An interlaboratory test of a procedure to assess soybean quality for soymilk and tofu production

A method for preparing soymilk and tofu has been developed to be used in as sessing the suitability of new soybean varieties for soyfood production; th e coagulants were glucono-delta-lactone and CaSO4. 2H(2)O. The method was t ested in two separate laboratories using four soybean varieties developed i n Canada, three were food grade and the fourth was an oilseed variety. The soymilk and tofu pH was similar regardless of variety or lab. For soymilks yield and total solids there were significant differences (P less than or e qual to 0.01) detected among varieties and between laboratories. For tofu y ield and total solids the variety effects were significant in both location s (laboratories). Although reproducibility was very good within each labora tory, for each treatment there was some lack of reproducibility across labo ratories. The method is best suited for use in comparative studies using a base standard as reference and is a good tool for assessing the quality of new soybean varieties for food use. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All righ ts reserved.