Gallery: Process: How Tubes of Tofu Become Tofurky
Chris Mueller01Process of tofurkey
Chris Mueller02Process of tofurkey
1\. Testing The main ingredient in Tofurky is soy, which is often genetically modified to resist herbicides. Turtle Island runs a test called a lateral-flow immunoassay to make sure its soy is natural. This requires special strips of paper that work like a home pregnancy test: If antibodies on the strip detect any GM proteins, it changes color.
Chris Mueller03Process of tofurkey
2\. Flavoring Once certified, blocks of tofu are liquefied along with canola oil and soy sauce in a giant blender, then mixed with spring water. Wheat gluten is added to solidify the slurry, followed by lemon juice. "Natural flavors" go in next. The recipe is proprietary, but much of the meaty taste comes from yeasts.
Chris Mueller04Process of tofurkey
3\. Mixing The concoction is blended again in a 200-hp mixer. The lemon juice denatures any intact soy proteins, and the wheat gluten thickens the paste. This results in a firm brown putty that is extruded into plastic tubes 3 feet long and 5.5 inches in diameter. Then stuffing (your traditional brown rice, bread cubes, celery) is crammed into it.
Chris Mueller05Process of tofurkey
4\. Steaming The plastic tubes go into a steamer, where they're heated slowly to the point of boiling water, 212 degrees Fahrenheit (but never higher), and simmered for several hours. After cooling, the roasts are "butchered" into bird-sized portions by a machine that's also used to carve Turtle Island's wannabe deli meats.
Chris Mueller06Process of tofurkey
5\. Quality To ensure the texture is sufficiently meatlike, samples are fed periodically to the Volodkevich Bite Jaws, a mechanical mouth that uses two knives with 3-mm edges to simulate front incisors. As the jaws gnaw, they measure the mouthfeel a real diner would experience. If the product tastes and chews just right, it's ready to ship.
