In my old home, tofu was made with brine, so how do you get the brine? Is there a difference with gypsum?

The old family do tofu are brine tofu, so what is brine, and gypsum is different?

There is a difference between the two, the main component of salt brine is magnesium chloride, salt brine solution is an electrolyte solution, in the water will form a lot of charged particles, positive ions and negative ions, these ions of the hydration of the protein seized the water membrane, so that proteins are isolated, and in addition to the positive and negative ions of the magnesium chloride electrolyte inhibit the repulsion due to the protein surface charge, which makes the particles of mutual coalesce, thus turning them into lumps and lumps of beanflakes.

Salt brine is seawater or salt lake water salt production, residual in the salt pond after the mother liquor evaporation cooling, precipitation crystal and the formation of brine block. In addition to magnesium chloride, it also contains sodium chloride, potassium chloride, calcium chloride, magnesium sulfate and other ingredients.

And gypsum is calcium sulfate. In addition to salt brine and gypsum, any other substance that meets the conditions for making proteins coalesce can also be used as a catalyst for tofu.

The two types of tofu are not exactly the same color, brine tofu is slightly yellowish in white, with a coarse texture, commonly known as old tofu, northern tofu, and hard tofu; gypsum tofu is white in color, with a fine, smooth texture, commonly known as tender tofu.

The taste of brine tofu is harder, less water content, soy flavor; gypsum tofu taste soft and tender, a little more water content, soy flavor is not enough.

Generally, people in the north are used to pointing tofu with brine, while people in the south are used to pointing tofu with gypsum.

The brine tofu is healthier to eat, but it is difficult to operate and the product yield is low.