Which tofu item to use?

bernie

The choices for tofu in Cronometer are pretty confusing. Let's say I have extra firm tofu. The common food choices are:

1. Tofu, Raw, Not Silken, Cooked, Extra Firm (NCCDB)
2. Tofu, Raw, Not Silken, Not Cooked, Extra Firm, Not Drained (NCCDB)
3. Tofu, Extra Firm, Prepared with Nigari (USDA)

THere's also a CNF option, Tofu, regular, firm or extra firm, raw (prepared with calcium sulphate and magnesium chloride).

I noticed that 2 and 3 have basically equal macros on per gram basis.

1 and 2 both say Raw, but I interpret that as method of preparation, as in tofu sold in blocks gets called Raw. So does choice 1 mean cooked tofu similar to how there are options for cooked vegetables in cronometer? Choice 1 is indeed more calorie dense as you would expect from cooking off water.

It also doesn't help that when I weigh my 1 lb tofu block (after draining, without pressing), I actually get 500 g, not 454.

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Cooked means after you cook it (e.g., bake, saute, microwave). I'm not sure why they have "not drained" tofu. Even if it was boiled with the liquid, the liquid would end up being drained anyway.

henry_thinman

I'm sure drained tofu is when you unpack it and put a weight on it to squeeze more water out making it even firmer, usually done when stir frying it. So think not drained is skipping this process.