Abstract
A study was made of the ingredients and qualities of momen tofu made and eaten in three areas of the Chubu region in central Japan. Domestically produced soybean tends to be used instead of imported soybean, and nigari (MgCl2) instead of sumashi-ko (CaSO4) is used as a coagulant of the soymilk in all three areas. Judging from an analysis and the information on the labels, it is evident that the Mg content is higher than the Ca content of momen tofu. All makers in the mountainous region manufacture tofu by the nitori-method, and only one makers uses both the nitori-and namashibori-method. There are several tofu dishes enjoyed in the mountainous region, such as nabe-mono, sashimi-tofu, tempura and tofu-denngaku, and there the taste and flavor of momen tofu is the best. The gel hardness of momen tofu in the mountainous region and in the coastal area of the Sea of Japan is respectively 3.2 and 1.3 times higher than that in the coastal area of the Pacific ocean.
