used as a substitute for these ingredients in familiar dishes.
Children are an especially good audience for tofu's magic tricks. They are unlikely to suspect when Mom adds it to a milkshake or pudding for a nutritional boost. The spaghetti and meatballs may taste delicious to a young palate, and Mom may be the only one who knows there's no meat in those meatballs.
Recently, tofu earned kudos from the toughest audience. When served Zucchini Soup and Spinach Noodle Bake, both of which featured tofu as a major ingredient, the critic quoted at the beginning of this story said: ``Now this is real food. Thank goodness you've stopped serving me tofu.''
Newcomers to tofu may want to sample it in a stir-fry at a Chinese restaurant, where it is usually called bean curd.
The next step, suggests Dickerson, is to try adding it to familiar, reliable recipes. For example, a few small cubes can be folded into your favorite potato salad.
``Later on, when your palate has become more accustomed to tofu, you might want to try mayonnaise, dips and sauces made from it,'' Dickerson said.
At that point, you might want to invest in a good cookbook, such as ``Tofu Cookery'' by Louise Hagler (The Book Publishing Co., 1991), who Dickerson calls the Fannie Farmer of tofu. ILLUSTRATION: JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI/Staff color photos
Tofu is a soybean product that looks like a block of soft cheese.
Tofu can be cleverly disguised in spaghetti and other familiar
dishes.
by CNB